Noma’s Latest Apology Tour Is Not Enough

Over the weekend, I received a message from an Instagram user who said they were unfollowing me because I was a “Rene abuse apologist.” On Saturday, the New York Times had published a story based on the accounts of 35 people who’d worked at Noma — the Danish restaurant owned by chef Rene Redzepi that’s one of the most prestigious in the world — from 2009 to 2017. It detailed allegations of physical and psychological harassment inflicted on unpaid interns and junior cooks. I’ve written many admiring stories about Redzepi; and I am friendly with him and his wife, as well as many current and former staffers. But the Times allegations are deeply disturbing.

This is not the first time this type of allegation has been made. Redzepi himself confessed to and apologized for his explosive anger and violence back in 2015. (There’s footage of him in a tantrum in a 2008 documentary). He also discussed how he “conquered his rage” with the Times of London in Nov. 2022. The same year, after the Financial Times published a piece mainly focused on unpaid interns but also on intimidation as management, Noma announced it would start paying its interns. His fans were heartened by these apparent displays of contrition — especially in the context of what seemed to be his ultimate sacrifice: the decision to shut Noma at the end 2024. The stated reason was that the costs of fairly compensating employees, while maintaining exacting standards and charging fair fine-dining prices made the restaurant’s economics impossible.