Noma needs no introduction. It has pioneered a new school of fine dining based on new Nordic cuisine, where there are no clichés like foie gras or caviar, nor really an emphasis on fat. The cuisine is so fascinatingly unique and R&D driven, yet not in a “high-tech” manner like how Alchemist is down the street.
I feel there are 3 distinct themes to noma’s cuisine that you can find in every dish – nature, Japan, and fermentation.
On nature, noma is beyond just a farm-to-table restaurant, and the vegetable season menu takes this “nature-first” principle further. Each dish puts the original flavor of the ingredient on center stage without having sauces or fats steal away the spotlight, highlighting Scandinavian ingredients and produce from the garden. The presentation further evokes this, from a dessert served in a leaf basket to a bite served on a potted plant.
Japan comes in through many ways. Unsurprisingly there are techniques like binchotan grilling, ingredients like green rice or yuzu, and flavors like dashi. But there’s also other elements like the ceramics, the cutlery, and the presentation, and of course the whole philosophy that kaiseki is about seasonality and locality.
Fermentation is pioneered at noma, which has its own whole R&D fermentation team. Virtually all of our drinks in the non-alcoholic pairing have gone through various degrees of fermentation, and many of the sauces and ingredients in the menu have as well.
Combined, the tasting menu was frankly beyond my understanding. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate my meal; it was engrossingly novel and intricately perfected.
1 Comment
Noma needs no introduction. It has pioneered a new school of fine dining based on new Nordic cuisine, where there are no clichés like foie gras or caviar, nor really an emphasis on fat. The cuisine is so fascinatingly unique and R&D driven, yet not in a “high-tech” manner like how Alchemist is down the street.
I feel there are 3 distinct themes to noma’s cuisine that you can find in every dish – nature, Japan, and fermentation.
On nature, noma is beyond just a farm-to-table restaurant, and the vegetable season menu takes this “nature-first” principle further. Each dish puts the original flavor of the ingredient on center stage without having sauces or fats steal away the spotlight, highlighting Scandinavian ingredients and produce from the garden. The presentation further evokes this, from a dessert served in a leaf basket to a bite served on a potted plant.
Japan comes in through many ways. Unsurprisingly there are techniques like binchotan grilling, ingredients like green rice or yuzu, and flavors like dashi. But there’s also other elements like the ceramics, the cutlery, and the presentation, and of course the whole philosophy that kaiseki is about seasonality and locality.
Fermentation is pioneered at noma, which has its own whole R&D fermentation team. Virtually all of our drinks in the non-alcoholic pairing have gone through various degrees of fermentation, and many of the sauces and ingredients in the menu have as well.
Combined, the tasting menu was frankly beyond my understanding. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate my meal; it was engrossingly novel and intricately perfected.
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