“My name is Sylvester. Most of my time I use here at Tekno Eatery, at Rentemestervej, Nordvest. I established this place back in 2020 together with my partner Frederik Møller. Together with Frederik and our Tekno family, we show up early every day to prepare breakfast and lunch.

I started in the industry as a dishwasher in eighth grade at a small bar in central Copenhagen, where I gradually worked my way up. After some time I was given more responsibility and had my debut on the floor. This was an eye-opener for me. I’ve always loved socializing and meeting new people. I felt my colleagues and boss took me seriously which was a huge experience. I’ll say it was a stepping stone to start in the industry.

After I graduated high school, I was involved in the start-up phase of a new restaurant in the center of Copenhagen, which was really exciting and inspiring to be a part of. There was a lot of learning by doing, and constantly developing the concept of the place - an important lesson for me in many ways.”

“We call ourselves a “social canteen” - that’s the whole concept. During the time of our renovation, it dawned on us that the habitat in this part of Nordvest is a great mix of residents and companies. We want to contribute and create a friendly lunch restaurant with a local community where we bring both companies and local people together. That’s why we are offering and serving a lunch deal for local companies. Our goal is to make the lunch break the best 30 minutes of their workday. We do also deliver our lunches to a few offices around Copenhagen.

We are searching for the local atmosphere. The local cafe where the staff knows your name, and the kind of coffee you want to drink.

Our menu is always following the seasons and we put much attention into developing and serving every dish. We strive to serve what seems like a well-cooked homemade meal every day.”

“In the beginning, it was our friends that we hired. Mostly because all of our time was used at Tekno, and why not use that time with your good friends? Our staff has changed a lot since we opened up three years ago. Today I think the bond in our small Tekno family has grown strong. First of all because of our common interest in providing great service, but also because we are all very social creatures. The whole staff is working here full time, but we like to spend time together after work - we are friends after all.

The fact that we can both be a team inside and outside of Tekno’s walls is a big privilege and I really enjoy working with these people every day. Frederik and I are both self-taught, so it’s safe to say that I am very happy that we have very skilled and professional expertise both in the kitchen and in the bar.”

“At Tekno, I believe that sustainability primarily plays out through our menu, which is very seasonal. We strive to buy seasonal food, which isn’t harvested on the other side of the planet. The challenge is of course not to serve kale and roots the whole winter, but we do what we can to buy locally-produced raw materials. From the very beginning, we made it a part of our identity that we would only serve meat twice a week. This is still the way we are doing it.

It’s important to mention that we have become very accurate regarding minimizing food waste. We constantly try to be creative within the frames we have created for ourselves. Without blustering, I think we are doing a pretty good job.”

“Minimizing food waste is paramount. Uncooked leftover greens can often be pickled or fermented. We use food scraps to create new flavors. Some things can’t be reused, but we do our best. At Tekno, we sort food waste separately in a compost bin, where it gets picked up by a company called Daka Refood which turns it into fertilizer and energy, and then we receive a report every month on how our waste has been utilized. It means a lot to us, and we try to take all the necessary steps without overdoing it.

Another important aspect is the transport time for the foods and goods. My advice is to be aware of where the groceries originally come from. That’s at least how we do it at Tekno Eatery.”