Get MAD at Work
MAD’s custom programs help businesses meet today’s most urgent challenges. Applying the unique perspective of hospitality–an industry with which we’ve worked for more than a decade—our tailor-made courses and events cultivate better leadership, encourage good environmental stewardship, and inspire creative thinking.
Who we are
MAD is a nonprofit organization based in Copenhagen that gives members of the hospitality industry the knowledge, skills, and inspiration they need to improve their workplaces and positively affect the way the world eats. Founded in 2011 by René Redzepi of Restaurant noma, it is home to an Academy that offers intensive courses on leadership and sustainability for individuals, and brings together a global community of chefs, servers, sommeliers, and bartenders for mind-expanding events that are both playful and educational.
What we teach
MAD’s programs build leadership skills; help participants make their businesses more sustainable and inspire creativity. You can choose among our proven formats, which range from single lectures to half-day workshops to two-day events, or put together your own, and we can either host the program at our own lovely headquarters in Copenhagen, or come to you. Whichever options you choose, we’ll work closely with you to make sure the program is perfectly tailored to your organization and its needs.
Leadership & Business management
Most culinary schools don’t address how to effectively lead a team. MAD bridges that gap with workshops that equip participants with the necessary tools to cultivate inclusive workplaces, where staff are engaged, productive, and fulfilled. Join us to develop:
- Skills to communicate effectively, navigate conflicts, and provide constructive feedback
- Strategies for understanding and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion as core business values
- An approach to leadership that promotes psychological safety and good work-life for the entire team
Environmental Sustainability
With the right knowledge, the hospitality industry can do more than provide nourishment and pleasure. Chefs, waiters, bartenders, and sommeliers can become effective stewards of the environment, driving positive change throughout the food system. In our program you’ll learn:
- Techniques to minimize food waste, conserve energy and water, reduce your carbon footprint, and make other choices that benefit both nature and your business‘s bottom line
- Collaborative approaches that allow you to source responsibly, support local communities, and preserve biodiversity.
- How environmental responsibility can be built into every facet of your business, transforming it into a catalyst for social and environmental good.
Creativity
Creativity lies at the heart of what the hospitality industry does, yet it can be an elusive skill to master. We can help you exercise your creative muscle with talks about:
- The development of Nordic gastronomy and how it came to shape not only restaurants but the way ordinary people eat around the world
- How hospitality can serve as a powerful tool to elevate communication, foster innovation, and revolutionize your approach to work, regardless of industry or field
- The visionary approaches that innovative chefs, foragers, and farmers are applying both to cuisine and to broad social and environmental challenges
The MAD Method
We bring to education the same care and dedication as are found in great hospitality. Like an unforgettable meal, our programs, which incorporate lively lectures, dynamic workshops, and hands-on exercises, are designed to enlighten, provoke and delight. But they are also intended to make a measurable impact which is why each one rests on three core ingredients:
- Fundamental knowledge
- Tools and strategies that can be applied immediately
- Inspiration to make meaningful change
Our Programs
Start with one of our established formats and tailor it to fit your needs, or build your program from scratch:
A one-day how-to in implementing sustainability
Focusing on concrete practices and strategies that can be implemented immediately, this program enables restaurants and other businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and take positive action to protect the environment. .
A half-day workshop on diversity and inclusion
This course is designed to give organizations the ability to support their staff and provides knowledge on how to nurture psychological safety and trust within teams for the long term.
Build your own
Curate your own program from among our diverse topics and formats. By drawing on our extensive educational experience and deep network of innovators, leaders, and coaches, you can put together a course that includes dynamic lectures, fascinating field trips, and skill-building workshops.
The MAD Faculty
MAD has access to some of the most exciting and insightful minds in and out of the industry. In addition to innovative chefs and restaurateurs, our faculty includes talented business coaches, brilliant scientists, and leading activists.
Matt Orlando
Chef
Johanne Schimming
Entrepreneur & farmer, Heghnsholt Farm
Monica Berg
Bartender and co-owner, Tayēr + Elementary
Deborah Mattson-Clarke
Leadership & Management Coach
Douglas McMaster
Owner and chef, Silo London
Minik Rosing
Geobiologist, Copenhagen University
Who we work with
From small independent restaurants, to hospitality groups with hundreds of staff, to tourism boards and culinary schools, MAD works with a wide variety of organizations. Examples of past programs include:
In February 2023, MAD brought together 70 hospitality industry professionals from Estonia for a day of leaning about how their business can better respond to environmental challenges.
Sustainable Hospitality with the Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association
The one-day program we arranged with MAD not only deeply inspiring, it was packed with practical steps you can easily start with and see instant impact from. With 95% of audience going back to their everyday businesses having decided to start making change, the ptrogram clearly exceeded our high expectations.
–Killu Maidla, CEO, Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association
Better restaurants, how hard can it be? with University of California at Berkeley Business School
Pitting 30 of the UC Berkeley business school’s brightest students against the challenges of the hospitality industry and the realities of our food system, this customized workshop used a real-life case study to develop the problem solving and strategic thinking of future business leaders.
Learnings from Leading and Driving Change with Lego
A playful interdisciplinary exchange designed for leaders, this conversation united the curious minds of Lego’s Global Brand team, MAD’s leadership team, and restaurateurs from Copenhagen’s hospitality industry. The dynamic, productive discussion focused on how to spark innovation, foster joy, and address the evolving expectations of customers and staff.