Lise Madsen

Founder, MD And Pastry Chef

When I was growing up in Denmark, middle daughter in a family of five, my mother kept bees in the garden, made five types of jam using our home grown fruits and baked all our cakes, biscuits and even bread the whole year round. Baking was an important part of my life. Aged 12, I began emptying my mother’s cupboards for indulgent ingredients in my attempts at recipes far too advanced for my skills. I got better and one of my first jobs was at a seaside hotel where I convinced the chef to let me make cakes for their afternoon teas. I would drop my school books, cycle 8 km through rolling Danish countryside, passing pine forests, lakes and idyllic thatched cottages to then dive into baking, and I felt complete. I decided to turn obsession into profession after my baccalaureate so boarded a train for Paris, the capital of fine pastries. There I trained as a Pastry Chef under the legendary Master, Gaston Lenotre, whom truly was my hero. In my years at Lenotre, I learned the appreciation for both time-honored baking craft and quality ingredients, and that they together create the most delicious, heartwarming, irresistible treats.

When I bake with my children at home now, we use traditional family recipes handed down from my lovely great-grandmother and crack freshly laid eggs from our pet chickens. I would like my children to appreciate the magical chemistry of baking and satisfaction in doing things right – with skill, attention and wholesomeness. I truly believe Mother Nature is mostly perfect so at Honeyrose we use organic ingredients and respectfully combine them in small batches, like you would at home. We don’t cheat using nasty additives and I hope you recognise and appreciate that quality and goodness in our wares.

If we are new to you, we hope you will like what you taste and see. For returning friends, thanks for your continuing support, allowing my team and I to do what we love and do best.