COPENHAGEN, June 11 (Reuters) – Denmark’s Noma, whose flagship Copenhagen restaurant was for several years ranked the world’s best restaurant, said it will reopen the venue in August, but with its star chef taking a less prominent role.
Rene Redzepi, whose avant-garde approach to Nordic cuisine made him a celebrity and earned Noma three Michelin stars, earlier this year acknowledged past mistreatment of staff.
Redzepi in an Instagram post said he will take on a new creative role when Noma Copenhagen, which closed in 2024, reopens on August 5, focusing on “long-term projects” involving insects, seaweeds, legumes, fungi and technology.
After years of online stories of abuse, the New York Times reported on March 7 that dozens of former employees said Redzepi inflicted physical and psychological harm, describing incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2017.
Redzepi said at the time he did not recognise all details that were reported, but he understood that his actions “were harmful to people who worked with me”, and issued an apology.
Pablo Soto, who has been with the restaurant since 2017, will be head chef, while Mette Bring Soberg, who also worked closely with Redzepi, becomes head of research and development.
The restaurant’s set menu, including wine pairing, will cost 6,500 Danish crowns ($1,000) per person, or 6,000 crowns if the wine is replaced with juice, Noma said on its website.
($1 = 6.4739 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Barbara Lewis)
