After heading south, self-sustaining restaurant gets ready for an evolution
For the past 12 years, visitors to the Copenhagen restaurant have enjoyed 24-course delights such as quail eggs served on smoldering hay, raw razor clam encased in a tube of parsley gelee or stranger yet with fermented grasshopper.
However no matter your initial thoughts these are dishes that will send your taste buds on a very interesting journey and are courtesy of world-renowned restaurant Noma.
Self-sustaining restaurant
The Scandinavian cuisine was put on the map by chef and Noma owner, Rene Redzepi, with a clear emphasis on seasonal ingredients that are locally sourced. From steak to scallops to squid to duck to kelp and berries, if it isn’t local then it won’t make an appearance on Noma’s menu.
Despite the huge success of Noma, Redzepi has decided to close the restaurant at the end of 2016. Don’t despair though if you haven’t been a visitor to this top restaurant as a new Noma will be opening its doors in 2017.
New location, new menu and it’s very own farm the Noma restaurant will be undergoing a complete evolution. Redzepi and the Noma team will be turning a currently decrepit piece of land into a state-of-the-art urban farm with the illustrious Noma restaurant at the centre of it.
Together with the new urban farm, Noma comes with a new menu that will have an even greater dedication to seasonality with the menu changing three times a year to focus on certain seasonal elements.
Fall will see the menu focusing on wild game, including goose, duck and even moose as well as foraged ingredients like mushrooms and berries. When the ice-cold waters take over in winter, the menu will change to focus predominantly on seafood. In spring and summer, Noma goes completely vegetarian, which will be particularly interesting to see what sort of spin they put on their vegetarian dishes. I predict that it will be anything but boring.
Good news for Australians
Before this Noma evolution takes place, Australians can enjoy Noma closer to home. If you are interested in Noma’s current culinary experience, you can pop over to Barangaroo Sydney in late January, where Noma will be moving their restaurant for a short 10-week period. Opening for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday, space is limited to just 50 diners so you will need to make sure you get your name down in that reservation book early.
Redzepi will be bringing his entire restaurant staff to Sydney comprising of nearly 100 people, including chefs, wait staff, administrative staff as well as partners and children.
Staying true to his use of locally sourced ingredients, diners can expect a menu with strong Australian flavour. If you happen to be one of the lucky diners, you can expect plenty of shellfish, wild fish, sea succulents, seaweeds, seabirds, herbs, grasses and native spices. But it’s not truly Australian with out a barbecue right? Do not fret, Noma has it covered with a reported 2.5-metre long barbecue within the restaurant!
Register for updates about the opening of Noma in Australia so that you are ahead of the bunch.
Even with an estimated price of between $400 and $500 for food alone, it’s likely that bookings will fill up within hours. Don’t miss out on experiencing a truly sustainable, seasonal meal by one of the legends in the industry.
