Rene Redzepi, NOMA and authenticity

I recently received my long-awaited copy of NOMA: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine. This book documenting the Danish restaurant Noma, brainchild of chef Rene Redzepi, is amazing, beautiful and, yes, highly inspirational.  Let me share why.

Redzepi was only 25 years old when he accepted the position as chef of a Copenhagen restaurant.  Yet unnamed, the venue was to be located in a warehouse and would feature Nordic cuisine.  The challenges were many.  Not only did Redzepi face a harsh climate of long dormant winters, but he also was up against long-standing prejudice against Scandinavian cooking.  In his account of Noma’s beginnings, Rune Skyum-Nielson writes: “…the Danes had more or less given up. They were not making the most of their raw materials, and pasta had overtaken potatoes as the most popular ingredient of the evening meal. Danish food was not talked about with pride and when cooking at home or eating out Danes looked mainly toward southern Europe.” (Noma, 11)

Redzepi began preparations by planning a tour of the North Atlantic, touring smokehouses, distilleries, craft and artisan venues and, of course, other restaurants.  Despite being inspired by this experience, it proved not to have been enough once the restaurant opened.  The place was good but not great and according to Skyum-Nielson, Redzepi was miserable and exhausted. His perfectionist tendencies kept nagging him that Noma could be better.  It bothered him that he was featuring halibut on the menu even though it had to be transported to Copenhagen.  He realized that his concept was suffocating under all the cooking techniques and routines that he had picked up during his years of studying world cuisines.  Says Redzepi: “The tragic-comedic thing about it was that I actually left elBulli [where he previously worked in Roses, Catalonia] with a feeling of freedom. Having the freedom to do what I wanted. But when I opened a restaurant myself, I just used a few of the basic ideas from there instead of making good use of my freedom…I wasn’t listening enough to myself. Instead I went over to established routines – things that were already in existence and meaningful.” (Noma, 13)  As this realization began to sink in, Redzepi started to rethink aspects of cooking that are generally assumed to be foundational. He began to rethink basics such as chicken stock and butter.  He realized that simply adding sea buckthorn to a creme brulee wasn’t enough to make the dessert geographically true.  “This dish had too strong a link to something with completely different history and background,” he admits. (Noma, 14)

He began dissecting each dish, removing what seemed forced or inauthentic. “We pared it to the bone and made everything more transparent-more straight-forward,” he says. “If we had one special ingredient, we surrounded it with the foodstuffs it lived among or on…It brought real meaning into my world, and at that moment I knew for certain that we would get the upper hand.  It was no longer just food on a plate.  There was a story contained in it.” (Noma, 14)

The changes that came about from Noma’s new approach are delightful. This new philosophy naturally allowed for a new perspective and a new quality of life. Besides building a network of local artisans, farmers, fishermen and other food producers, Redzepi and his staff began to scavenge themselves, scouring the neighborhoods on bicycle for wild garlic, chickweed, or garlic mustard.  The chef began to pay acute attention to the seasons, relishing what each had to offer rather than struggling to maintain the produce of another time.  The act of searching for ingredients changes how a person cooks, claims Redzepi.  “When you get close to the raw materials and touch them while they are still one with nature, taste them at the moment they let go of the soil, you learn to respect them. As a result, there is never any question of altering the raw material to such an extent that, when it reaches its destination on the plate, it no longer has any connection with its origins.” (Noma, 17)

In 2010, Noma was named the Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant magazine’s S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants.  Redzepi’s decision to simply and gracefully return to the source has garnered such acclaim that we are left with little doubt as to the prudence of his choice.  We are meant to tell the story of our space and our time and we are surrounded with everything we need to do this. I bow deeply to Mr. Rene Redzepi for recognizing and acting on this. He is a much needed example for the rest of us.

I would highly recommend this book, not only for the beautiful images (such as those below) but also for more details and descriptions on Noma’s philosophy.