In this talk, Pontus is discussing how the staff at Maaemo approaches service to their guests. He also highlights how they serve their coffee and how they are looking to improve the service, while still working with the famous traditional Norwegian “kokekaffe” or boiled coffee.
“We charge the most for coffee in Norway—80nok ($13) per person. I don’t care what the mark-up is, coffee is too cheap.”
“More diversity, better green beans, better quality. That is what we are looking for.”
“There is always something wrong.”
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Pontus was born in Finland and moved to Norway in 1999 to start his restaurant career. In 2000 he started as a Sommelier at Restaurant Bagatelle (former **) and worked there for 5 years, the 3 last as “chef de cave” during those years he vas also active in Sommelier competitions.
In 2006 he joined the sales team at Moestue Grape Selections, a leading Wine import company based in Oslo. For 5 years he travelled Norway and Europe. In early 2010 he started project MAAEMO together with Esben Holmboe Bang and Jon-Frede Engdahl. Restaurant MAAEMO opened late Desember 2010 and in 2012 it was the first Nordic restaurant to go from no Michelin stars to 2 Michelin stars.
