We're here for deliciousness people.
January 31, 2012 11:41 PM   Subscribe

Noma's Chef Rene Redzepi, whose dishes include Vintage Carrot and Chamomile; The Sea; and Asparagus and Spruce, on the science of deliciousness and the importance of using local ingredients.

posted by lemuring (8 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
I was very wary of the food at Noma - thinking that it was being dogmatic for it's own sake. More fetish than real food.

But then I went to the Willow Inn just south of Vancouver on Lummi Island in Washington - where an ex sous chef of Rene Redzepi was cooking (Blaine Wetzel). I was flabbergasted by the simplicity and completely superb delicousness of the food. It was the first time that I have eaten Pacific Northwest food that tasted completely of its place. Utterly magical (Willow Inn is getting astouding national press - do yourself a favor and go if you are in the area).

I am now dying to go to Noma. Thanks for the great post.
posted by helmutdog at 12:14 AM on February 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


For more Nordic cuisine in the Noma vein, you can't go wrong with Maaemo, a year-old restaurant based in the capital of Norway, Oslo. While expensive, they are - in my limited experience - the best restaurant in Norway at the moment.

Alternatively, Díll in Reykjavik, Iceland is a superb restaurant doing many of the same things.

Sense of place is the (old) new French.
posted by flippant at 1:23 AM on February 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


"Once in a while add some more (goat) butter."

You know, one carrot cooked in a pound of butter will taste pretty good, likewise stems of whatever, likewise an old boot.
posted by CCBC at 2:39 AM on February 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


I want to visit this place for all I know about nordic cuisine is references to side pork and babette's feast.
posted by Meatafoecure at 5:06 AM on February 1, 2012


Noma is definitely interesting. I can't say I've had any food like it before. Earthy, in a very literal sense, and flavorful.

The sea urchin and dill and frozen cucumber was my favorite dish. I pretty much licked my plate clean. Most of the giggles and screams from the tables around us, though, were when people realized one of the courses was live shrimp.

One thing not mentioned often is that although you can have a wine pairing with your food, you can also opt for a juice pairing. Thats what I did. From my notes, I remember loving the Apple & Pinetree juice, the Seabuckthorn juice and the Pear & Verbena. All fresh squeezed from local orchards.
posted by vacapinta at 5:36 AM on February 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


Every other year at Christmas my husband and I throw a Nordic Solstice party. I'm always looking for new things to add to the menu and I saw that our library had this new book NOMA. Checked it out. It is a beautiful book but it would be very hard for the American home cook to use. Where do I get sea buckthorn? Those sea buckthorn marshmallows covered in chocolate look good!

But there are some inspiring flavors for sure. Instead of spruce tip ice cream I'm going to make a more locally appropriate douglasfir tip ice cream.
posted by vespabelle at 8:33 AM on February 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


"You know, one carrot cooked in a pound of butter will taste pretty good, likewise stems of whatever, likewise an old boot."

And thus was received from on high, the first commandment of deliciousness. Thus spake the prophets Careme, Escoffier, Keller, and Redzepi.
posted by zingiberene at 9:49 AM on February 1, 2012


New Yorker profile
posted by obscurator at 11:41 AM on February 1, 2012


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