From Noma to Poulette: How Copenhagen's restaurants shaped The Bear
In a bright Copenhagen bakery, actor Lionel Boyce was more interested in perfecting croissants than memorising lines.
Each day, he would join Hart Bageri's staff, rolling pastries and absorbing the meditative rhythm that would later define his pastry chef character Marcus on The Bear, season four of which begins Thursday.
Amid the bakery's light, airy interior – with its high ceilings, expansive windows and beams – there was no script to follow, no intensive coaching. Just the endless repetition of folding and shaping until the movements became instinct.
'We just treated him like any aspiring employee who came to work for us,' Hart Bageri creative director and baker Talia Richard-Carvajal tells The National.
'It was a few years ago, so we're talking around the time they were preparing for the second season [which aired in 2022], and I remember our attitude was like, 'Listen, it's lovely that you're here, but now you really need to work.''
Boyce was immediately comfortable with the rigours of the craft.
'It made me realise that we're more similar professions than we perhaps thought,' she notes. 'You have to be the kind of person who finds joy in repetition, and you always have to be open to learning from scratch to a certain degree. You have to be humble enough to appreciate that you're not going to get it right on the first go.'
For a series based on the triumphs and travails of a fine-dining restaurant in Chicago, the training mattered. In The Bear, the food always seems to be saying something. The exacting craft of a perfectly cooked Chilean sea bass with tomato confit signals a kitchen in control, while a croissant ragefully hurled to the floor screams chaos. The point of training wasn't for actors to merely act or move like chefs. It was to think like one and experience the kitchen from the inside, with all the awareness and aches that come with its momentum and monotony.
To get it right, the producers looked to Copenhagen. They consulted Rene Redzepi, co-founder of Noma – arguably the Danish capital's most famous restaurant, which earned its third Michelin star in 2021. Redzepi also appeared briefly in season three.
Lead character Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is said to have trained at Noma, a detail that explains his obsessive standards and quiet discipline. His pastry chef, Marcus, follows that path more literally. In the dedicated season two episode Honeydew, directed by Ramy Youssef, he travels to the Danish capital to deepen his craft.
That connection is concrete behind the scenes. Amid Noma's foraged gardens – with elderflower, wood sorrel and wild herbs – Boyce trained alongside the team during service in Copenhagen, with scenes shot inside Noma's actual kitchen.
'Our team was just amazed by the scale of the whole thing. The cameras, the crew and the operation were incredible and genuinely fun for everyone to be part of,' recalls Annika de las Heras, managing director at Noma Projects. 'I think there's a lot of overlap between film, design and food. It's always interesting to see how people working creatively and with care can come together like that.'
The detail was so precise that Rosio Sanchez – a Chicago-born Mexican chef who made a cameo appearance in season three – found herself recoiling during some of the show's more intense kitchen scenes. 'I actually thought, 'Wow, this is so real'. It's so accurate to how it feels to be in these moments,' she says. 'I was at the edge of my sofa just thinking, this is making me cringe because I can so relate to it.'
That said, the rush actors feel following the director's cue of 'action' mirrors her daily experiences when opening her restaurant. 'It's that same adrenalin of getting ready for service each day,' she adds. 'Our daily service is its own version of a television production.'
Not all of The Bear' s Copenhagen discoveries came through research or industry contacts. Sometimes, stumbling on a small shop selling chicken sandwiches can matter just as much. In the Norrebro district is Poulette, known not for innovation, but for perfection, for getting the fried chicken sandwich right. There is retro neon signage, a short and focused menu and their signature sandwich – crispy, seasoned thigh meat, tangy slaw, pickles and a soft brioche bun. In the Copenhagen episode, Marcus drops by the restaurant to try the sandwich, relishing in its flavours and craft.
Co-founder Martin Ho says a local production crew scouting locations for the series found the place by chance.
'They came when they were scouting locations for the second season, and then suddenly a Danish production company reached out to us. We didn't know what it was for, and then the next thing we knew, they were filming outside, and we figured out it was The Bear," he tells The National. "We didn't even know they came to Poulette, but apparently they did."
Whether it's the success of the series or pop star Dua Lipa reportedly calling it one of the best sandwiches she's ever had, Poulette now sells up to 800 sandwiches a day, with a line of over 20 people outside when it opens daily at 11am.
Whether The Bear captures all the intricacies of running a restaurant is up for debate. Like every dish, every kitchen has its own story, whether in Chicago or Copenhagen, shaped by its staff, their experiences and their traditions.
But one truth the show gets right is that the trade is all about giving. 'It's about doing something for someone else, serving people and making something that makes people happy,' says Sanchez. 'But it's also performance. Like actors, every day the doors open we're on our own stage. And the magic comes in seeing people come together and do inspiring things.'
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The National
a day ago
- The National
From Noma to Poulette: How Copenhagen's restaurants shaped The Bear
In a bright Copenhagen bakery, actor Lionel Boyce was more interested in perfecting croissants than memorising lines. Each day, he would join Hart Bageri's staff, rolling pastries and absorbing the meditative rhythm that would later define his pastry chef character Marcus on The Bear, season four of which begins Thursday. Amid the bakery's light, airy interior – with its high ceilings, expansive windows and beams – there was no script to follow, no intensive coaching. Just the endless repetition of folding and shaping until the movements became instinct. 'We just treated him like any aspiring employee who came to work for us,' Hart Bageri creative director and baker Talia Richard-Carvajal tells The National. 'It was a few years ago, so we're talking around the time they were preparing for the second season [which aired in 2022], and I remember our attitude was like, 'Listen, it's lovely that you're here, but now you really need to work.'' Boyce was immediately comfortable with the rigours of the craft. 'It made me realise that we're more similar professions than we perhaps thought,' she notes. 'You have to be the kind of person who finds joy in repetition, and you always have to be open to learning from scratch to a certain degree. You have to be humble enough to appreciate that you're not going to get it right on the first go.' For a series based on the triumphs and travails of a fine-dining restaurant in Chicago, the training mattered. In The Bear, the food always seems to be saying something. The exacting craft of a perfectly cooked Chilean sea bass with tomato confit signals a kitchen in control, while a croissant ragefully hurled to the floor screams chaos. The point of training wasn't for actors to merely act or move like chefs. It was to think like one and experience the kitchen from the inside, with all the awareness and aches that come with its momentum and monotony. To get it right, the producers looked to Copenhagen. They consulted Rene Redzepi, co-founder of Noma – arguably the Danish capital's most famous restaurant, which earned its third Michelin star in 2021. Redzepi also appeared briefly in season three. Lead character Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is said to have trained at Noma, a detail that explains his obsessive standards and quiet discipline. His pastry chef, Marcus, follows that path more literally. In the dedicated season two episode Honeydew, directed by Ramy Youssef, he travels to the Danish capital to deepen his craft. That connection is concrete behind the scenes. Amid Noma's foraged gardens – with elderflower, wood sorrel and wild herbs – Boyce trained alongside the team during service in Copenhagen, with scenes shot inside Noma's actual kitchen. 'Our team was just amazed by the scale of the whole thing. The cameras, the crew and the operation were incredible and genuinely fun for everyone to be part of,' recalls Annika de las Heras, managing director at Noma Projects. 'I think there's a lot of overlap between film, design and food. It's always interesting to see how people working creatively and with care can come together like that.' The detail was so precise that Rosio Sanchez – a Chicago-born Mexican chef who made a cameo appearance in season three – found herself recoiling during some of the show's more intense kitchen scenes. 'I actually thought, 'Wow, this is so real'. It's so accurate to how it feels to be in these moments,' she says. 'I was at the edge of my sofa just thinking, this is making me cringe because I can so relate to it.' That said, the rush actors feel following the director's cue of 'action' mirrors her daily experiences when opening her restaurant. 'It's that same adrenalin of getting ready for service each day,' she adds. 'Our daily service is its own version of a television production.' Not all of The Bear' s Copenhagen discoveries came through research or industry contacts. Sometimes, stumbling on a small shop selling chicken sandwiches can matter just as much. In the Norrebro district is Poulette, known not for innovation, but for perfection, for getting the fried chicken sandwich right. There is retro neon signage, a short and focused menu and their signature sandwich – crispy, seasoned thigh meat, tangy slaw, pickles and a soft brioche bun. In the Copenhagen episode, Marcus drops by the restaurant to try the sandwich, relishing in its flavours and craft. Co-founder Martin Ho says a local production crew scouting locations for the series found the place by chance. 'They came when they were scouting locations for the second season, and then suddenly a Danish production company reached out to us. We didn't know what it was for, and then the next thing we knew, they were filming outside, and we figured out it was The Bear," he tells The National. "We didn't even know they came to Poulette, but apparently they did." Whether it's the success of the series or pop star Dua Lipa reportedly calling it one of the best sandwiches she's ever had, Poulette now sells up to 800 sandwiches a day, with a line of over 20 people outside when it opens daily at 11am. Whether The Bear captures all the intricacies of running a restaurant is up for debate. Like every dish, every kitchen has its own story, whether in Chicago or Copenhagen, shaped by its staff, their experiences and their traditions. But one truth the show gets right is that the trade is all about giving. 'It's about doing something for someone else, serving people and making something that makes people happy,' says Sanchez. 'But it's also performance. Like actors, every day the doors open we're on our own stage. And the magic comes in seeing people come together and do inspiring things.'
The National
2 days ago
- The National
Why The Bear serves up one of television's most honest soundtracks
There are times when it's difficult to tell who's leading the action in modern prestige television drama. Is it the actors on screen? Or some of the stylised music determined to be acknowledged like an overacting performer? As dramas lean further into flair, their relationship with music followed suit. Succession blends neo‑classical motifs with hip-hop to underscore its signature tension between family, youth and power. Euphoria 's heady mix of gospel, soul, electronica and melodic house floods scenes with emotional cues. Severance harnesses a pensive, spacious minimalism to heighten emotional distance, while Industry constantly reminds us of its feverish pace through gleaming synths and propulsive beats. Emmy Award–winning The Bear, returning for its fourth season on Disney+ this Wednesday, does something different, however. The score of the dramatic comedy – about a tight–knit crew running a fine–dining restaurant in Chicago – is the sonic equivalent of a meat and potatoes dish – direct, deceptively plain, but deeply rich when seasoned right. The music isn't there as subtext or to subvert. Instead, it hits that rare sweet spot of sitting within the scene. It doesn't instruct you how to feel. Like a great relish, it simply enhances the brilliant writing and acting on screen. That restraint allows the music, a mix of mostly 90s alternative rock, pop and Chicago blues and roots, to stand out in the best way, not as an add–on, but as something fully enmeshed with the show. As head chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) tells his team: 'It's nearly perfect". Examples of the approach abound in nearly every episode, where up to four songs feature in extended montages or recur as motifs. Take the season two episode Forks, in which restaurant manager Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) discovers his purpose under the rigours of training in a fine‑dining restaurant. The emotional pay‑off isn't hinted at or teased by the music - that's all down to Moss‑Bachrach's superb acting. Through the use of Taylor Swift' s Love Story (Taylor's Version), played while Richie drives home with a new contentment, that realisation just unfolds. The song – through the chorus refrain of 'It's a love story, baby just say yes' – carries the feeling as plainly and literally as possible. It's not a rocket science approach, but the kind of pitch‑perfect placement rarely heard on screen. The same attention to emotional placement is found in The Bear 's use of R.E.M.'s affecting Strange Currencies. First heard in one of the show's most intense episodes – Review in season one – it is used again in the following season to score the fraying relationships among the staff as they attempt to rehabilitate the once-dilapidated restaurant. The song simply reinforces what's already there, deepening what we feel without overstating it. While The Bear 's licensing of well‑known tracks is not original, it's the dynamic way it adopts them that's notable. Songs are not there to keep scenes moving or offer subtle commentary. Certain episodes have extended moments of silence as staff quietly cleaning the restaurant. Other times, the use of music is so present and long that it stands out, such as Eddie Vedder's Save It for Later accompanying the restaurant's morning preparation, or Wilco's Spiders (Kidsmoke) during a chaotic evening shift that shows the crew's weariness. These sections, sometimes lasting nearly as long as the track itself, don't feel overindulgent. Instead, it does a neat thing of absorbing rather than directing the emotions of the scenes. Succession, for example, takes a different approach. The music underscores the main themes of power and dysfunction. While the use of music is smart, it can sometimes feel performative. The inclusion of tracks such as KRS-One's MCs Act Like They Don't Know, part of a wider hip-hop playlist for media executive Kendall Roy's 40th birthday party, serves as an extravagant cue – commenting on, or perhaps casting judgment over Kendall's deluded self-image, rather than offering genuine insight into his emotions. The Bear 's music isn't concerned with that kind of cleverness or cultural commentary. It stands out for a kind of emotional honesty that other shows eschewed for better or worse. The music isn't used as a ready crutch to elevate tension or punctuate a scene. That restraint is what gives The Bear its unexpected weight that helped it win a total of 21 Emmy Awards over the last three seasons. Like the premise itself, the music is also not revolutionary. It's a reminder that great television scoring doesn't have to push or nudge you. Sometimes, being emotionally on point is more than enough.
The National
25-05-2025
- The National
Why Netflix show Secrets We Keep is being compared to global hit Adolescence
A new Netflix drama, which follows two wealthy Danish families as they deal with the fallout from a missing Filipina au pair, is being compared by fans to Adolescence – the global hit that put a spotlight on incel culture and toxic masculinity. Secrets We Keep, a six-part limited series in Danish, premiered on May 15 and has struck a chord with viewers for its gripping pacing and unflinching look at racism and Denmark's au pair culture. The show, whose Danish title is Reservatet, has been viewed more than 10.3 million times since its debut and is currently the No 1 non-English show in more than 28 countries. The show follows Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen), a wealthy executive, whose neighbour's maid Ruby (Donna Levkovski) suddenly goes missing. After realising that her obscenely rich neighbours do not seem too bothered about their au pair's disappearance, Cecilie increasingly grows concerned. Her suspicion and investigation then eventually leads her close to home. Hit British show Adolescence broke Netflix viewership records, with many praising it for its technical achievement – each of the four episodes is shot in one take – and for tackling issues about toxic masculinity. While Adolescence centres around a 13-year-old boy being accused of murdering his classmate, a girl, Secrets We Keep is meant to be a thriller. But it also tackles several issues, from class divide to racism and spotlights the ramifications of an increasing number of young Danes being raised by foreigners. Like many of the wealthy families in the show, Cecilie and her husband Mike (Simon Sears) also employ a Filipina au pair Angel (Excel Busano), whose primary job is to take care of their toddler. Angel is also close to Ruby, their neighbour's au pair, who later goes missing. While Cecilie and Mike adore Angel, who in-turn seems to enjoy living with the family, Cecilie increasingly gets frustrated after noticing their pre-teen son Viggo's (Lukas Zuperka) attachment to Angel. Meant to be sort of a cultural exchange, under Denmark's au pair scheme, foreign nationals can live with a Danish family for up to two years where they learn the culture and language while contributing to the household. In return, au pairs are entitled to receive pocket money monthly as well as boarding and lodging. A large majority of au pairs in Denmark are Filipinos. Despite essentially being housemaids, they are not officially recognised as labour migrants and therefore are not protected by labour laws. No. Creator and co-writer Ingeborg Topsoe said she was fascinated by the power structures within a family. "Denmark is often portrayed as a very egalitarian society, and I've never seen homes like these portrayed on TV," she said. "Perhaps it's a reality we don't want to acknowledge the existence of. "Au pairs are 'part of the family', while being employed, and parents are well-meaning, while absent. It's these cold, hard facts, hidden beneath a soft layer of niceness, that intrigues me.' Secrets We Keep is now streaming on Netflix
