Disfrutar versus Noma: A tale of two Michelin meals

Noma in Copenhagen shines for its technical brilliance, but at Disfrutar in Barcelona, the meal evokes an emotional response

- Rahul Matthan

What does it mean to be creative? Is it finding beauty in the simplest of things, coaxing it out of everyday objects, or is it an expression of joy and whimsy? If it is true that constraint breeds creativity, few restaurants exemplify that ethic better than Copenhagen's three-star Michelin restaurant, Noma. When I first ate there in 2014, I was blown away. The experience, from start to finish, was out-of-the-box, pushing on boundaries I did not know existed. It became the benchmark against which all other dining experiences were measured.

For the entire duration of that meal, my senses were jolted by new flavours, textures and experiences. I was served caramelised milk extruded into thin fettuccine wafers and scallops that had been dried, ground into a powder and recombined with beeswax so it could be served as a mousse. The sea urchin was served on the crispy skin of a duck, and the steak tartare was seasoned with flash-frozen fire ants—the only way they could find to introduce tart acidity into the dish without using a citrus fruit.

In those days, Noma strictly adhered to a self-imposed rule to cook only with ingredients sourced roughly 200km from the restaurant. This is why they went to extraordinary lengths to reproduce the taste of lemons, and why, in the sparse winter months, diners were served reindeer moss and roasted celeriac.

It is such constraints that sparked creativity and pushed Noma to the top of the culinary world. Nothing comes easy in the harsh Nordic north, and the effort of coaxing flavours and textures out of whatever was available showcased the region's resilience and gave them a repertoire of skills unmatched in the food industry.