A sign at Noma in Copenhagen. Photo: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Just three months after the staggering New York Times report that led René Redzepi to announce — tearfully and cinematically — he would “step away” from his roving restaurant, Noma, the chef and owner this week returned to the public eye to announce that he and his restaurant are back.
The coordinated statements — multiple posts, a press release — clarify what everyone already sensed: Redzepi’s exile and commitment to deep reflection (even as reports surfaced that Redzepi has remained present at his L.A. pop-up) always had a built-in expiration date. But it’s coming sooner than the original projection of 2027, just a few weeks after the California run ends in July. “Together, we have made the decision to reopen our restaurant in Copenhagen,” reps for the restaurant posted, in a movie-trailer-ish voice-over kind of way. “This August, we are coming home.”
Has anything in the Noma-verse really changed since March? Predictably, beyond influencers who (might have) paid $1,500 per seat, it was television stars and miscellaneous power brokers that have sustained Noma’s SoCal tenure. (Rumored or confirmed diners include Lily Collins, Mindy Kaling, Ari Emanuel, Elon Musk, Rick Rubin, Brian Glazer, the artist f.k.a. Kanye West, and the Rate My Chives guy who, yes, rated Noma’s chives.) What at first seemed like a consensus of critics pledging not to attend the pop-up gave way to high-profile features with abuse-agnostic takeaways and built-in preambles about why they didn’t plan to go to Noma L.A. at first but did anyway. The menu reportedly hasn’t changed much over the months, and whatever former collective awe was once inspired by Noma’s ability to wrangle big flavors out of ingredients like ants and mold has largely vanished. One imagines the original vision for Noma L.A. included a grand conclusion. Instead, like Spencer Pratt’s mayoral campaign, it looks like it will simply peter out.
Where does Noma go now? There will be some tweaks to the original formula: Gone are the Copenhagen restaurant’s three “seasons,” for starters. Starting August 5, when it reopens, Noma will offer 12 different menus throughout the year. Price of entry will begin at 4,500 Danish kroner, or about $700, for the menu only, in line with Noma’s last menu in its home country. Redzepi teased a new roster of foraged sea veggies and fun bugs — the works. Additionally, at least three long-term employees have new roles: Annika de Las Heras is CEO. Mette Brink Søber (aboard since 2013) is head of R&D. Pablo Soto, former head chef, will be executive head chef, a promotion he hinted was in the works about a year ago.
What about Redzepi? He is now “creative director,” which is not to be confused with the “chief creative officer” role he described to the Times in 2023, around the time he stepped away — the first time — from the kitchen pass and day-to-day service. Going forward, according to a press release, Redzepi will be “focused on leading and developing creative projects, as he steps aside entirely from daily operations.”
This isn’t quite the same as the chef’s own words: “I will be there always, around the corner, to guide and help when they call for me,” he said in a selfie video posted to Instagram yesterday, rambling in athleisure down what looks like the slope of Micheltorena Street. At least some chefs seem to be supporting Redzepi’s comeback bid, casting a deluge of hearts and flames and gold-star emojis into the comments section of his post. Here’s “bad boy butter chef” Thomas Straker with three sets of clapping hands. There’s Mario Batali, beaming, “Bravo fratello!”
Elsewhere on social media, Jason Ignacio White, the former Noma fermentation director who — in tandem with the Times’ investigative report — catalyzed the movement against the chef’s alleged abuse on social media, wrote on Instagram that he is “over that man’s mess.” He continues, “Time to move Forward, what’s done is done. On to what’s next, cleaning my page.” White, who has moved to South Korea, did delete several posts overnight, and says in the Story that he’s finished with Instagram activism. He ends it with, “No regrets.”
