From Copenhagen to the Tyrolean Alps: Part 3 – The Entrepreneurial Leap

By Christian, Head Chef & Owner, Panorama Hotel Fliesserhof

In Part 2, I told you how Copenhagen shaped me—from my time at Restaurant A.O.C under Ronny Emborg to leading the Michelin-starred Restaurant Marchal. Today, I'll tell you why I gave it all up to try something completely new.

The Decision No One Understood

When I announced I was leaving Restaurant Marchal and Hotel d'Angleterre, everyone thought I was crazy.

"You have a Michelin star."
"You're Executive Head Chef at Scandinavia's finest hotel."
"Why would you give that up?"

But I knew I needed to learn something different. Something no Michelin kitchen could teach me.

I wanted to understand how to build a restaurant from the ground up. How to create community. How to not just feed guests, but create a place they want to return to—not because of a star, but because of the feeling.

So I did something no one expected: I opened a brewpub.

The Brewpub: A New Kind of Kitchen

I became a partner in a brewpub project with To Øl—one of Denmark's most innovative craft beer breweries, founded by Tore Gynther and Morten Bruun.

This wasn't the world of white tablecloths and amuse-bouches. This was loud, lively, casual. Guests came in jeans and T-shirts. They drank beer from glasses, not crystal. They laughed, talked, enjoyed themselves.

And I loved it.

For the first time, I wasn't cooking for critics or stars. I was cooking for real people who just wanted to have a good time.

What the Brewpub Taught Me

The brewpub taught me lessons I never would have learned in a Michelin kitchen:

1. Business is more than just cooking
In Michelin restaurants, someone else handled the numbers. At the brewpub, I learned cost management, pricing, profit margins. I understood that a great restaurant doesn't just need great food—it needs a great business model.

2. Community is everything
The brewpub wasn't just a restaurant—it was a gathering place. Regulars came multiple times a week. They knew us. We knew them. It was personal. It was real.

3. Creativity has no limits
Pairing beer and food was a completely new creative challenge. I experimented with flavors I never would have used in Michelin kitchens. I had fun. I played.

4. Hospitality beats perfection
In Michelin restaurants, it's about perfection—every plate must be flawless. At the brewpub, I learned that guests remember the feeling more than the perfectly placed microgreen. They remember how you made them laugh. How you welcomed them. How you treated them like family.

This lesson would change everything when I came home.

The Call That Changed Everything

Then, one day, I got a call from Tyrol.

My family needed me. Hotel Fliesserhof—the hotel where I grew up, where I did my apprenticeship, where it all began—needed new leadership.

I faced a decision: Stay in Copenhagen, where I'd built a successful career, or go home and take over the family business.

For most chefs, this wouldn't have been a difficult decision. Copenhagen was the culinary capital of Europe. Tyrol was... well, the mountains.

But I realized something: I'd seen the world. I'd worked in the best kitchens. I'd learned from the best chefs.

Now it was time to bring it all home.

What Came Next...

In 2022, I returned to Tyrol and took over Panorama Hotel Fliesserhof.

I brought the Michelin techniques. The New Nordic philosophy. The brewpub mentality. And the most important lesson of all: that great hospitality isn't about stars—it's about creating moments people remember forever.

In Part 4, I'll tell you how I'm bringing all these lessons to Fliesserhof—and why I believe the future of gastronomy isn't in the cities, but in the mountains.

Continued on October 20th…

Panorama Hotel Fliesserhof
Muttern 174, 6521 Fliess, Tyrol
www.fliesserhof.at/en | info@fliesserhof.at | +43 5449 52 23