Some of the first impressions of a country we’ve never visited begin with food. Even before setting foot in a new place, food offers us a lens through which to see and understand a culture.

 

I’ve been fortunate to experience two Noma pop-ups: Tulum in 2017 and Kyoto in 2023 and 2024. What’s fascinating about them is how they zoom in on the essence of a place—its seasonality, micro-seasonality, and the edible world—functioning almost like a microscope.

 

In Kyoto, the journey unfolded from endemic seaweeds to wild sake, bamboo to koji, lotus to amakase, wine to unexpected sea creatures, beer, and beyond. It served a simultaneous micro and macro view of Japan’s traditions, avant-garde perspectives, craftsmanship, and cuisine.

 

These are wild flavors—in their original form and through Noma’s imaginative hands. Some are locally beloved, while others are groundbreaking and unfamiliar. Either way, skimming through the Noma in Kyoto magazine reveals the collective heart of a team genuinely invested in paying homage to this unparalleled destination.

 

Take koji, for example. Traditionally used in miso, soy sauce, and sake production, at Noma it becomes a centerpiece, sometimes mimicking a solid protein, cooked in entirely unexpected ways. Through conversations with sommelier Mees and Max, who were incredibly knowledgeable about all things ethylic, I learned how avant-garde brewers embrace unpolished rice as a nod to ancient sake-making methods. This approach not only reduces waste but also celebrates the whole grain.

The food was challenging, mind bending, and ultimately life-affirming. Yet when you put it into perspective, it’s an ephemeral note within a much larger story: the research, exploration, and experimentation poured into these pop-ups. Over 100 families are relocated to a new country. So the journey to articulate this chapter begins way before I took my seat at the table, that´s why I´m always electrified by the collective creativity floating around in the air.

 

I´ve become such a Noma fan over the years because I´ve never felt it´s just about food, you always seem to be getting so much more than a meal.

 

Though I absolutely agree with René Redzepi that food is everything, yet the brilliance of all of this goes beyond, beyond this first lens in which you shape your idea of a place. It branches out into the wonderful team of people that passionately share their insights on a specific ingredient or drink, into the relationships that are woven with dedication, in the precision, focus, discipline of the work, into the intentional space crafted with warmth, into the local artists and artisans that are highlighted all around. 

 

What consistently strikes me is Noma’s reverence for the natural world—not only showcased on every plate but elevated throughout the spaces it touches. There’s a silent aliveness imbued in every detail, a testament to a team attune to beauty and committed to its form and impact. A banquet on all the levels.

 

The first time I visited Noma Copenhagen, I told Pablo Soto that it didn’t feel like a restaurant—it felt like a home. Maybe not a physical home, but the kind that lives inside us all, pulsing with belonging. One that feels at ease in the natural world, where its inputs provide harmony, and where each part forms a symbiotic balance within the whole.

 

 

 

CONNECT

What does to experience 

mean in practice? 

 

The next time you´re out at your favorite restaurant or local spot, try to tune into more senses alongside taste. Pause for a moment to engage touch, smell, sight, sound. 

 

How does that feel?

REFLECT