Noma, Copenhagen

[balex]

Nobody remembers Veyrat? Didn't he kick off the whole foraging hyper locavore thing back in the 80s? More so than Bras.

[Orik]

Noma is hard to pin down because it's the conclusion of trend based dining. It was a "molecular gastronomy" restaurant at one point, if you can believe it. It was a foraging restaurant for a while, and now it's a "weird japanese fermentation" and "insect eating" restaurant. Of course none of this means that it's bad, but it makes it difficult to say where what they're doing comes from.

 

Nobody remembers Veyrat, that's true.

 

Bras made the pretty plating, didn't he? Interestingly, if you'd find pictures of his food in the 90s, it'd almost always be of the local beef presentation, and now there's nothing but Gargouillou, even though that's been around forever (late 80s?)

[Adrian]

Molecular gastronomy and new Nordic are all modern Australian

[Sneakeater]

If only they threatened to blacklist stagiers for claiming they worked there.

[Orik]

Or is it? What are the limits of what we consider to be food? Will you happily play along when served a beautifully composed plate with live ants frolicking on a dollop of crème fraiche next to a pretty bouquet of mixed tender greens? Or will you balk as one dining couple did.

Redzepi writes, “‘Why are you making us do this?’ they demanded. ‘Because they’re delicious,’ I said . . . I told them that we’re finding a new range of extraordinary flavours. And that’s why we do it—not to shock them.”

He goes on to reflect, “The couple refused to try them, and I’m worried it might be an omen of hurdles to come. It’s a big step to take, and I wonder if we’re really ready for it. If you don’t serve them [the ants], there won’t be any problems, I tell myself. But the fact that there seems to be a nonsensical objection to eating insects, perhaps tinged with a bit of Western self-righteousness, just pisses me off. When it really comes down to it, the incredible flavours have got to me, and there’s no turning back now.”

No, buddy, it's not about the incredible flavors, you're just being an asshole.

[Sneakeater]

I think the problem people have with live ants aren't limited to the fact that they're ants.

[balex]

ant eggs are delicious. I have yet to have a good ant.

[Orik]

Absolutely, but forcing some poor rich person to eat live ants is as close to Western self-righteousness as you can get.

[Sneakeater]

The ants I had in Bogota were disappointing.

[Adrian]

The ants I had in Bogota were disappointing.

How did they compare to the hummingbird anus?

[Sneakeater]

That apparently gets saved for UE.

[Anthony Bonner]

I have to object - technically its a hummingbird cloaca. Richter should know that.

[Orik]

Noma is now live tweeting no shows / last moment cancellations. I guess you can use them via the cabrales FL method.

[Orik]

1.) The Mandarin Oriental will be offering dinner reservations as part of an accommodation package on a first-come, first-served basis, via their website athttp://www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo/hotel-offers/noma/. These reservations will become available at 6 am CET on 23 June.

2.) Bookings for lunch (available without an accommodation package) will be available via www.noma.dk/japan. Please do not worry about having to wake up in the middle of the night to secure a reservation for these options. We have opted for a two-week registration period, with bookings allocated at random once registration closes. We realize that guests in different time zones might be interested in joining us next year and hope that this process will make things as easy and fair as possible. Registration will open at 8 pm CET on 23 June.

 

[Anthony Bonner]

How democratic - dinners only if you get a room for the night at the M-O