Noma

René Redzepi deserved the lomejordelagastronomia.com International Award in 2008, an honor that has been bestowed on Ducasse, Robuchon, Guérard and Adrià. At 31 years old he finds himself, to leave no doubt as to his historic transcendence, among the top chefs in the world. The San Pellegrino list drawn up by The Restaurant magazine chose him as number one of the world ranking.
René is the Scandinavian Michel Bras of the third millennium; the likening is worthy. In the current panorama, what makes this chef unique is the identity of the message, differentiating itself in a substantial way from everything else out there. He practices green, organic cuisine, rawness in its perfect quantity, dedicated to the landscape, in search of local herbs, seaweed and vegetables, sometimes well known, generally unheard of, that explode onto the dish in a natural, essential, but not minimal, way. “Vegetarian” gastronomy with the assiduous presence of exceptional seafood, since the product he uses, be it modest or fancy, is always of the highest quality. A cuisine that reduces fat to its minimum expression. When he employs dairy products, which is very often, they are always of the “skim” variety. A cuisine that is truly miserly when it comes time to add the sugar: “low in calories”. Futuristic cuisine, dedicated to nature and the values of the new generations: lightness, aesthetics, health… but it is capable of creating new sensations within this profiled message. A personal, different philosophy, charged with character, brimming with talent. Few chefs that we have seen in our long professional career have such aplomb, such consistency, such reflective capacity, such imagination… René possesses the natural gifts that distinguish privileged people; the ones who make history. We stand before a genius.
A GENIUS who does not stop incorporating astonishing and exuberantly virtuosic creations in his menus. First up, dark bread toast with peas and celery cream: a beautiful, exquisite display of textures. The radical, consummate salad: baby radish with guacamole, capers and toasted malt. The herring fritters stuffed with cucumber balls are charming and rustic, let us say exquisitely rustic and extremely technical. Outstanding in staging and flavor: toast with smoked turbot roe, herbs and flowers, covered by a very delicate and tasty slice of duck consommé; a real demonstration of futurist art. More purity and more color is found in the beets, proposed in two versions: thin slices that look like boiled raviolis on sorrel and green apple juice; and the contrast of an empty and crunchy malt pastry. More country and wood: grilled white asparagus, consistent, bitter and earthy –unbeatable–, served with pine sprigs, oil, pine vinegar and green asparagus juice with juniper. Modest, but utterly inventive and excessively exquisite: here are the boiled potato balls crowned with chips, milk skin or cream, celery purée, herbs juice; sublime. Impeccable, oceanic, wild … This is how we qualify the slightly cooked shrimps, served with sea urchins, seaweeds, fir juice, cream and flowers. The giant Norway lobster over oceanic stone with seaweed cream and violet seaweed powder is really majestic. The deep sea sensations go on with the delicious oysters cooked with seaweed steam: oysters and seaweeds, seaweeds and oysters, competing and enhancing each other. The green barley risotto with original local walnuts, sauce of squid ink and extremely thin crunchy shavings of smoked scallops. Who gives more than this? Refinement and fantasy abound in the tremendous lobster with violets, turnip, baby romaine, chives and marine air. And so the magic constructions continued to flow out of the kitchen… veal cheeks with slices of pear and lemon grass purée... until you have no choice but to say “enough”. One of the best meals of our lives.
As one can see, René Redzepi’s proposals are always, and absolutely, militant, conforming to a way of being, with a manner of thinking and acting that doesn’t prioritize its connection with people. This is not easy gastronomy. Controversy will abound, but the cuisine will triumph. Like it or not, no one can argue its global blooming.
Even the restaurant itself, located near a river in an old salt warehouse, is simple and charming, as is the service, executed by the cooks. The tablecloths drape in an utterly natural way… the personality is involving.