Noma is the Nordic cuisine star of the gourmet foodie circuit. It has 3 Michelin stars too.
A concocted name, Noma is a combination of ‘Nordisk’ and ‘Mad’ meaning food in Danish.
It’s famous for two things. First its use of eclectic, even bizarre ingredients. Want to try cricket paste, spicy sorrel leaves or reindeer gullets with crispy moss? Noma has them all.
Second, Noma charges around $600 a head, and yet the queues to book a table only lengthen.
Why would such a seemingly successful business take the decision to close and reinvent itself as a pop-up restaurant or test kitchen? Is there some global ingredients giant behind scenes, wanting to test new flavour combinations?
Pop up restaurants have exploded in popularity recently; and the pandemic has redefined economics for many restaurants. High overheads, labour shortages, and yes you’ve guessed it a volatile chef cum owner renowned as much for his temper as his culinary skills.
I suspect there is a marketing ploy at work. Already some are talking of Noma 3.0
Meanwhile Copenhagen’s Noma shifts continents and opens its first pop-up in Kyoto, Japan this spring.