Rasmus Palsgård - Quality is a matter of choice

The summer sun is still high in the sky when we meet Rasmus Palsgård in Nordhavn, Copenhagen. Coffee in hand at La Cabra's handsome coffee bar, he explains that it's no coincidence we're meeting here.

“I live just around the corner, across the train tracks in old Østerbro. I've lived in Østerbro since 2014, and I have to admit that I really love it. And with modern Nordhavn as a natural extension, you have everything you need,” Rasmus Palsgård says, then continues:

“Østerbro lines up really well with my own outlook on life. Here it isn't about being fashionable and following the latest trends. People here make good long-term choices when they shop.”

You have to dare to set goals

Rasmus Palsgård trained as a journalist at the Danish School of Journalism in Aarhus and has spent 15 years writing about food and wine for magazines and newspapers in Denmark and abroad. Alongside that he runs the Instagram account Feinschmeckeren, where he shares his passion for gastronomy, wine and menswear. Today he also works as a consultant for restaurants and culinary businesses.

There wasn't much real help to be had from his academic advisor when Rasmus wanted to build a career as a food writer, but that didn't hold him back.

“Food has always meant a lot in my family, and I knew gastronomy had to be at the center of my working life. Telling people about extraordinary producers, ingredients and restaurants became my way into the industry, and I set a clear goal of being able to make a living from it. The unemployment insurance fund couldn't help me, so I left it shortly after graduating. My measure of success was being able to pay my rent, and for everything else I could live on oatmeal. I've run my own little one-man show ever since, and I haven't regretted it once.”

“I meet a lot of people who aren't happy with what they do. That's a real shame when here in Denmark we're largely free to decide what we want to do with our lives. Some people tell me they envy my job, and I usually tell them: ‘I chose this myself. You have that option too.’”

“I didn't grow up with a strong professional network or golden tickets to any shortcuts. I think I've really just been good at following my curiosity and sticking with the things I find interesting.”

Quality above all

Rasmus Palsgård has always cared about quality and tried to explain why it makes sense to choose the good things over the less good ones.

“We have to eat every day, so we might as well do it properly. It isn't about truffles and caviar. It's about choosing ingredients that are made with love and care, that pamper our taste buds and give us a healthy body.”

“I've always preferred to eat once at a really good restaurant rather than four times at a bad one. The same goes for clothes. The good choices cost more, but they also last much longer, and just as important, they give you far more joy along the way.”

That's also why LOOW has been a regular part of Rasmus's wardrobe for several years.

“Take my LOOW T-shirts. I wear them every day, and they still have the same shape and look as good as when I first started wearing them. I've worn them for years, and that's actually a pretty good example of how I generally try to choose.”

For him quality isn't necessarily about choosing the most expensive option. It's about choosing something that works and that you keep appreciating.

“I'd rather have fewer things that I really care about than lots of things I only use because they happen to be in fashion. That goes for food, wine, clothes and really for people and experiences too.”

Rasmus brings the same awareness to his training. For him it isn't enough to simply show up at the gym and get through a program.

“It's a bit the same with training. Just working out isn't enough. If I'm going to spend an hour squatting, lifting or doing cardio, I want to do it with focus and commitment. I want to know why I'm doing it, what I want to get better at and how I can do it properly. Otherwise it just becomes something you've checked off the list.”

In the end it's about being aware of the choices you make, and not necessarily about choosing more.

Putting quality into words

That approach also shapes Rasmus's work with restaurants. Today he helps restaurants with things like press, social media, photography, communication and developing the stories around their menus, events and identity.

“I find it incredibly exciting to work with businesses where there's already something genuine and interesting. My job isn't to invent a story that doesn't exist. It's about getting to the heart of what makes the place or the product special and then telling it in a way that other people can feel.”

He works with restaurants such as Søllerød Kro and Krogs Fiskerestaurant, where gastronomy is naturally at the center but where the work is also about understanding the people, the history and the overall experience.

“A good restaurant doesn't need to shout. It needs to know who it is and what it wants to give its guests. My job is often to help find that and tell it in a way that makes other people want to experience it too.”

The good life doesn't take more - it takes “better”

Perhaps it's really the same philosophy that runs through everything Rasmus Palsgård does. Being aware of your choices and spending your time and money on what actually adds value.

“I don't necessarily think we need more. We need ‘better.’ Better ingredients, better restaurants, better clothes, better experiences. And then it's about figuring out what matters to you.”

He takes a sip of his coffee and looks out over Nordhavn.

“It may sound a bit trite, but I truly believe you should try to spend your life on things that make you happy. For me that's gastronomy, good craftsmanship, people, training and creating something myself. Then the rest can honestly be pretty simple.”