René Redzepi

René Redzepi (born 16 December 1977) is a Danish chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] His restaurant was voted the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine's World's Best Restaurants in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021, and was awarded its third Michelin star in 2021.[2][3][4] Redzepi is noted for his work on the reinvention and refinement of a new Nordic cuisine and food that is characterized by inventiveness and clean flavours.[5]

René Redzepi
René Redzepi in the restaurant Zaldiarán (Vitoria-Gasteiz)
René Redzepi in the restaurant Zaldiarán (Vitoria-Gasteiz)
Born (1977-12-16) 16 December 1977
Copenhagen, Denmark
EducationApprenticeship
Culinary career
Cooking styleNew Nordic Cuisine
Molecular Gastronomy
Rating(s)
Current restaurant(s)

Early life and education

Redzepi was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to an immigrant father from the Republic of Macedonia, in Yugoslavia, and a Danish mother.[6][7] His father is of Albanian ethnic descent.[8][9]

When he was young, Redzepi's family moved to Macedonia and lived in Tetovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian area, until 1992 – the start of the Yugoslav Wars.[10] Redzepi has said he found life in Macedonia very enjoyable compared to his later time in a small apartment in Denmark. In Macedonia, Redzepi lived in a rural area in a large multi-generation house where they ate locally sourced food, mostly vegetarian, and very healthy.[11]

After the family moved back to Denmark, Redzepi often spent his summers in Yugoslavia when he was young.[7]

Redzepi has a twin brother, Kenneth Redzepi. He and his brother had newspaper delivery jobs, working for a local store so that they could contribute to the family's income.[12]

When he was 15 years old, Redzepi left high school. He enrolled in a cooking school with a friend.[7]

Career

After choosing a culinary career, Redzepi trained at a local family-owned Michelin starred restaurant called Pierre André in Copenhagen, where he had an apprenticeship that lasted four years.[7] When he was 19 years old, he went to work at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier in Southern France.[7]

Redzepi first visited El Bulli as a guest in 1998 and subsequently worked there during the 1999 season.[13][14]

Back in Copenhagen, Redzepi started working at Kong Hans Kælder, which had been one of the city's leading gourmet restaurants since the mid-1970s. In 2001 he spent four months working under Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in California, but returned to Kong Hans Kælder and Copenhagen.[12]

In December 2002, when he was 24 years old, Redzepi was contacted by Claus Meyer, who had been offered the opportunity to operate a restaurant at the North Atlantic House, a former 18th-century warehouse which was being turned into a cultural centre for the North Atlantic region. The restaurant, Noma, was opened in 2004 with Redzepi as the head chef.[12] The name is a combination of the Danish words nordisk, which means Nordic, and mad, which means food.[6]

Redzepi sources much of his food locally and does research by foraging for food in the wild.[15][16] He said that this comes from his time living in Macedonia, where food was local and fresh. Much of the approach to the menu and food at Noma is based on seasonal themes of what is available at the time. Redzepi also focuses on fermentation and dehydration, experimenting with using as much of the plants, meat, and fish as possible.[17]

Redzepi has, at times, served insects.[18]

Personal life

Redzepi is married to chef Nadine Levy Redzepi, who grew up in Portugal and Denmark. They have three daughters.[19]

Awards and accolades
Rene Redzepi at taste London June 2014

Filmography
  • 2008: The Great British Menu (TV series) – 1 episode: Heston Blumenthal's Dinner at the Gherkin
  • 2008: Noma: A Boiling Point / Noma pa Kogepunktet (TV documentary)[36]
  • 2009: MasterChef (TV series) – 1 episode: #5.32
  • 2010: Three Stars (TV Movie documentary)
  • 2010: MasterChef: The Professionals (TV series) – 1 episode: #3.16
  • 2010: Noma at Boiling Point (TV Movie documentary)
  • 2012: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (TV series documentary) – 1 episode: Japan: Cook It Raw
  • 2012: The Mind of a Chef (TV series documentary) – 3 episodes: Rene, chef, Buddies
  • 2013: La última película (documentary)
  • 2014: Finding Gaston (documentary)
  • 2015: Noma: My Perfect Storm (documentary)[37]
  • 2016: Ants on a Shrimp (documentary)
  • 2016: Noma: Australia (TV series documentary) – 3 episodes: #1.1, #1.2, #1.3
  • 2018: How to Dine at René Redzepi's new noma (Without a Reservation) (short)
  • 2018: Ugly Delicious (TV series documentary) – 3 episodes: Tacos, Homecooking, BBQ

Works and publication

Books
  • Redzepi, René; Meyer, Claus; Isager, Ditte (foto) (2007). Henrik Kerrn-Jespersen (ed.). Noma: Nordisk Mad (in Danish). Denmark: Politiken. ISBN 978-87-567-7539-7. OCLC 475466661.
  • Redzepi, René; Meyer, Claus; Marmorstein, Dan A. (translated by); Isager, Ditte (photographs by) (2006). Kerrn-Jespersen, Henrik; Seedorff, Christine (eds.). Noma: Nordic Cuisine. Denmark: Politikens Forlag. ISBN 978-87-567-8333-0. OCLC 859381695.
  • Redzepi, René; Isager, Ditte (photographs by); Eliasson, Olafur; Skyum-Nielsen, Rune (2010). Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine. London: Phaidon. ISBN 978-0-7148-5903-3. OCLC 655678787.
  • Redzepi, René; Ulrich, Lars (2013). René Redzepi: A Work in Progress. Journal, Recipes and Snapshots. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-0-7148-6691-8. OCLC 858006266.

Journals

Documentaries
  • Redzepi, René; Vorting, Christian (director) (2008). Noma: A Boiling Point / Noma pa Kogepunktet (film). Copenhagen: Danish Broadcasting Corporation. OCLC 942337686.
  • Deschamps, Pierre (director); Deschamps, Etta Thompson (producer); Redzepi, René; Meyer, Claus; Adrià, Ferran (2015). Noma: My Perfect Storm. Los Angeles, California: Magnolia Home Entertainment. OCLC 940513265.

References
  1. Gershenson, Gabriella (19 December 2013). "A Nordic Noel With Chef René Redzepi". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. van Huis, A.; van Gurp, H.; Dicke, M.; Takken-Kaminker, F.; Blumenfeld-Schaap, D. (2014). The Insect Cookbook: Food for a Sustainable Planet. Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History. Columbia University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-231-53621-9. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  3. "The MICHELIN Guide Nordic Countries 2021 is Out!".
  4. "Noma wins world's best restaurant as Denmark claims top two spots". The Guardian. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. Reichl, Ruth; Redzepi, René; Chang, David (6 October 2010). Tasting Culture with René Redzepi, Ruth Reichl & David Chang. New York, NY: LIVE from the NYPL. Archived from the original (video interview) on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. Frewin, Angela (27 April 2010). "René Redzepi of Michelin-starred restaurant Noma". The Caterer.
  7. Durrant, Sabine (6 November 2010). "René Redzepi: the outsider". The Guardian.
  8. Bittman, Mark (3 November 2011). "Rene Redzepi, the Prince of Denmark". The New York Times.
  9. Moran, Terry (18 June 2010). "René Redzepi: In His Own Words" (Transcript and video). Nightline. ABC News.
  10. "René Redzepi and the story of Noma" (Video). Phaidon Press. 2010.
  11. Lajh, Andreja (10 November 2015). "Chapter 1: Rene Redzepi on his origins". Haut De Gamme.
  12. Frank, Søren (26 April 2010). "Mød verdens bedste kok = Meet the world's best cook". AOK (in Danish). Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  13. "Famous Spanish restaurant El Bulli shuts, for now". The Denver Post. Associated Press. 30 July 2011.
  14. Govan, Fiona (30 July 2011). "Top chefs fly in from around the world to pay tribute to El Bulli restaurant for one last time". The Daily Telegraph.
  15. Kramer, Jane (14 November 2011). "The Food at Our Feet". The New Yorker.
  16. Gajanan, Mahita (28 June 2017). "Chef René Redzepi Wants You to Forage for Your Own Food". Time.
  17. Lajh, Andreja (16 November 2015). "Chapter 2: Rene Redzepi on sustainability". Haut De Gamme.
  18. "René Redzepi just served bugs at Justin Timberlake's party! | food | Phaidon". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  19. Jenkins, Allan; Redzepi, Nadine Levy (recipes by) (17 September 2017). "Nadine Levy Redzepi: What do you cook for the world's best chef?". The Guardian.
  20. "Past List 2006: No. 33 NOMA (Denmark)". Restaurant. 2006.
  21. "Past List 2007: No. 15 NOMA (Denmark)". Restaurant. 2007.
  22. "Past List 2008: No. 10 NOMA (Denmark)". Restaurant. 2008.
  23. Lai, Trine (21 July 2008). "noma 1st and formel B 10th Best Restaurants in Europe!". Very Good Food.
  24. "New Nordic Food ambassador wins prize". Nordic Co-operation: The Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers. 11 December 2008.
  25. "Past List 2009: No. 3 NOMA (Denmark)". Restaurant. 2009.
  26. "Past List 2010: No. 1 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2010.
  27. "Past List 2011: No. 1 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2011.
  28. "Past List 2012: No. 1 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2012.
  29. "Past List 2013: No. 2 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2013.
  30. "Past List 2014: No. 1 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2014.
  31. "Past List 2015: No. 3 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2015.
  32. "Cateys 2016 winners revealed". The Caterer. 6 July 2016.
  33. Troelsø, Ole (12 May 2016). "René Redzepi er nu Ridder af Dannebrog" [René Redzepi is now Knight of Dannebrog]. Børsen (in Danish). Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  34. "Past List 2016: No. 5 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". Restaurant. 2016.
  35. "2019: No. 2 NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)". The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Restaurant. 2019.
  36. Redzepi, René; Vorting, Christian (director) (2008). Noma: A Boiling Point / Noma pa Kogepunktet (film). Copenhagen: Danish Broadcasting Corporation. OCLC 942337686.
  37. Deschamps, Pierre (director); Deschamps, Etta Thompson (producer); Redzepi, René; Meyer, Claus; Adrià, Ferran (2015). Noma: My Perfect Storm. Los Angeles, California: Magnolia Home Entertainment. OCLC 940513265.

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