Copenhagen, Aug 5 (dpa/GNA) – Copenhagen’s world-famous Noma restaurant, reopened for business on Wednesday, following a scandal surrounding violence and humiliation reported to have been meted out to its staff.
René Redzepi, co-founder, owner and former head chef, will continue to play a key role, despite allegations that he slapped employees in the face, prodded them with kitchen utensils, and threw them against walls.
Nearly three dozen former employees told the New York Times that Redzepi and other senior staff had regularly subjected them to physical and psychological abuse between 2009 and 2017.
They also alleged that Redzepi threatened to use his influence to have them blacklisted by restaurants around the world, have their families deported or get their partners fired from other jobs.
Redzepi then stepped down as head chef. In a newspaper interview, he admitted that he had been “an idiot,” but maintained that he had “not done extreme things.” Redzepi is expected to be creative director while remaining majority owner.
Danish chef, Mette Brink Søberg and Mexican chef, Pablo Soto, are expected to take over running the business. “René will have no role in the day-to-day operation of the restaurant, but we will continue to speak with him regularly because we are responsible for bringing his vision for the future to life,” Søberg told Danish news agency Ritzau.
Søberg said she had worked at Noma for 13 years. “During my time here, I have also experienced that passion can sometimes cause people to lose control of their emotions,” she told Ritzau, without elaborating.
Founded in 2003, the restaurant was named the world’s best restaurant several times by Restaurant Magazine. It gained three Michelin stars before closing in 2024. It hopes to regain that distinction.
GNA