noma (*) – Copenhagen, Denmark

Do we need another noma visit recount/review? I dunno, feel free to downvote this to oblivion if you think not.

Otherwise, here we go:

The third and final of the big guys that I visited in Copenhagen, and probably the one that needs the least introduction. It has been crowned World's Best Restaurant 5 times, a feat only matched by Spain's El Bulli (now permanently closed). It is looked to as the modern standard for innovative cooking. Perhaps because of this latter focus, it took noma a long time to be awarded three Michelin stars. The reason is no mystery: noma is, at heart, a place for experimentation. There is perhaps no other restaurant in the world who devote as much of their time to R&D. This is what draws people – particularly chefs – to noma. To see what they are doing that hasn't been done before. If any introduction is needed, I'll let the 50 Best write up do the talking, which I've quoted below.

"It is hard to imagine the culinary world without Noma. When it opened in 2003, the idea was to challenge the Old World order of gastronomy and celebrate Nordic ingredients. The following year, New Nordic Cuisine was born with a focus on simplicity, freshness and seasonality. The concept of cooking according to season is now so common throughout the world it’s almost become hackneyed, but back then 25-year-old chef René Redzepi and restaurateur Claus Meyer were about to change everything. [Among other things] Redzepi pioneered the practice of having chefs cross the dining room and serve the guests themselves".

Now personally, while I was super excited to visit noma precisely because of its history and how technically-minded it is, I enjoyed this visit the least (much preferring Restaurant Jordnær and Geranium). This is because, for me, this seemed to more often than not be a more intellectual exercise than it was a sensual, and the latter is really what I look for more in cooking; flavour, conception, craft – a perfect marriage. As you may be able to tell from some of the pictures, some of these dishes don't look particularly appetising. While they certainly all tasted much better (and, it goes without saying, more interesting) than they look, I just wouldn't be clamouring to return. These are fine margins however, and noma is still world-class, but I feel that their move into full-time R&D or cyclical pop-ups is imminent.

Courses:
1. Today's crudité (served as the fourth course)
2. Kohlrabi kebab, fermented beans, pinecone olives, Yucatán oregano sandwich
3. Sorrel noodle soup
4 and 5. Koji wrapped in ramson
6. Quail egg wrapped in sea lettuce
7 and 8. New potato soup, butterfly waffle
9. Jellied mushroom
10. Frozen cheese and blackened yuzu
11. Grilled peas from the pod
12. Artichoke heart and padrón pepper
13. Salt-baked black oyster mushroom, tomato salad
14. Magnolia popsicle
15. Berries, milk skin and grilled hip rose ice cream
16 and 17. Woodruff and flowers.