Noma Misinterpreted: Spilled Milk #63

This isn't the end, it's a new beginning

Relative to many other restaurants, not many people have eaten at Noma.

Photo by Eric Vitale

Yet its impact on how we look at food, plate food, and create a relationship to food is one that only a handful of restaurants have had over the last 50 years.

Rene Redzepi was quoted in the New York Times as saying “It’s unsustainable, financially and emotionally, as an employer and as a human being it just doesn’t work.” When someone says that, believe them. I do. And Redzepi’s visionary talents presage a shift that I am frankly VERY excited about.

Let me say emphatically that fine dining will always exist, and Redzepi’s announcement is about HIS restaurant and business model and is a decision based on his core values. His decision is his, and it means that one of the best restaurants in the world will change and morph and grow and adapt. And because of that, if Noma emerges healthier and more robust than ever (count on it) then it says a lot about that possibility for our whole industry. So let’s take Noma’s lead and change what isn’t working!

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