Status: 09.01.2023 17:07
The “Noma” restaurant, which has been awarded three Michelin stars, will close by the end of 2024. “To continue to be Noma, we have to change,” said the chef. The restaurant should therefore be transformed into a test kitchen.
The world-famous Copenhagen star restaurant Noma wants to fundamentally reposition itself as a large laboratory for innovative food. “In order to continue to be Noma, we have to change,” said chef René Redzepi and his team. The 2024 winter season will therefore be the last season of the restaurant in its previous form – after two decades of restaurant operation.
In 2025, it will be transformed into a large test kitchen as “Noma 3.0” dedicated to food innovation and the development of new flavors. Serving guests will continue to be part of the Noma identity, but no longer will it be defined by being a restaurant.
René Redzepi wants to reorganize the Noma as a laboratory for innovation in the gastronomy sector.
Image: REUTERS
Revolution of the fine dining world
Noma started in 2003 in downtown Copenhagen. Since then, his cuisine has revolutionized the fine dining world. With its current three Michelin stars, Noma has been voted the best restaurant in the world five times – most recently in 2021.
In an interview with the New York Times, Redzepi justified the step of completely reorganizing the Noma with the poor working conditions – in gastronomy in general, but also specifically in the fine dining scene. With a high standard, to pay the 100 employees fairly – and all that at prices that the market can bear – is not feasible.
Noma is made up of the syllables of the Danish terms “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food). The eatery offers dishes from Nordic countries, such as Greenlandic muskoxen, and serves them with locally grown vegetables and grains.
Opening possible for one season per year
According to the information, the plans for the major conversion of the top restaurant have been going on for two years. Under the impressions of the first Corona wave in 2020, he decided to put the restaurant on a different economic foundation in the long term in order to be able to focus more on creativity and less on production, Redzepi told the Danish newspaper Berlingske.
The move means Noma will remain closed as a classic restaurant indefinitely from 2025, but may open for a limited time in Copenhagen – or elsewhere on earth – for one season per year.