We interview Rui Narciso of Ex Machina in Nyon, Switzerland.
What was your inspiration for Ex Machina?
Ex Machina concept was born after a personal quest to perform a professional activity in line with my personal values.
My 30 years experience in the corporate world revealed the excesses and deficiencies of a system which cares more about shareholder short term return on investment than companies'' long term development and sustainability (programmed obsolescence).
Ex Machina promotes Quality versus Quantity (Volume), Measurement of time and volumes is used in Ex Machina to optimize the brewing methods and perfect cooking recipes not alienate the baristas, waiters or cookers.
* I strongly believe that we are hostage of a growth system.
Do you believe there is a link between healthy eating and care for the environment?
Obviously if we privilege the local food supply chain instead of distant carriers the impact is immediate. No need for preservative additives to keep food fresh, minimal transportation. This includes beverages. In Ex Machina our milk comes from a local farm 1.5km away from our coffee shop. Our home-made drinks are based on filtered tap water, sparking water, organic lemonade, ginger juice, Cold Brew Teas and Coffees are all made with our filtered and revitalized water.
Result is zero waste and zero CO2 emission.
What steps have you taken as a business to be green?
Minimize the size of daily compost and bring it back to the local farm.
Usage of plant-based and fully compostable cups and food boxes.
Optimize the quantities of food produced to be sold, no food leftovers in the evening.
How has the pandemic affected your business?
Despite the decrease of sales due to the 5 months lockdown, our customers appreciated our take-away menu and a place to remind them how good it is to socialize and meet friends, it gave them a sense of normality.
What are the services you can offer now that differ from non-Covid times?
Take-away drinks and food are now the only alternative therefore our regular customers appreciated the possibility to fetch some nice healthy drinks and treats.
We've also started to prepare cooked food at lunch time. The "Plat du Jour" is different every day and respects our concept of quality. South Korean bibimbap, Indian curry, Thai curry, Vietnamese, Japanese Ramen and many others.
We have heard that you serve up a Flat White that competes with any you’d find in an Australian or New Zealand café. Is this true?
That was our initial objective and also the feedback we did receive from Aussies and Kiwis visiting or working in Switzerland comforts us in our decision.
I still don't know the historical reason why Australia and New Zealand became the new Mecca of specialty coffee. I believe our quality values and local food sourcing is quite similar to the philosophy of Coffee shops in New Zealand and Australia.
Stop by to see Rui at Ex Machina
Rue du Vieux-Marché 11, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland
Location and Opening Hours
