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Gordon Ramsay hated Noma but was nice about it – Redzepi on Reddit Q&A

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Rene Redzepi of NomaGordon Ramsay had visited Noma and hated it according to the award winning chef René Redzepi who was answering a question and answer session he organsied on Reddit called Ask Me Anything. “But he was nice about it,” Redzepi said with a smiley.

The AMA (as Ask Me Anything is called on Reddit) is full of incredible insights from one of the best chefs in the world. Here are some of the highlights, but if you are interested you might want to check out the whole session here.

Redzepi is a chef from Denmark and the son of an Albanian Muslim immigrant and a Danish mother. He trained in many restaurants around the world before returning to Copenhagen and opening Noma in 2003.

The restaurant celebrates the Nordic region’s ingredients and aims to present a kind of cooking that expresses its location and the seasons, drawing on a local network of farmers, foragers and purveyors. Noma has held 2 Michelin stars since 2007 and was voted best Restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. In January, they moved the entire restaurant to Japan for a five-week pop-up where they created a completely new menu comprised only of local Japanese ingredients.

Redezepi says this is one of the most fantastic experiences he has been part of and a learning experience for the whole team. He said however, that it was very difficult and the biggest challenge was to get working visas for 70 people when the staff come from everywhere from Gambia to Mexico to northern Sweden.

Here are some of the highlights of the session:

Top five foodie experiences a foodie traveller in Europe should not miss

Redzepi: San Sebastián, as a destination in and of itself, it needs to be tried. Coming to Copenhagen in August or September when the game season starts is really nice, although Copenhagen is not at all on the same level culinary-wise as San Sebastián. It’s great to visit it now to see the beginning of something that’s still quite new and fresh. Then there’s also La Boqueria Market in Barcelona. Wine bar hopping in Paris (there’s a real boom of small fresh wine bars popping up), kick the experience off at Chateaubriand or Verre Vole with a lunch or dinner and have them recommend the next places- have them pass on the baton (it’s a good way to travel, by letting the locals decide).”

Craft beer

Redzepi: The craft beer movement is a real phenomenon here and has been for the past ten years. I don’t think that beer will replace wine but I do think it will be more present going forward. It’s a phenomenon that I personally really like, to see a bigger range and diversity of beers.

Noma’s recovery in 2013 when over 60 people became sick after eating in the restaurant

Redzepi: I think any restaurant can get over a tough moment like that but you have to be totally honest and tell everything the way it is to the public. Don’t try to hide any details. Then people will quickly see that it’s a situation that’s almost beyond any chef or restaurants control.

Death of Catu and hardships that top chefs must endure

Redzepi: It was a tragedy with Chef Cantu, unfortunately it’s not a rare thing to see people that are going under with stress and pressure from operating a restaurant. Nobody knows why Chef Cantu decided to do what he did but the suspicion has been to do with the financial quarrels, and you know, around the world you go to school to learn how to properly whip bearnaise or cook fish in a pan. Nothing prepares you for running a business or having staff or the pressures of media. Not to mention the pressure from guests. Any cook will tell you that there’s no recipe for how to run things because each day is different.

Meeting Jiro, the Japanese sushi master

Redzepi: Meeting Jiro was truly nerve wracking, I was awe-struck. Interesting note is that you’re not supposed to shake his hand when meeting him because he doesn’t want them polluted before touching the rice. I got to shake his hand though and as soon as I remembered I wasn’t supposed to do that– I almost shit myself, literally on the spot diarrhoea. It’s mind-boggling to have two hours privately with a man who is full of wisdom the way he is.

Redzepi’s future

Redzepi: I’m very happy in my situation doing Noma, the next step for me is doing the same, but better and better.

Most underrated cuisine

Redzepi: Mexican! Mexican cuisine to me is on par with the ‘classic’ greats– French, Japanese, Italian… but unfortunately it’s often viewed instead as quick, cheap eats. I find that to be wrong.

Next food taboo after eating insects?

Redzepi: Oh it’s gonna take decades for us in the west to accept insects on the same level as steak! One thing that’s happening simultaneously though is the idea of eating your trash– what I mean is that we will be finding ways to totally eradicate waste from food.

Advice to someone who wants to quit their job and go to culinary school

Redzepi: A lot of my cooking friends would say don’t: don’t because you’re going to work 85 hours a week for no money, you’re going to have cuts all over your body, and the chance of frequent humiliation from some chef is almost 100%. Yet this is the trade that I totally love, and I don’t know anything else. It is a lot of work, yes, but it is extremely gratifying in terms of teamwork and friendship, and the fact that you get to make people happy every day, twice a day. If you do it well you’ll end up being part of a community of cooks from your restaurant, former cooks, the farmers, some of your regulars… it becomes special. Something I can’t be without.

Michelin Guide and rating systems

Redzepi: About the Michelin guide (or any rating system), that should really be a topic of its own because there’s much to say– to much for a quick answer! But basically if you go to work with accolades in mind as your primary motivation then I think you’re on the road to a burnout. Go to work and find a way to make yourself happy in what you do. If the guides tap into it and like it then that’s an added bonus.

Other restaurants to go to in Copenhagen

Redzepi: You should definitely try Relae, and [Amass](www.amassrestaurant.com). Besides that there’s Geranium as another fine dining option, and also Kadeau (especially if you go to their second location which is on Bornholm island, a short 15 minute flight away). For more casual dining check out Bror, or for breakfast go to Cafe det Vide Hus. Democratic Coffee has the best croissant in town.

Creativity

Redzepi: I think doing personal research and experimentation is paramount for any creative endeavour. To me creativity is your ability to bring your past experiences into the now. So the more well informed you are, the stronger your intuition, the more likely you are to come forward with new things.

How to translate the Noma style into home cooking

Redzepi: I think what we do is about the cuisine of where you are. That’s do-able for anybody! Follow the seasons, seek out a farm and cook what they offer. Follow the rhythms of the year and you’re halfway there.

Favourite ingredient, restaurant, cookbooks, chefs

Redzepi: I don’t actually have a favourite ingredient, but my favourite range would be anything from the plant kingdom.  Again I don’t have a favourite restaurant, but I enjoy any place where food is cooked with generosity and honesty. If you’re a budding chef then you should start by reading some of the classics, get a sense for sauce (or vinaigrette is), and after that head over to some of the inspirational chefs of the world.

With regard to chefs there are too many to mention so I’ll just focus on some of the up and coming ones: He may not be a -huge- world famous chef… yet, but Matt Orlando from restaurant Amass in Copenhagen (http://www.amassrestaurant.com/), he is truly a talent and I love going to his restaurant. There’s also Tatiana Levha from Paris, and the guys from Sixpenny in Australia.

Success and keeping staff happy

Redzepi: Success is great but it comes with complications. Will you get absorbed in success and have that be your guiding light? Or will you just keep focused on why you entered cooking? Which for me was a wish to explore ingredients (and the seasons), be with people, and also because I love eating. Keeping staff happy is also one of the keys to a great success and it’s always hard striking that balance between a work with pressure and high intensity and also a good spirited, nurturing environment. It’s difficult in the kitchen. But one thing you shouldn’t do, and take this from a guy that’s been a fucking lunatic for many of the opening years (at Noma): don’t start shouting! It doesn’t do anything good to your team or anybody else.

Noma’s Dishwasher, the happiest person in the world

Redzepi: Our dishwasher is the happiest person I know. Besides that, he’s about 55, and his name is Ali. My own father is 57 and his name is Ali too! For half his life he was also a dishwasher, so Ali (our dishwasher) has really become the father figure of the restaurant. He does help out in the kitchen but mostly he’s busy keeping everything clean and tight and making everybody smile.

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