PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2023

DISH AND DRINK

NOMA, AS I KNEW IT At some world-class restaurants, innovation comes with a steep price

BY JOSHUA LANNING

P eople often ask me, “How did you get started in cooking?” Unlike other questions I sometimes get – like “what’s your style?” or “what’s your signature dish?” – this one is a joy to answer. I am extremely proud of the journey that now has brought me back to Peoria. Noma, the famed restaurant in Den mark, considered among the world’s best, is part of my journey. Its pending closure recently made global headlines. I worked there for the majority of 2012. Those were 16-17 hour days of literally running throughout the restaurant, of so much pressure, repetition, intensity. I found it invigorating. After all, I went there to be inspired, to learn and test myself. But a large part of the time I put in there was unpaid. In my mind, if that’s what it took for me to get on the same playing field as the world’s best, I’d do what I had to do. If you were invited to spend a month in the gym with Michael Jordan and grow as a basketball player, would you blink an eye? Would you do it for free? I did not hesitate. When co-owner and chef René Redzepi announced the closure of Noma as we know it, saying that fine dining at that level was “unsustainable,” there was an uproar. “Financially and

innovative and influential restaurant of its time before closing in 2011. THIS TYPE OF FINE DINING ISN’T MEANT TO

BE SUSTAINABLE. IT IS INNOVATION AND ART

Now the other most influential restaurant of our time is closing its doors because “it’s unsustainable.” One reason? Once Noma started paying the stagiaires, or interns, its labor costs went up $50,000 a month, according to the New York Times. Why did they need all those workers? Fine dining at such an elite level provides an experience that is art, with food as the medium. The intricate construction of layers upon layers of flavor and dynamic visual composition can only be achieved with many hands. For the “normal” fine dining restaurant, such food composition and design cannot even be considered because there is no way to execute them. Noma created a system that allowed them to bring their vision to reality, no matter how tedious the tweezer work. This type of fine dining isn’t meant to be sustainable. It is innovation and art. The true test of excellence is if a restaurant like Noma can achieve that

Chef René Redzepi and Josh Lanning

emotionally, as an employer and as a human being, it just doesn’t work,” he was quoted as saying. You have to know the history between those lines to truly know what he means. Chef René and the Noma team have transformed the culinary world for two decades, constantly pushing new techniques, ingredient sourcing and guest experience. Redzepi never allowed himself or his team a moment to rest on their laurels. They remained innovative, uncomfortable. But Noma never would have reached the heights it did without free labor. The same can be said about Spain’s El Bulli, which was considered the most

12 APRIL 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE