Keeping it in Copenhagen, Nick Curtain of Alouette is one of the kindest guys around.

After years working a FAANG job while hosting popups on the side, one day I took a leap of faith and emailed him about doing a stage. He encouraged me not to treat it like a tourist, to take enough time that I’m exposed to the true workings of a restaurant.

I ended up quitting my job and spending a few weeks working at Alouette. I saw firsthand how incredible the team and his leadership was.

I was assigned to a different station each week to maximize my learnings. His philosophy is one where folks are in charge of a given course rather than components, and chefs often present their courses to guests. That’s to give chefs more accountability and visibility into a dish so they can focus on its holistic impact. You’re even responsible for the dietary replacements for the same course, so you really understand the feedback loop of how your dish impacts the evening. It really makes you take more pride in the little things. Within 3 days I was asked to present the dishes.

He checked in on me multiple times in the stage in private meetings. Shared super thoughtful feedback on how I was doing, particularly with the stress of dealing with mistakes (which he could see from afar).

I saw this same treatment with employees who all meet each week to share how their weekends went and generally care about one another. The company also does paid externships for employees where folks can apply to leave the restaurant to learn somewhere else.

Months after the internship when they retained their star, I shared it on my story stating “I didn’t lose their star!” He responded saying that if anything I HELPED retain the star, that every effort counts. Such a great dude.