Copenhagen’s famed Noma restaurant is betting on a rapidly shifting seasonal menu to drive its next chapter when it reopens under new leadership. Gone from the kitchen is co-founder and long-time executive head chef Rene Redzepi, who has promised to step back from daily operations after acknowledging past mistreatment of staff.
New Leadership and Menu
Under Redzepi, Noma was ranked the world’s best restaurant five times and won three Michelin stars. However, the New York Times reported on March 7 that dozens of former employees said Redzepi inflicted physical and psychological harm, describing incidents between 2009 and 2017. Redzepi has said he did not recognise all details in the reports but understood his actions “were harmful to people who worked with me” and apologised.
Redzepi will now turn his attention to creative projects involving insects, fungi and technology, with an eye to shaping future Noma menus, but will step away from day-to-day decision-making, new executive head chef Pablo Soto said. The new Noma will run on 12 micro seasons, with the menu changing continuously based on whatever ingredients are in season.
The set menu will cost 6,500 Danish crowns ($990) per person including wine pairing, Noma said on its website. Chefs have spent recent weeks testing dishes for the new menu, lining up crab claws on silver trays and shaping thin shells of cream with liquid nitrogen.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
