“My name is Frederik Brandi, and I’m 28 years old. I’m a co-owner and founder of Fabro, a vibrant and traditional Italian pasta place in central Copenhagen. I have this place together with my friend Jon and my cousin Luca, who comes from Italy.

The idea for starting Fabro was to get back to the roots of pasta, because before us, there wasn’t anyone focusing specifically on pasta. That was missing in Copenhagen. Pasta dishes are farmers’ food and should be available to everyone, so we wanted to give it back to the people. There are a lot of traditional Italian dishes, you won’t see in other places, that we try to showcase to Copenhagen.

Fabro is a small and unique restaurant. I don’t think you get this type of vibrant, dynamic vibe anywhere else in the city. We’ve been here for five years now, and have people out here waiting in line every day. It’s actually amazing. We are really thankful and humbled by all this attention.”

“I’ve always had a big interest in food and beverages. I was only 23 when I started Fabro and was straight out of my job at Coffee Collective. For many years, I focused specifically on good quality coffee and thought it was interesting diving into a niche. There are a lot of similarities when you look at the coffee and the pasta industry, because coffee isn’t just coffee or a bean. The same applies to pasta and tomatoes.

My family has always cooked a lot and gathered around food, and exploring Italian food culture is way different from Denmark. I visited my cousins a hundred times as a kid and grew up with the Italian food culture. I thought it was inspiring to see people having a passion for specific niches like wine, pasta, or coffee. Going into the slightest detail and being focused on food is so important, which makes Copenhagen so great in the food industry. We’ve had a major focus from the international scene, which I think is pretty exciting.”

“We never stand still. Every day, week, and month for five years, we’ve always tried to improve, and we are not afraid to try new things. A big reason people keep coming back, and I’m 100% sure, is that we are having fun while working. We try to make it as welcoming for everyone as possible, no matter who you are. I think people can feel that right away when they’re here. Also, when you look at this place, it feels like a living room. We don’t have the most expensive furniture and surroundings, but there is a vibe. When you come to Fabro, you are not only coming for the pasta. You also come for the party, right?

It’s only our friends working here and there is no such thing as a hierarchy. We have this familiar relationship between the employees. You could do this interview with any other in the restaurant, and you will have the same answers. I don’t feel more entitled to do this interview than any other working here.”

“What I enjoy about pasta is that it’s available everywhere, and it’s cheap. It’s really simple to use, but it can be diverse in quality and taste, so I always buy good pasta. Otherwise, your whole base in the dish will be of bad quality. I will recommend Rummo pasta if you go to the supermarket. It’s of a little better quality, I’ll say.

And remember to learn from the Italians! I often see English or American TV chefs doing stuff I would never do. Look up recipes written and done by Italians. They are more focused on the ingredients rather than putting a lot of things together.

I read that within the last five years, the time people use cooking has declined. Before people on average would use 35 minutes, now people only use 15 minutes. If you already have the ingredients at home, you can easily make a good carbonara in 15 minutes. I will give you our carbonara recipe.”