For our second to last class, we went on a field trip to Noma Restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. From their website, Norm is a two star Michelin star restaurant run by chef, Rene Redzepi. I found it interesting that "Noma" is a combination of two Danish words, "nordisk" (Nordic) and "mad" (food), and means "Nordic food". Open in 2003 (about 12 years old), Noma is known for its reinvention and interpretation of Nordic cuisine, in which it won the Best Restaurant in the World four times since its opening (2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014). From the tour, I was surprised by how simple the dining room appeared due to its normal brown chairs, fur seat covers, no placemats, and location in a warehouse district. The layout appeared to me to be very simple, but its natural aesthetic and lighting was very cozy and not too extravagant or overwhelming as expected of a world-class restaurant. Next, we went out to the back of the restaurant and saw their grill station and fermentation lab. I was caught off guard by the use of fermentation (microorganisms) of foods as an important factor to the cuisine for Noma. I would not have expected this approach and technique to be used in a multi-award winning restaurant. From the information session, fermentation is used to produce genuine and unique flavors for their Nordic dishes. Next, we were able to meet with the famous head chef, Rene Redzepi. I was surprised by his young, and simple appearance of the head chef; I was expected a very unique visionary/personality like the head chef of El Bulli. Listening to Rene, I could see how strong and passionate he was for Noma, Nordic cuisine, and its direction for the future. He also explained that many of the chefs present at Noma come from various backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities and are young (eager to learn) and upcoming in the food world. He talked about how the dishes made at Noma are usually created with ingredients and resources native to the Denmark region, with some exceptions like wines and sugars. I found it interesting that he said other techniques, recipes, and resources from other surrounding countries like Germany are influential towards Nordic cuisine. He also talked about how "poor" and not as rich was Danish cuisine, but emphasized the reinvention and interpretation of Nordic cuisine is stressed in Noma. Also, I enjoyed that Rene and other fellow chefs venture out of the Nordic region and experimented cooking in Japan. He said that they learned many different ingredients and recipes in Japan, but were able to somewhat reproduce Nordic Cuisine but using the native resources of Japan. I enjoyed that he said that we welcomed and appreciated the challenge of opening a restaurant in Japan. I liked how he said that other chefs can be Nordic chefs by learning and training in Noma Restaurant. Overall, I enjoyed the Noma field trip and learned about Nordic cuisine and the Danish foodways of a world-class restaurant.
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