Good TASTE

CARVED from HUNDREDS of LAYERS of thinly sliced CELERY ROOT, the CELERIAC SHAWARMA at FARM-TO-TABLE mecca NOMA is a DISH that took YEARS to INVENT

- ALISON S. COHN

WHEN THE RESTAURANT NOMA, a portmanteau of the Danish words nordisk (Nordic) and mad (food), opened in a former warehouse along the canals of Copenhagen's Christianshavn neighborhood in 2003, "fine dining" meant white tablecloths and caviar. Then-25-year-old chef René Redzepi completely upended the concept. His belief that truly one-of-a-kind culinary experiences could be achieved in an unpretentious setting using natural, locally sourced ingredients set a new course for the farm-to-table movement. Noma topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list four times between 2010 and 2014 and became the foodie destination. And then it closed.

"We were starting to be limited by our success," Redzepi says of his decision to shutter the restaurant and do pop-ups around the world. "Our entire team-60some people, from the dishwasher to the CEO-traveled first to Tokyo, then Sydney, and finally Tulum," recalls Redzepi. "At each new location, we found a new life, a new set of ingredients, and a new culture completely new inspiration."

It was these travels, particularly working on a spit-grilled vegetarian main course inspired by the Mexican specialty tacos al pastor, that eventually led to the celeriac shawarma that is on the menu of the new Noma, which opened in 2018 as a collection of glass-sided buildings on the outskirts of Freetown Christiania. This current iteration of the restaurant, which topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list again last year, in addition to earning a third Michelin star, takes an even more seasonal approach.