Lovely Copenhagen, why it took me so many years to visit you?
Copenhagen wasn’t even in my travel plan(I am a hopeless planner), but some very cheap Ryanair tickets somehow made it happen.
Noma, on the other hand was in my plans since forever, but seemed mission impossible.
What happened was simple, my better half was registered in the waiting list for Noma and just two days before the trip we got the notification that there was a table for 4 available. Luckily my travel buddies are as passionate about food as me, so table for 4 was immediately(read after exchanged 5895378994 messages on messenger) booked.
I made a 3 hours break from my 2019 commitment of not eating fish, hoping Universe/ Karma or whatever it is out there will understand me.
Noma experience was as amazing as I hoped and so difficult to share or talk about. I’ve been trying to write about it for days, but the words felt cold and pale.
I died and went to food heaven, as Ingrid would say, this briefly sums it up.
We were greeted with a delicate cup of tea at the entrance and a cheerful, loud and warm welcome once we entered the dining room.
The first dishes were fresh and delicate, I felt like I was tasting the ocean.
Then the flavors became more complex, and the temperature & textures followed. The ocean met the shore, and it was so good.
Cured fresh water perch, medium rare blue shell mussels and crab salad stuck with me most.
My favorite, salted & dried berries from summer was as heart healing as a walk in the forest. The flavors, ohh so many flavors in that small pot, reminded me of the forest too, rich and raw.
At the end of the tour, Fajsal, one of the sous-chefs, who happened to be a fellow Albanian showed us around. It was lovely to know more on how the food we enjoyed was made, the philosophy of Noma and its wonderful working culture.
When we entered the restaurant, I was joking with my friends that this will be the end of food as we know it, and it really was. Thankful that modern chefs like Rene & his team are putting all their energies and talents to bring dishes that are truly works of art, while also advocating for a sustainable food industry, supporting local farmers, fishermen and producers.