The Unbearable Costs of an Extraordinary Meal
Esquire US|March 2023
Noma chef René Redzepi announced he was closing one of the world's most lauded restaurants-again. If luxe dining is no longer sustainable, what will be the culinary world's real loss?
JEFF GORDINIER
The Unbearable Costs of an Extraordinary Meal

LISTEN, I GET IT. YOU SAW THE NEWS THAT NOMA, THE EXPENSIVE restaurant in Copenhagen, was planning to close, and you snorted. Maybe you left a comment on a media platform drawing a comparison between Noma and The Menu, the goth Ralph Fiennes movie about an expensive restaurant. Maybe you liked a post on Facebook declaring that fine dining has suffered a lethal blow and that no sane person will ever again seek out the bloated, calcified pleasures of a tasting menu. Perhaps you nodded along with Frank Bruni of The New York Times as he categorized Noma as one of those "internationally renowned, ardently coveted temples of gastronomy that are forever trying to dazzle self-regarding epicures with new stunts, novel sensations, modes of presentation that we hadn't imagined, flora and fauna rarely pinned down on a plate." And maybe you just thought: Whatever. This is a restaurant far away in Denmark that serves weird food to rich people, and I cannot pretend to care. Which is a totally sensible response. I get it.

Led by the restless and tempestuous chef René Redzepi, whose mother worked as a house cleaner and whose cab-driving father was a Muslim immigrant from what's now known as the Republic of North Macedonia, Noma opened in a former whale-oil warehouse in Copenhagen almost 20 years ago. Back then, the dining room was usually empty. Redzepi's bold attempts to forge a new style of Scandinavian cuisine drew a fair share of mockery ("The Stinky Whale" was one sobriquet that floated around), but eventually European food critics took notice and the buzz grew. In 2010, some dubious consortium dubbed Noma the world's best restaurant, and it was off to the races for Redzepi, who'd soon land on the cover of Time magazine.

This story is from the March 2023 edition of Esquire US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2023 edition of Esquire US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ESQUIRE USView All
A Colossal Jacket
Esquire US

A Colossal Jacket

For years, I admired an elusive graffiti writer. Now I have his work on my Schott Perfecto.

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
What Really Happened to Baby Christina?
Esquire US

What Really Happened to Baby Christina?

Twenty-six years ago, Barton McNeil called 911 to report that his three-year-old daughter had died in the night. It was the worst thing that could ever happen to any parent. Then a new nightmare began.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
Kingsley Ben-Adir Makes It Look Easy
Esquire US

Kingsley Ben-Adir Makes It Look Easy

KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR IS HITTING HIS VAPE AT THE CLIP THAT MOST people sip beer, telling me a story about smoking weed on the way to Dave Chappelle's house.(\"I fucking nearly whited, man. I was on the tour-bus van, heading down to the party, and I had to put my feet up in the air to get blood back into my head.\")

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Rev
Esquire US

Rev

To one America, he has long been a beacon of the civil-rights movement the man met Dr. King! To another, he was a loudmouth in a tracksuit, surrounded by controversy and shady friends the man knows Don King, too. Pulitzer Prize winner Mitchell S. Jackson tailed AI Sharpton around the country to find out why he keeps going, what he's still doing, and where his place in history will be.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
TRUE GRIT
Esquire US

TRUE GRIT

Long before he was Elvis, Austin Butler proved he had the mettle to make it in Hollywood. Now he's back with two buzzy projects-Masters of the Air and Dune: Part Two-and a burning ambition that prompts the question: Is he the next great movie star?

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
THE NEW RULES OF SUITING UP
Esquire US

THE NEW RULES OF SUITING UP

The man in the gray flannel suit is long gone.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
THIN IS IN
Esquire US

THIN IS IN

At just 6.9mm thick, Bulgari's new Octo Finissimo watch blends Swiss precision with thoroughly Italian aesthetics

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
IN THE BAG
Esquire US

IN THE BAG

Louis Vuitton’s updated Speedy carryall isn’t just a revelation—it’s a revolution

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
The Chef Who Believes He Can Change the World
Esquire US

The Chef Who Believes He Can Change the World

What kind of sustainable, delicious, healthy foods will we be dining on when climate change wreaks havoc on the planet? Pierre Thiam has a bold solution (and it includes beer).

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2024
Billie Joe Armstrong – What I've learned
Esquire US

Billie Joe Armstrong – What I've learned

Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist of Green Day; 51; Oakland, California

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2024