It’s early morning in Ubud. The scent of freshly baked sourdough, buttery croissants, and slow-dripped coffee drifts through the open-air space at Rüsters Bakery. The low hum of conversation mixes with the clatter of plates and the hiss of the espresso machine. Couples share breakfasts, digital nomads type quietly behind laptops, and someone leans in to photograph a pastry glistening in the soft light.
It’s exactly the kind of atmosphere Asger Skov Hansen had dreamed of creating – and the kind of life he imagined when, in early 2023, he received a message on Instagram from a Danish entrepreneur living on Bali. The man was developing a bakery as part of a growing lifestyle concept in Ubud and was looking for someone to lead it. The timing couldn’t have been better. Asger Skov Hansen was already feeling restless in his consulting job in Denmark and craving a new challenge.
He was flown to Bali to visit the site, meet the owner and see the vision firsthand. Two weeks later, Asger Skov Hansen – then 29 years old – stepped off the plane in Copenhagen, where heavy snow replaced the Balinese heat.
“The contrast couldn’t have been clearer,” he says. “It was cold and grey, and I was ready for a change – so within a week I packed up my apartment, stored my things at my parents’, and booked a one-way ticket to Bali.”
A career built on craft
Asger Skov Hansen began his career early. He trained as a baker when he was 18 years old and completed his education as a pastry chef at 20. By his early twenties, he was already working in some of Denmark’s most respected kitchens, including the Michelin-starred Søllerød Kro and the historic La Glace in Copenhagen, before moving into more experimental settings.
In 2018, he co-founded the Copenhagen bakery Andersen & Maillard, which quickly became a neighbourhood favourite with long queues each morning. Two years later, he represented Denmark at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie – the World Cup of Baking – in Paris, where the team placed third.
But after years of long shifts in high-pressure kitchens, he needed a break. He stepped out of daily baking and took a consulting role.
“At first, it was refreshing. I enjoyed doing something different,” he says. “But eventually I started missing the kitchen. I missed creating with my hands.”
A fresh start in Ubud
When the opportunity in Ubud came up, Asger Skov Hansen didn’t hesitate for long. He moved to Bali in February 2023 and spent the following months designing the bakery from the ground up – ordering equipment, hiring and training staff, and building the entire concept himself. Rüsters Bakery opened to the public that August.
“It was exciting to build everything from scratch,” he says. “At Andersen & Maillard, we were four owners, so there were always compromises. Here, I could decide everything myself – and I really enjoyed being the one in charge from the beginning.”
For Asger Skov Hansen, that independence was also the start of his creative freedom – a chance to shape not only what came out of the oven, but the atmosphere surrounding it.
Scandinavian roots, tropical setting
Today, Rüsters Bakery serves a menu rooted in Danish technique but with room for playful interpretations. Asger Skov Hansen imports high-quality French flour and butter to achieve the right base for croissants, pastries and sourdough – and adds Indonesian produce and ideas to keep things fresh and seasonal.
“We have Danish classics like brunsviger,” he says. “We also tried romkugler and hindbærsnitter, but they didn’t really take off here, so we took them off the menu again.”
According to him, roughly 70 percent of customers are expats, 20 percent are tourists, and the remaining 10 percent are locals. One Danish customer comes almost every day, but most guests are French, Russian or long-term Bali residents.
Despite the distance from Denmark, the language and culture are still part of Asger Skov Hansen’s daily routine.
“I actually speak more Danish here than I did in Copenhagen. Back in Copenhagen, most of my former co-workers came from abroad, and English was the language used in the kitchen,” he says. “My boss and a few of my colleagues here are Danish, and I get lots of visitors from home. That helps. It keeps homesickness in check.”
Letting go of prestige, holding on to passion
From the outside, leaving Michelin kitchens for a tropical bakery might look like a step down. But for Asger Skov Hansen, it’s been the opposite. The move to Bali gave him a sense of freedom that no award or restaurant title ever could.
“When I was younger, prestige meant more,” he says. “It felt cool to work at the big-name places. And I guess that background helped me get this role – the owner wanted someone with experience from the top of the Danish baking world.”
These days, his motivation comes from somewhere else. After years of chasing perfection, he wanted space to experiment, make decisions on his own and enjoy the creative side of baking again.
“This move was never about prestige,” he says. “I just really needed something new. I needed to leave Denmark and do something different with my life.”
But he’s also clear about the challenges.
“Baking is a brutal career. You really must love it – otherwise it’s just a terrible job,” he says, laughing. “But I do love it. And now I have a setup where I can split my time between admin and creativity. That balance is good for me.”
