Acclaimed chef René Redzepi has announced that his fine dining restaurant Noma will be closing its doors to diners next year. Sharing the news of the end of its chapter in a statement, Redzepi – who has led the Copenhagen restaurant to worldwide acclaim, topping the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list five times – said Noma will be transitioning to a “test kitchen” and pop-ups.
“In 2025, our restaurant is transforming into a giant lab—a pioneering test kitchen dedicated to the work of food innovation and the development of new flavours, one that will share the fruits of our efforts more widely than ever before.”
Redzepi says they will focus their time on exploring new projects and developing more ideas and products.
“Our goal is to create a lasting organization dedicated to groundbreaking work in food, but also to redefine the foundation for a restaurant team, a place where you can learn, you can take risks, and you can grow!”
Financial challenges have also spurred the decision to close the restaurant. A few months ago, the restaurant – which charges around $800 NZD a head – made the move to start paying its interns a wage and Redzepi admitted in an interview with the New York Times that the industry is “unsustainable” as a business. “Financially and emotionally, as an employer and a human being, it just doesn’t work.”