Federico Tiseyra takes the lead at Ark

One of the most memorable dishes on the menu at Ark in Copenhagen is, perhaps surprisingly, the bread. Flaky, layered, and rich with umami, it is made with vegan butter and red miso. The dough is laminated entirely by hand – a painstaking process that can take around six hours. The bread is the creation of Ark´s new head chef, Federico Tiseyra, and reveals much about his approach to cooking.

"For me, bread service is really important" he says. "When something is crafted by hand, whether it is ceramics or bread, there is a connection. It says: We made this for you."

Ark has established itself as one of Copenhagen’s most ambitious plant-based restaurants, with sustainability at the heart of its philosophy. The kitchen works exclusively with plant-
based ingredients, focusing on seasonality, responsible sourcing, and reducing waste.

Mushrooms are an essential part of Ark’s culinary identity. Through Funga Farm, its urban mushroom farm, the restaurant has access to varieties such as Lion’s Mane, oyster
mushrooms, and Cinnamon Caps, which appear throughout the tasting menu in broths, sauces, foams, and more substantial dishes. Tiseyra takes over the kitchen from Brett Lavender, who now leads the culinary direction of Ark Collection and has turned his attention to the group’s latest opening, Kiko at Torvehallerne. The move marks a new chapter for Ark, giving Tiseyra the opportunity to bring his own culinary voice to the restaurant while building on its established plant-based and sustainable foundations.
For Tiseyra, Ark marks his first experience cooking an entirely vegan menu.

That ambition is immediately apparent in his cooking. His dishes feel playful and globally influenced, while remaining firmly rooted in Ark’s philosophy of sustainability and conscious dining. A lettuce or leek can take centre stage, while trimmings and leftovers are transformed into broths, sauces, and concentrated layers of flavour.

“The priority is to do things with purpose,” he says. “If it makes sense for us in the kitchen, it will also make sense in the dining room”

From Pastry to the Pass

Originally from Buenos Aires, Tiseyra has built a remarkably international career. He worked at Alex Atala's D.O.M. in São Paulo, where he encountered Amazonian ingredients and a culinary philosophy centred on sustainability and small-scale producers. At El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, he refined his pastry skills, while later positions in Turin, Milan, Shanghai, Singapore, and Barcelona further shaped his cooking.

In Scandinavia, he worked at Michelin-starred Ekstedt in Stockholm, immersing himself in cooking over fire, charcoal, and smoke. Before arriving in Copenhagen, he also opened restaurants and developed menus in Barcelona and Madrid.

Yet pastry remains at the heart of his culinary identity.

His ambition, however, was always to run a kitchen. Realising that a pastry chef needed to master far more than desserts, Tiseyra deliberately moved through different sections and disciplines, developing the broader skills required of a head chef.

At Ark, the result is cooking defined by precision, but also by a willingness to experiment.

A Cappuccino Made From Mushrooms

One of Tiseyra's most intriguing creations is a mushroom "cappuccino" – an intensely savoury dish designed as a bridge between the main part of the menu and dessert.

The idea partly stems from his years in Italy and the ritual of stopping for coffee.

"When you have a coffee or a cappuccino, you take a pause – a five-minute break," he explains. "For me, it was: Let's take this break before pastry."

The dish completes the illusion with a small cookie, while the "cappuccino" itself uses oyster mushroom duxelles and a mushroom foam. It is conceptual, playful, and, most importantly, deeply flavoured.

Mushrooms continue to weave their way through the menu. Cinnamon Caps are roasted to create a broth infused with Lapsang Souchong tea and used to cook barley. Lion's Mane is roasted, compressed with soy and sesame oil, then glazed for an hour with tare before being finished with a vegetable demi-glace.

Creating that intensity without butter, cream, or eggs is one of the greatest challenges of vegan fine dining, Tiseyra says.

"To reach caramelisation and umami is our main challenge. We need to be really focused and process ingredients in a certain way to achieve that wow sensation."

At the same time, the limitations have become a source of creativity.

Cooking Without Borders

While Ark's foundations remain plant-based, sustainable, and seasonal, Tiseyra is not interested in confining his food to a purely Nordic flavour profile. His cooking carries memories of Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, and Asia.

"I try to cook what I feel," he says. "And, of course, that comes from the culture, influences, travels, and places I have experienced."

The result is a new playfulness at Ark – a broader palette of flavours and techniques that sits comfortably alongside the restaurant's established values.

For Tiseyra, dishes are never truly finished. A recipe may look one way today and evolve tomorrow as the team adjusts a texture, deepens a flavour, or rethinks the composition.

"Food is energy," he says. "The energy brought to a recipe or preparation is the same energy the guest will feel when the dish arrives."

Tiseyra is not a head chef who intends to lead from behind a computer. He describes himself as being "in the field all the time" – present in the kitchen, involved in the details, and constantly pushing dishes forward.

His ambition is clear: consistency first, evolution always – and perhaps, one day, a Michelin star for a vegan restaurant in Copenhagen.

"That is my daily motivation," he says. "But the priority is to do things with purpose."

At Ark, that purpose now has a new voice – and a distinctly international flavour.