Rene Redzepi: Impossibilities And Possibilities, Part 1
This is the first in a two-part interview with chef Rene Redzepi. You can find the second here.
On a drizzly, cold grey day in Copenhagen after a hectic lunch service and the clamor of the staff lunch had died down Rene Redzepi the acclaimed Danish chef of Noma sat down for an interesting conversation His two Michelin starred restaurant that shot four times to the top spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list before moving into the third place this past June is on every food enthusiasts bucket list. Redzepi is probably the most recognized name in the restaurant business, as the crusader of Nordic cuisine, a topic unheard of until he appeared on the gastronomic horizon. Extremely intelligent, articulate, and honest, there is a charisma about him that draws others into his world; a unique environment created by this young chef: part researcher, part explorer, part dreamer, and despite his renown still a regular guy.
In an age when chefs of insignificant stature surround themselves with entourages consisting of publicists, assistants, managers and hangers on it is refreshing and reassuring to observe that this chef's opinions and dreams stem from his own intellect and are for real. Redzepi is constantly redefining himself and his trade, while opening new windows into the industry and energizing his peers as well as new and old generation chefs. The MAD Symposium created by him draws a select group of cooks, producers, food journalists , historians, scientists and others connected to the food world from all over the globe to the red circus tent pitched on Refshaleoen in Copenhagen every year. The Nordic Food Lab a self-governed nonprofit research operation that Redzepi helped create and was once housed on a barge moored by the restaurant and now in residence at Copenhagen University, expands the sphere of his influence worldwide. Recently his MAD nonprofit organization has partnered with Yale University in projects which will address environmental and political issues connected to the food industry.
This year MAD took a gap since the Noma team accompanied their chef to Tokyo to set up Noma Japan (5,400 miles from Copenhagen) for ten weeks, and the next territory they have set their culinary sights on is Sydney, Australia. Just like the Japan venture, Noma Australia was sold out within minutes of the ten week schedule being released and these overseas projects have propelled other chefs onto the road with their own teams in emulation of Redzepi. It's not just Noma style plating or dishes that appear all over the world since hordes of stagiares who spent just a hot minute in the Noma kitchen are now capitalizing on the connection in other kitchens and even reality TV shows. Just about everything that Redzepi initiates instantly becomes de rigueur in the industry and the benchmark by which others measure their culinary contributions.
A few months ago the announcement pertaining to the closing of Noma in 2016 not only sent die-hard fans scrambling for elusive reservations at the restaurant, but probably also set in motion plans for similar restaurants within urban farms in other cities around the world. Just a few days ago, 108, a new casual restaurant by members of the Noma team scheduled to open next year was announced. This more laid-back version of Noma will take up residence in the present Noma kitchen for a thirteen week tenure, while the rest of the team is in Australia, before moving to its permanent home.
When he travels to congresses or food events like Gelinaz, Redzepi a veritable food diplomat is surrounded by throngs of adoring fans drawn by his multi-faceted persona and now famous face, especially after making the cover of Time magazine not just once but twice. He has authored two books: the first the "NOMA" cookbook, and the second more of a journal titled "A Work In Progress" that he actually started maintaining after bringing Noma to the number one position in 2010, a mere seven years after opening. Once Noma found its niche it has since became the beacon of foraging, local and seasonal, and the new format of Noma will take it to yet another level. Dining at Noma is an experience, and I always leave wondering in which part of the world I will see a copycat version of a Noma dish next or first.
Seemingly unburdened by plaudits Redzepi is admirably unchanged over the years, whether warmly welcoming guests into Noma, or to his test kitchen or when MAD attendees disembark from boats at the MAD Symposium. He is held in high esteem by the international fraternity he has helped build along with other like-minded big name chefs, many of them his close friends. His fastidious attention to every detail became apparent as I observed him conducting a staff meeting before service, going over details of each expected guest.
As a result the service at Noma is very personable and welcoming and the team members appear to be genuinely invested in the guest's experience. Many protégées have gone on to open their own ventures in Copenhagen and beyond with the backing and encouragement of their boss, who does not shy away from promoting them. Even if it involves the most well-known chef in the world putting together tacos in a food stall at Torvehallerne food market in Copenhagen!
We sat down in the staff canteen conversing over the racket of a couple of Pacojets running at the same time, the boss being just one of the guys, as the staff went about their business undeterred by his presence. Rene is the kind of leader who, when head dish washer Ali Sonko was unable to join the team onstage at the World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards in 2010 in London due to visa problems, had the whole team don t-shirts with his picture to include him anyway. In 2012 Redzepi handed the mike to a suited Sonko to speak on his behalf after being named the number one restaurant once again, this while he himself stood on the sidelines. No wonder he is loved by his brigade and inspires such dedication and commitment. As he reminded me he is only 37, and no doubt the world will hear a lot from and about him as he chases his latest dreams in his Noma imaginarium.
The Daily Meal: What do you think about impossibilities turning into possibilities?
Chef Rene Redzepi: The whole project of Noma should have been an impossibility from the get go for the very reason that my father came as a Muslim immigrant to a very Northern European Protestant place on earth and here we are opening a restaurant trying to define what cooking means in this region. So from that notion it should have been impossible that it happened and also that it has been a success. That is Noma something that was deemed impossible but became possible. I honestly have this feeling inside of me that whatever I dream of, however crazy it seems there is a sense that it could work. I feel somehow I could make it work if I genuinely wished for it. My world in a way has become one where nothing is impossible at the moment. The only impossibilities would be the ability to cure all deadly disease or end wars. I genuinely feel if you are able to find the impossible aspect of every situation you are in and learn from it you are going to move forward and untangle yourself from any impossible situations. This has been my general feeling throughout my life.
Are you playing to a different audience now as opposed to when you first opened Noma?
I would say it's very different as when we first opened we were nobodies. We had a small $30 lunch menu for two or three courses and all these different dishes that guests could choose from. The menu would consist typically of proteins, sides and there were all these other safe choices. Everyone from a family to a business person could come in and enjoy since that was our clientele then. People could just pop in for a quick lunch if they were hungry and today that has changed dramatically to people who are waiting for months to get in. Their whole journey or one year vacation may be just to be here at Noma so it's very different now. On our side we have we have always had great respect for our guests but even more so now than ever because people are committing all this time to be here. That is a change in terms of the kind of people we get. Do we have business people now? They are fewer since they don't book three months in advance but more of the adventurous diners, on a fairly younger scale as well. It's not the traditional Michelin star diner as all over in Europe. It is a much younger clientele than that.
Since you are now recognized for a cuisine that is not mainstream, does it impart freedom to define your own innovative version of cuisine, and of the restaurant scene?
I think that helps us tremendously as when you become known for a train of thought and then more people want exactly that from you. Obviously like today we have a dining group in our private dining room, downstairs we have a restaurant manager from Vendome, a chef from Pascal Barbot's kitchen, a restaurateur from Sydney, a hotelier from Brisbane, and chefs from Denmark among others. That is the story of our everyday service now and that certainly gives us the opportunity to do food that we want because people are here to genuinely experience what we have to tell them about food.
In this journey so far, has the confidence graph changed?
It fluctuates all the time! I have had moments when it dips completely and doubts surface about everything you do and sometimes you doubt your whole professional existence. You think everything you are doing is crap and you are nobody and just a phony. I still get that at times and I am very doubtful. Sometimes it takes just one person during the whole week out of all the guests that come here who says that he thought something was terrible and the whole kitchen is in a funk. The whole kitchen team can then go and discuss it for hours like on Saturday night at the end of the week we discuss all aspects and details of our service. It doesn't matter whether there were twenty or thirty other tables of people who said, "We loved it! It was amazing what you did with this, I felt what you were doing," etc. it doesn't matter because one person or one table had that negative experience and they were vocal about it. That can be enough for you to think, "Are we not good enough? We should revisit everything," and so on.
Does that keep complacency in check and constantly keep you on the edge?
We have to be on the edge for not only our own sake but also for the guest's sake. We have to be there on the playing field like it's a champion's league semifinal for lunch and also for dinner. We cannot have a friendly match; for us it's like we have to win this one for the guest's sake. They come here expecting us to do that every time. That energy, our presence and our commitment should be felt by them. They should feel that is why we woke up early, foraging in the forests, fields and farms and coming to the kitchens to cook and process everything for them to enjoy for lunch or dinner.
Why the need to constantly redefine yourself?
I feel we are in the process of trying to work within a region and find flavors within a region. We are trying to build a new sense of tradition. That whole task and job is a very long one, it needs a lifetime of work and may turn out to be the next generations body of work. In the process of searching and exploring you will have to adapt at times so that you can build on everything you have learned in the process. You build on that foundation so as not to derail and this is why we are constantly searching for ways that take us to the next level of comprehending our processes and work. It helps us understand what have been doing in the past twelve years.
What are the most significant or recognizable advances in the Noma story?
Our story is the discovery of two major things. One is we found foraging; by that I mean we found the wild landscape and connected ourselves to a new range of ingredients. It is actually an old range of ingredients that we forgot about. We found a new perspective on food, flavors, and what's around us and it has been amazing process of discovery.
The second is the processing of these ingredients using a lot of ancient as well as new methods of preservation like fermentation, pickling etc., especially fermentation where we are doing a lot of work. These two have been the most significant contributions, the discovery of foraging ingredients and secondly the new ways of making building blocks for cuisine which is what we are doing in the fermentation kitchens through all the potions, liquids, vinegars, and the umami paste that we are creating there.
This is the first in a two-part interview with chef Rene Redzepi. You can find the second here.