Pernille Malec

My path to wine started back at my apprenticeship at Den gamle Digegaard on Lolland, where overseas wines were used (maybe that's why I still love those wines), and the fire was truly ignited when I worked at AOC, where there were two wine menus with weekly changes, so my knowledge grew every day. It was also thanks to both Christian Aarø and Julie Færch that I took the entrance exam for the Danish Sommelier Association in 2013, to test my knowledge and find my weak points, so I could get better.

I've been around a lot since AOC, had the pleasure of spending six years at Henne Kirkeby Kro before going to England to work at Sat Bains with a Master Sommelier, because I wanted to become more skilled and learn even more. To then return to Copenhagen at The Samuel. I ended up here, by coincidence, because Jonathan posted an article saying he was opening a new restaurant in Hellerup, and since I was home from England anyway, I thought I could easily help him during the opening weekend. Bold as I was, I just wrote to him: let me know if you need help. And fortunately, he did. Jonathan and I actually made a deal back in 2015, when he dined at Henne, that we would work together one day, and that promise was fulfilled in November 2020 when The Samuel opened its doors.