René Redzepi

René Redzepi (born December 16, 1977, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish chef recognized internationally for his unique reinterpretation of Scandinavian cuisine. His recipes are representative of the “New Nordic” food movement—cuisine that is distinguished by Nordic food traditions, an embrace of hyperlocal foods, an avoidance of processed ingredients, and a focus on sustainability. In 2003 Redzepi cofounded Noma, a Copenhagen restaurant that was frequently declared the world’s best restaurant. Redzepi stepped away from Noma in 2026 following allegations that he created and fostered an abusive work environment while the restaurant was receiving accolades.

Early life and training

Redzepi’s father was a Muslim immigrant from the Macedonian region of Yugoslavia who moved to Copenhagen and married a Danish woman. Redzepi later claimed that family visits to his father’s relatives in Yugoslavia triggered his interest in foraging for indigenous edibles. At age 15 he enrolled in culinary school, and then he became an apprentice at a Michelin Guide-starred French restaurant in Copenhagen. He later pursued his training in the kitchens of such Michelin-starred restaurants as Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, France, Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley, and Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in Roses, Spain.

Noma

In 2003 Redzepi established a business partnership with Claus Meyer (a Danish entrepreneur and television cooking-show host), and the pair opened the restaurant Noma in a reclaimed 18th-century warehouse overlooking the harbor in Copenhagen’s Christianshavn district. The restaurant’s name is an amalgamation of the Danish words for “Nordic” and “food,” signaling its focus: a celebration of native Nordic ingredients. The small (12 tables) fixed-price restaurant received three stars from the Michelin Guide and was ranked among the world’s top eateries by the London-based magazine Restaurant. Noma took first place on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list five times between 2010 and 2021. Redzepi later opened pop-up versions of Noma in various cities, including Tokyo (2015), Sydney (2016), Tulum, Mexico (2017), and Kyōto (2023, 2024); these typically operated for about two months. In January 2023 Noma caused a stir in the food world when it announced that it would cease its regular Copenhagen operations at the end of 2024 to shift its focus to food innovation in its test kitchen. The restaurant’s final service ultimately occurred on January 31, 2026.

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Publications and awards

Redzepi’s cooking was the best example of his broader culinary philosophy based on “time and place.” His Danish book, Noma: nordisk mad (2006), was followed by the English-language Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine (2010), which helped to spread his influential culinary philosophy. He later coauthored The Noma Guide to Fermentation: Foundations of Flavor (2018) and Noma 2.0: Vegetable, Forest, Ocean (2022). The documentary Noma My Perfect Storm (2015) chronicles Redzepi’s experiences at his famed eatery.

In 2016 then-queen Margrethe II knighted Redzepi into Denmark’s Order of Dannebrog, a Danish order of chivalry established in 1671. Redzepi was named Best Chef 2020 by the Best Chef organization.

Controversy

Beginning in early 2026, former Noma employees began posting on social media allegations of physical and psychological workplace abuse at Redzepi’s hands that occurred between 2009 and 2017. In March 2026 The New York Times published reporting on the allegations and found that, in addition to the credible reports of abuse, Redzepi had intimidated employees into accepting the abuse as normal by threatening to leverage his power to get them professionally blacklisted or have their family members fired from other businesses or even deported. The Times quoted one employee as saying, “Going to work felt like going to war. You had to force yourself to be strong, to show no fear.” In response, Noma and Redzepi acknowledged previous problems but insisted that the culture and internal structure at the restaurant had changed, including the beefing up of a dedicated human resources team. Nevertheless, the reporting led sponsors—including American Express, the dining rewards program Blackbird, and Resy, a reservation platform—to cancel their support of the venture, which was set to open in early March.

On March 11, the day of the planned opening, as the allegations of his past abuses mounted and protests ensued—signs included “No Michelin stars for violence”—Redzepi resigned his position at Noma. In an Instagram post, Redzepi wrote, “I cannot change who I was then. But I take responsibility for it and will keep doing the work to be better.” The fully booked pop-up was set to run through June 26, 2026.

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