Bio
Meet Lasse Povlsen, a highly skilled Danish trained Chef, known amongst his colleagues and friends as “GD”. With a wealth of experience gained from working in a number of Denmark’s Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as some of Melbourne’s finest establishments such as Attica, Cutler & Co, Cumulus and Three Bags Full, Lasse has a wealth of knowledge and expertise.
For the last 5 plus years, Lasse has been honing his skills in product development. He has worked with both start-ups and established players in the market to develop exciting new culinary offerings.
His philosophy towards food is centred around the principles of sustainability, local produce, and minimal wastage. Whenever possible, he works directly with farmers and growers to source the freshest ingredients. He is also a strong advocate of natural and minimal intervention wines, carefully curating the perfect pairing with each dish to enhance the dining experience.
Lasse places a great emphasis on the value of his staff and suppliers. He provides comprehensive training and support to his team, encouraging them to develop and explore their creative ideas while ensuring that they understand and appreciate the quality of food. He values his relationship with his suppliers and often spends time at the farms to gain a deeper understanding of the specific harvests.
Apart from his culinary pursuits, Lasse is also charitably-minded. He believes in reducing food wastage and has a heart for the homeless. Lasse is keen to utilise any surplus food by cooking for the less fortunate, especially those in homeless shelters.
In summary, Lasse Povlsen is an exceptional professional, with a wealth of experience, a dedication to sustainable practices, and a caring approach to his work.
History
Lasse was born in a small town in countryside Denmark, the fourth child of a single mother. He became interested in food during his teenage years and trained in classical French/Danish cuisine for four years. Lasse began his fine dining career at HenneKirkeby Kro – a 2 Michelin Starred venue on the West coast of Denmark. It was here he learnt about sustainable and local produce, foraging, and the concept of ‘less is more’ in terms of flavour profiles.
During his time at Henne, Lasse became Head Chef for the winter season, predominantly looking after private events for one of Denmark’s wealthiest businessmen and designing new kitchens for local restaurants in the area.
Lasse first came to Australian in 2009 where he worked at Attica, Circa the Prince and Fog, before taking a year out of the kitchen to travel South America with his Australian fiancé, Lucy.
After a year, he returned to Denmark to work at Nimb Louise, a Michelin restaurant in Copenhagen. He later moved on to run the kitchen at French-Nordic restaurant, Retour, under renowned Danish Chef, Rasmus Oubaek.
Lasse’s food and wine pairing at Retour won the restaurant two Bib Gourmand awards consecutively, as well as a several five-star reviews by Copenhagen’s biggest food critics.
He returned to Melbourne in 2014 where he became the Development Chef for Andrew McConnell, working on menu, staff and kitchen development across Cutler & Co, Cumulus, Supernormal and Luxembourg. Seeking a change in environment, he then accepted the role of Head Chef at Three Bags Full café in Abbotsford.
In 2016, he established ChefPovlsen, a hospitality consulting firm that provides guidance in various areas, such as opening new venues, staff training, kitchen equipment, recipe design, food innovation and product development, menu consultation and new concept development, training and mentoring of staff, presenting and teaching master classes. and guidance on HACCP and food safety/quality procedures. Lasse’s expertise and experience have proven invaluable in supporting businesses to move their product development processes into a professional environment.
More recently overseeing the rebrand of approx. 500 SKUs across Coles’ Fresh Produce department nationally. As part of Coles’ Sustainability commitments, this project is moving key products across the business to recyclable packaging. It is the largest national rebrand project Coles has ever carried out.
Lasse has fantastic interpersonal and relationship skills, and has spent years consulting for businesses in a diverse range of their development.
