COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) 鈥� Denmark鈥檚 is set to reopen on Aug. 5 with neither its founder and at the helm nor its three stars in the Michelin Guide.
Redzepi announced he would 鈥渟tep away鈥� from leading in March following allegations of abuse and assault there, many from more than a decade ago. During his 23 years at Noma, the restaurant collected numerous international accolades, topping the five times for its .
But five months after , Noma says it is beginning a 鈥渘ew chapter鈥� with longtime chefs taking charge and a menu that will change monthly to focus even more on the seasonality of ingredients.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been crazy tough,鈥� new executive head chef Pablo Soto said in an interview Tuesday. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of media attention and questions about what we鈥檙e doing, but we鈥檙e still here standing.鈥�
Redzepi, arguably the world鈥檚 top chef, had for years been dogged by reports of mistreatment of his staff, as well as his yearslong use of unpaid interns to staff the pricey restaurant. Criticism came to a head just days before the opening of a Noma pop-up in Los Angeles, and an article in detailed several former employees鈥� accounts ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault at the hands of Redzepi and his deputies between 2009 and 2017.
Redzepi, 48, later apologized and announced his intention to 鈥渟tep away鈥� in a tearful video posted to the restaurant鈥檚 Instagram page. The restaurant declined to make Redzepi, who is now in a creative director role, available for an interview. In an Instagram video he said he was excited to see 鈥渇resh energy鈥� come into the restaurant.
Aside from Redzepi in the open kitchen, another notable absence next week will be the restaurant’s three Michelin stars. The third was awarded in 2021. In May, the restaurant said it would not be part of this year鈥檚 Michelin Guide, saying it didn’t meet the guide鈥檚 requirements for being open long enough in 2026.
The Copenhagen location shuttered in January ahead of the Los Angeles pop-up and remained closed for much of the year.
Noma expected to reinvent itself
Tom Sietsema, food correspondent for Washington-based news organization NOTUS, believes that Noma鈥檚 dedication to innovation and reinvention since its 2003 opening will help it weather the fallout 鈥� if its founder stays in the background.
鈥淔or years it鈥檚 been the number one restaurant in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that suddenly doesn鈥檛 just vanish. I think this is a rough time for the restaurant, but people are still curious about it. People will go just to see, 鈥榦h, is it really as bad or as good as people say it is,鈥� right? I expect it to remain in the conversation for years to come.鈥�
Soto said the restaurant is almost fully booked for its first three months, up until the end of October. Guests will pay a set price of 4,500 Danish krone (about $686 USD) per head for the menu, with 2,000 krone ($305) extra for wine pairing.
Soto said the restaurant conducted an internal audit, and there are 鈥渕any systems in place鈥� to make sure staff are happy and 鈥渃an grow.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e gone through a period of crisis,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his means we need to be much more attentive to each individual.鈥�
Menu will change monthly
Noma, a contraction of the Danish words for Nordic and food, opened in 2003 dedicated to 鈥渁 simple desire to rediscover wild local ingredients by foraging and to follow the seasons.鈥�
While previous offerings were shaped around three distinct seasons, the reopening will see chefs embrace constant change in the menu.
鈥淚n this new iteration of Noma, we are opening up our creative process to a new seasonal rhythm,鈥� the restaurant’s website says. “This is the 12 seasons of Noma. We are building a continuous flow of creative output, evolving from month to month as the year unfolds. Each month will carry its own distinct seasonal rhythm, shaped by subtle shifts in ingredients, weather and landscape.鈥�
During a visit to the Copenhagen restaurant on Tuesday, chefs practiced preparing pike perch, brown crab, shrimp, and mushrooms in Noma鈥檚 open kitchen.
Mette Brink S酶berg, the head of research and development, delicately topped a berry gazpacho dish with colorful flower petals, recently plucked from the nearby garden, in the test kitchen.
鈥淲e feel that now we鈥檝e done this for so many years, we鈥檝e really become experts in all the flavors, the techniques, the concepts,鈥� Brink S酶berg said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e ready to take one step further.鈥�
Restaurant reckoning prioritizes staff
Redzepi鈥檚 fall from grace was hailed by some as a reckoning over when becomes abuse, and whether the time is up on the storied bullying and intimidation of fine-dining kitchen culture.
Sietsema said he’s noticed restaurateurs and chefs focusing more on how their staffs are treated and paid to get buy-in from the ground up. They are reevaluating the conditions in their kitchens, as well as rethinking time-off allowances so that staff might get two or three days at home in a row. Noma started fully paying interns in 2022.
鈥淎ll those little examples add up to a big change in the industry, I think,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople are really rethinking how they want to work, how hard they want to work, and I think it鈥檚 resulting in some better restaurants 鈥� better hospitality 鈥� overall.鈥�
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Dazio reported from Berlin.
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