Chef

Esben Holmboe Bang

Chef and Co-owner, Maaemo

Discipline: Chef
Venue: Maaemo · Restaurant

Made By record

Awards & recognition

2 total

verified records

The Best ChefHonoreeTop 100 — Rank 412018

The Best ChefHonoreeTop 100 — Rank 252017

Portrait of Esben Holmboe Bang

i. Biography

Nordic kitchen training shows up here as a sequence of roles that sharpened method before profile: Det 11. Bud; chef apprentice at Schackenborg Slotskro in Møgeltønder; chef at Daniel Letz at Sankt Jakobs Plads in Østerbro; and, from 2001, Bagatelle in Oslo, where the work pushed further toward precision and restraint. That foundation was then broadened in service and pastry through deputy manager at Le Canard in Oslo, followed by dessert chef at Jan Hurtigkarl & Co in Copenhagen in, before the line continued back in Oslo. What comes through in the later posts is consistency under pressure. At Restaurant Oro in Oslo, from, and Feinschmecker in Oslo, from 2010, the same disciplined approach kept accumulating context until Maaemo became the place where the method could be fully expressed. Since 2010, Esben Holmboe Bang has been co-owner and head chef of Maaemo in Oslo, Norway.

The Sunday letter

Read Made By's new profiles every Sunday.

Meet the chefs, winemakers and sommeliers behind the places we cover. See a sample below before you subscribe.

See a sample of the Sunday email

One email a week. Unsubscribe from any issue.

Where They Are Now

Hospitality, in this reading, is measured by what a service leaves behind. “I think the fundamental value for any restaurant is to give joy.” Esben Holmboe Bang’s framing keeps the work on the plate connected to the result in the room: taste, timing, and the guest’s experience of both. The other side of that exchange is memory, which he describes plainly: “We are lucky to be able to get the opportunity to create a memory and to share some hours together with our guests.” For a dining room, that is a useful standard. It places the value not in spectacle but in the quality of the hours, and in how the restaurant and guest meet across them. “The dynamic between restaurant and guests is a beautiful social interaction.” At Maaemo, that idea reads as operating principle rather than slogan: service as contact, not theatre; attention as part of the craft; the room as a working exchange.

Career - co-owner and head chef — Maaemo, Oslo, Norway (2010–present) - chef apprentice — Schackenborg Slotskro, Møgeltønder - chef — Daniel Letz at Sankt Jakobs Plads, Østerbro - chef — Bagatelle, Oslo (from 2001) - deputy manager — Le Canard, Oslo - dessert chef — Jan Hurtigkarl & Co, Copenhagen - deputy manager — Restaurant Oro, Oslo (from ) - deputy manager — Feinschmecker, Oslo (2010) Education: Det 11. Bud

Signature

Esben's signature dishes include signature oyster and 900g langoustine masterclass.

In Their Words “We are lucky to be able to get the opportunity to create a memory and to share some hours together with our guests.” “The dynamic between restaurant and guests is a beautiful social interaction.”

Honors

Esben Holmboe Bang is a Danish chef and co-owner/head chef of Maaemo in Oslo, a restaurant he opened in December 2010 and that became the first in Norway to hold three Michelin stars in 2016. A restaurant he opened in December 2010 and that became the first in Norway to hold three Michelin stars in 2016. he opened in December 2010 and that became the first in Norway to hold three Michelin stars in 2016. Maaemo moved to Bjørvika beside the Opera House in 2021.

FAQ What is Esben Holmboe Bang's current role? Esben Holmboe Bang is Co-owner and Head Chef. Where did Esben Holmboe Bang train or study? Esben Holmboe Bang trained at Det 11. Bud.