At Ganni’s headquarters in Copenhagen, responsibility isn’t a slogan — it’s lived. The Danish label is committed to sustainability, but also brutally honest about the limits of fashion. “We’ve never labelled ourselves a ‘sustainable brand,’ because in today’s fashion industry, absolute sustainability simply isn’t possible. What we do believe in is transparency… and a deep responsibility to do better, every single day” (Ganni.com).
Walk into their headquarters and that philosophy is visible everywhere. In the fabrics hanging on rails, in the way collections are researched and designed, in what people wear from head to toe, outside in (their stomach).
Because at Ganni HQ, lunch isn’t outsourced or forgotten. It’s cooked daily by an in-house chef — one who took an unusual path to the kitchen.
From PR Decks to the Kitchen
Eva Hurtigkarl was once in PR, working campaigns for brands like Havana Club. At 25, she decided the work had become “too boring and shallow.” “I wanted to do something more universal,” she told This is Plates in 2023. “It happened to be food and cooking for me, which is much more universal, and now I’m here” This is Plates.
She enrolled in culinary school, graduating in 2019, and began catering with her best friend Lulu, an artist. They cooked for galleries and brands like Saks Potts. Ganni came into the picture in 2020, when Eva was booked for a Fashion Summit dinner that never happened due to Covid. Instead, she ended up cooking privately for Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup, Ganni’s founders, at their home. That dinner opened the door. Around the same time, Ganni’s staff had grown tired of catering. The brand invested in a professional kitchen, and by late summer 2021, Eva was cooking for the entire office every day.
From PowerPoints to potatoes. A career pivot that somehow feels exactly right for Ganni.
What a Ganni Girl Eats
Her food carries the same democratic spirit as the brand. “The Ganni Girl eats colourful food that’s as sustainable as possible without it being boring,” she told writer Hannah Tappin in 2023. On any given week that might mean rye bread with potatoes, noodle salads, curries, or lentils. Seasonal Danish produce sets the rhythm — wild garlic in spring turned into pesto and oil, cucumbers and radishes folded into summer salads, corn charred on the grill in late August.
Sustainability runs through her methods as much as her menus. Oils pressed from leek tops, dressings blended from tired herbs, cooking water saved for soups. “Don’t be afraid of leftovers,” she told Tappin. “If something’s gone bad you can usually see it, smell it or taste it. If it tastes fine you can eat it” Hannah Tappin.
When Food Meets Fashion
Sometimes, fashion seeps directly into the kitchen. Eva has mirrored seasonal color palettes in smørrebrød, or modernized classic Danish dishes into vegetarian plates for fashion week dinners. Food, like clothes, becomes another way of staging identity.
Today, Eva is as embedded in Ganni’s culture as its designers. She’s working on a cookbook and imagines television one day, but for now she insists she couldn’t imagine a better job than feeding Ganni every day.
At Ganni HQ, lunch is never just lunch. It’s a philosophy served plate by plate: responsible, playful, colourful. Exactly what you’d expect from Ganni.