The nature and codes of the Noma restaurant

The menu we tasted at

a few days ago gave me plenty of reason for reflection. From any perspective, it is an immersion in some of the most heartfelt aspects of nature. We start by savoring a reindeer brain jelly and finish with a roasted marrow of the same mammal for dessert. Refined rustic dishes, subtly primitive and intentionally provocative, the result of a personal style.

. From the

of the tundras and forests of

through one of its icons. Pure circular gastronomy.

Between the two services, our table paraded

.

It is impossible not to recognize the symbolic value that

attributes to each of his dishes.

It is absurd to judge your kitchen solely for its gastronomic dimension.

Reindeer brain jelly.

JC CAPEL

From the first bite, the waiters and cooks who attended the service were giving us peculiarities. "We started," they said. “

We have filled the

(rose hips) that they have on their plates with a Japanese quince paste. Next to it, a

with vegetable oil and a smoked quail egg under a kombu seaweed hat ”. Three soft bites with

that I found puzzling.

“We continue with this simile of a

. The leaf that encloses it, which

discovered in

has taken root here as if it were indigenous. He likes it so much that he has a full greenhouse ”. When biting into it, its crunchy texture exploded subtle earthy flavors. Seconds later, a plate covered by

(

) with penetrating aromas

in. "Underneath you will find a fresh hazelnut cream," they told us. Something memorable.

At the start of the menu we had traveled in an imaginary way to

and

in Italy. At least in the first few passes, the chef was much more tolerant of his pantry than at the beginning of his career. Radical in his way of understanding the kitchen, but less restrictive with respect to other horizons.

"

We have fermented the

that follows in a black garlic paste before roasting it on the barbecue," they told us.

“Squeeze the Japanese quince that you have next to it like a citrus on the meat.

Next to it you will find two mushrooms

, which we grill and varnish with a fermented mushroom.

We finish with our

, which we make with red peppers.

The bacon that borders it is wild boar fat ”.

Rose hip flower stuffed.

JC CAPEL

That trilogy left a strong message: the game between

. Or what is the same, the forest in nature and in the form of a trompe l'oeil from the perspective of a wild animal treated in two antagonistic ways. Always with the use of fermented products,

favorite technique

(

) in which he has deepened like few cooks in Europe.

And the insects arrived. Subtle invitation to entomophagy through

the same ones that floated in the fruit salad with which hollow apples had been filled. "They give us natural acidity, that of formic acid that makes up for our lack of citrus," they insisted. Overcome my usual rejection, I confirmed that they fulfilled their role as a dressing. By contrast, something peaceful followed: a

cut into

on forest strawberries, plums, quinces and roses with spicy

oil

. Again,

in the table. The palate and our mind appreciated the rest. Redzepi knows how to scale the sensations it generates in diners (peaks and valleys) with the same precision with which

at El Bulli.

The great provocation awaited us expectantly. "Here's our

with salty granola and caviar."

"After cleaning, we cook them in a pressure cooker before cutting them into tiny pieces."

From a gastronomic point of view little more than cartilaginous texture. Provocations aside, the plate incorporated three forceful messages. To begin with,

, the symbol of Scandinavian landscapes. Besides, the insistence of Redzepi in the

(not waste), and, of course, an ironic blow to the value judgments that determine the prices of expensive and cheap products, almost always arbitrary, in this case caviar and penis united in a single bite.

The menu returned to tranquility with the

pumpkin-stuffed

treated like

Japanese

, the well-known technique of dried and smoked bonito applied to this cucurbit.

Another pause for the palate before the meat tiara that awaited us.

Vegetable sandwich.

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"In the basket they have a Danish fritter soaked

" they told us. “Superimposed, a crunchy sheet that we make with the cream that forms in the broth when it boils. Save the

, a concentrated reduction found in the spoon. Bear hunting is allowed in Scandinavia. We buy parts in

. Second-rate cuts that are thrown away, hunters don't know how to cook them or take advantage of their fat ”. ¿

Quite a culinary boast to make the muscles of this mammal, of insidious taste, according to it is claimed.

The menu keystrokes were still shooting

.

Under the dry, polychromatic leaves that covered the next basket, a poignant head of a fried wild duck poked out next to the claw of the bird itself.

The still life was overwhelming.

“

.

The hoof has part of the skin and meat attached.

It is a pork rind that they should suck and nibble at the same time ”.

Although I found those brains very fine, which I had never tried, the ritual managed to disturb me.

With the leg turned into pork rinds, more than tasty, my whirlwind of sensations was reproduced.

Macedonia with ants.

JC CAPEL

Nothing to do with the following, conventional dish, the

bathed with black truffle sauce, a classic of haute cuisine. Around it a spinach and truffle millefeuille, a portion of the crispy skin and a feather of the bird that was not, a perfectly achieved trompe l'oeil. And as a counterpoint, a

, pears, pine shoots, oxalis leaves and fresh hazelnuts. Nature again, bite by bite.

"The salty tasting is over," they told us.

"However, they ask me from the kitchen if they have the courage for something very special,

.

We nodded and a

migratory duck (

, they announced in English)

arrived at our table

, as exceptional as it was shocking.

In view of his body freshly roasted and charred by the grill with bloody cuts in his meat and skin.

Bird that had recomposed itself intact with its head and its feathered wings spread.

Perhaps the best service on the menu for its tenderness, roast point and flavor.

Despite the fact that we thoroughly enjoyed it, piece by piece, when the piece was taken from us, I felt a rest that was difficult to explain.

Were there more surprises in store for us?

What followed to the end did not deviate from the preceding. We sipped with delight a broth of mushrooms and black chestnuts, before sucking the tip of a flower,

downright sour from the north of Denmark.

They showed us a large transparent

handkerchief

, a solid residue that

generates

when the tea ferments, which is normally discarded, and after caramelized they presented us as dessert.

We enjoyed a

topped with a licorice and poppy seed sauce.

And we finished with

.

Start and finish.

The circle had just closed in the company of different natural wines, fruit juices and

, some of remarkable quality.

White truffles on cream of fresh nuts.

JC CAPEL

Before saying goodbye, the Spanish chef

an important part of

brigade

, offered to show us rooms in the restaurant. Most already known from our previous visit. He stressed that their kitchens, which do not work with gas but with induction, are complemented by an outdoor barbecue. He told us that in Noma they only serve 80 diners in each service and finally showed us the intelligence center, the R&D enclave where those in charge of creativity under Redzepi's guidelines work on the new menu that will be effective as of January 2022.

I visited

for the first time in the fall of 2007, just two years after Redzepi had launched his

. He presented his kitchen model with overwhelming success on the

stage

in January 2008 before hundreds of congressmen and dozens of international journalists. And since then, I have followed their evolution with the intervals marked by their travels, change of location and period of pandemic. Of course, we remember those beginnings when on our recent visit he received us in person at the table he had assigned us.

Financial year 2021 has been crucial for

.

Once again, the best restaurant in the world according to

and, finally, the third star of the Michelin guide.

Despite such awards, few things have changed in his speech.

Curiosity, the desire for knowledge and work continue to feed the soul of the restaurant.

On the water's edge, not far from Copenhagen, he continues faithful to his desire to develop advanced experimental cuisine in close relationship with nature, an inalienable bond that he continues to strengthen.

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Reindeer penis with caviar.

JC CAPEL

Noma's dining room.

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Bear meat tasting.

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Head and hoof of wild duck.

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Duck brains.

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Grilled teal.

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'Scoby' from 'kombucha', an ingredient in a dessert.

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Reindeer marrow with white chocolate and garnishes.

Final dessert.

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