Matt Orlando is an American chef who became one of the most influential voices in sustainable fine dining. After a career in some of the world’s greatest kitchens – and a spell as head chef of Noma – he opened Amass in Copenhagen, a restaurant that turned reducing waste and closing loops into world-class cooking, and made him a leader of the movement to make gastronomy more responsible.
Orlando pairs elite technique with a serious environmental mission, treating “waste” ingredients, fermentation and circular thinking as the foundation of creativity rather than a constraint.
TL;DR
- American chef, born in San Diego, California
- Worked at Le Bernardin, The Fat Duck and Per Se, and was head chef of Noma
- Opened Amass in Copenhagen in 2013, a pioneer of sustainable fine dining
- Cut Amass’s food waste dramatically and won a Michelin Green Star
- Continues to explore fermentation, brewing and circular food systems
Matt Orlando key facts
| Born | San Diego, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Defining restaurant | Amass, Copenhagen (2013-2022) |
| Also | Former head chef of Noma |
| Known for | Sustainability and zero-waste cooking |
A career in the world’s great kitchens
Matt Orlando was born in San Diego, California, and began cooking as a teenager. He built an extraordinary CV in fine dining: Aureole with Charlie Palmer and Eric Ripert’s three-Michelin-star Le Bernardin in New York, then Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with Raymond Blanc and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in England. It was at The Fat Duck that he met Rene Redzepi, who brought him to Noma as sous chef; after a spell at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York, he returned to Noma as head chef.
Amass and sustainable dining
In 2013 Orlando opened Amass in a former warehouse on the industrial edge of Copenhagen. What began as an ambitious modern restaurant became a global reference point for sustainability: Orlando made reducing waste central to the kitchen, using off-cuts and by-products, running a large kitchen garden, fermenting and brewing, and dramatically cutting the restaurant’s food waste. Amass earned a Michelin Green Star and became one of the most circular restaurants in the world before closing at the end of 2022.
Beyond the restaurant
Orlando’s interest in circular food systems has extended well beyond the dining room, into brewing, fermentation and projects aimed at rethinking how ingredients are grown, used and reused. After Amass he took his philosophy abroad, including to Singapore, and has continued to develop new ventures – cementing his reputation as one of gastronomy’s leading advocates for sustainability.
Signature style
Orlando’s cooking marries the precision of the elite kitchens he trained in with a restless environmental conscience. Bold, vegetable-forward and full of fermentation and preserving, his food demonstrates that responsibility and deliciousness are not in conflict – a message that has influenced a generation of chefs.
Matt Orlando in context
Orlando is a key figure in sustainable fine dining, shaped by his time at the Noma of Rene Redzepi and part of the same forward-looking Copenhagen scene as Rasmus Munk.
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Matt Orlando FAQ
Who is Matt Orlando?
An American chef known for the sustainable Copenhagen restaurant Amass and for being a former head chef of Noma.
What was Amass?
His Copenhagen restaurant (2013-2022), a pioneer of low-waste, sustainable fine dining.
Where did he train?
At Le Bernardin, The Fat Duck, Per Se and Noma, among others.
Why is he important?
He helped make sustainability and waste reduction central to high-end cooking.
Where is he from?
San Diego, California.
