Copenhagen's famed Noma restaurant is betting on a rapidly shifting seasonal menu to drive its next chapter when it reopens in the Danish capital under new leadership this week.
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.
Under Redzepi, Noma was ranked the world's best restaurant five times and won three Michelin stars.
But 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.
"We are trusting the people that have been here for many years to carry the essence of what we want to do into the future," Soto said.
Soto now runs Noma with CEO Annika de Las Heras and Mette Brink Soberg, head of research and development, who said there had been no staff resignations or complaints over mistreatment in the past year.
Soberg said the restaurant industry has for too long prioritised food, service and guests over how staff are treated.
"Thinking about HR, thinking about how you treat your staff is maybe something that's come as a second priority," she said, speaking at her test kitchen in a greenhouse in Noma's garden.
She said Noma had for several years worked to improve this, including by reducing working hours, which she said had previously left staff under stress and prone to mistakes.
12 micro seasons
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.
The new Noma will run on 12 micro seasons, with the menu changing continuously based on whatever ingredients are in season.
Soberg described a gazpacho made from flowers picked in the garden, and a zucchini stem stuffed with horseradish and gooseberry paste.
The set menu will cost 6,500 Danish crowns (RM4,096) per person including wine pairing, Noma said on its website.
"People pay lots of money to go to watch a football game or to go to the theatre or watch a concert," she said. "You should maybe compare to those kinds of experiences instead of just thinking of it as a meal." — Reuters
