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Fast Company
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
What I learned about the future of restaurants from Rene Redzepi's chef conference
The best part of last month's MAD Symposium in Copenhagen wasn't chef Thomas Keller telling young chefs in the audience to stop chasing Michelin stars—though he did say that. It wasn't chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés breaking down in tears as he described his organization's work cooking in Gaza. And it wasn't chef-turned-actor Matty Matheson describing his rise to fame on FX's industry hit, The Bear. Instead, under a giant red circus tent in Copenhagen, the star power dulled as the next generation stood up. The brightest spot came as four young Icelandic fishing guides stood onstage and presented a compelling and heartfelt argument against sea-farmed salmon. The seventh-generation guides, two sets of sisters in their late teens and early twenties, are among the first female guides in their country, helping visitors find and catch wild Atlantic salmon on the Laxá river in northern Iceland. I found their story interesting, unexpected, and inspiring—which, MAD's leadership says, is the entire point. For chefs, by chefs The MAD Symposium, named after the Danish word for 'food,' started 15 years ago. It's put on by a Copenhagen-based nonprofit, also called MAD, started by chef René Redzepi. Redzepi runs Noma, a restaurant consistently ranked among the best and most influential restaurants in the world. The Symposium is a kind of for-chefs, by-chefs event that also welcomes bartenders, servers, farmers, food producers, writers, and, this year for the first time, corporate sponsors. Attendees arrive by boat, gather under tents in variable Danish weather conditions, and eat a lot of exceptional food—this year including recipes from Los Angeles hot spot Anajak Thai, Copenhagen's Sanchez, and London's revered St. John, cooked and served by a tirelessly hospitable team, including Noma's chefs. 'I'm in the middle of a 14-day shift,' I heard one chef say during meal prep, though the people in the tented kitchen were (mostly) smiling. Industry challenges This year's event, MAD7, returned after a seven-year hiatus, during which COVID-19 ransacked the restaurant business, grappling with a big question: Is it possible to build to last in this industry? If you follow industry news, at least in America, it might not seem like it. In the last two years, dozens of major restaurant companies have shuttered locations, filed for bankruptcy, or closed outright. McDonald's recently experienced its worst sales decline since the pandemic. Those are just the corporate chains. Independent restaurants, always a tough business, are facing challenges that include rising costs and wage pressures, inflation, changes in consumer spending, and disruptions and uncertainty caused by natural disasters, economic constraints, and political leadership. In the years since MAD began, the tone around chefs and restaurants has shifted dramatically. An industry-wide reckoning sent plenty of top names packing and caused others— Redzepi included —to reexamine and adjust the way they treat workers and run kitchens. There's a sense that maybe it's time for the ' gods of food,' as Time magazine once called them in a feature that also included past MAD speakers David Chang and Brazilian chef Alex Atala (who once killed a chicken on the MAD stage) to step aside. Keller controversy The event itself was largely successful in its efforts to inspire important conversations about what should come next, even if it got off to a sleepy start. 'Legacy' was the theme of the first day, but some speakers missed the opportunity to reflect honestly on reality. The biggest example of this was a conversation between chefs Redzepi and Keller that completely ignored the bombshell story, published a week earlier, by San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan. In it, she reveals Keller pulled her aside during a visit to the French Laundry, his Napa Valley fine-dining restaurant, for a lecture about the merits of restaurant critics before asking her to leave. (Spoiler: She stays.) Might one of the world's greatest chefs address a bit of reasonable, if high-profile criticism in front of a friendly industry audience, we all wondered? Unfortunately, he did not. From supper clubs to pop-ups Thankfully, MAD managed to redeem itself the following day as talks turned to the future. Asma Khan, chef of London Darjeeling Express explained her business's evolution from supper club to pop-up to permanent restaurant employing—and empowering—immigrant women. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard spoke of his 2023 decision to, in his words, 'give away the company,' transferring its ownership to a nonprofit foundation. And Emilie Qvist, a young Danish chef, talked about her own future in restaurants: a series of short-term projects that included revitalizing a coastal fish restaurant in northern Denmark before closing it to travel and later sign on as chef for a six-month project—short-term stints are still excellent vectors for change and creativity, she explained. While the room was filled with bold-faced names of the restaurant world (even Keller stayed for the full program) the most impact came from those working more anonymously to create a better restaurant industry, a better legacy. As we filed out of the tent on Monday evening, first into a boat and then to a happy hour full of natural wine and caviar under a bridge beside a canal—this business has its perks!—I again considered the fishing guides' wild salmon pitch. A few years ago, they faced a catastrophic disaster when thousands of farmed salmon escaped from a nearby offshore farm. The escape threatened the country's wild fish with disease, parasites, and reproductive challenges. If the practice of sea farming continues, the young women said, the country's entire population of wild salmon is at risk of dying. That's bad news for anyone who cares about fishing practices, but it's worse news for the guides. Threatened also is their families' legacy—an outcome that loomed larger in a tent full of restaurant people than the fate of the fish.
Mint
3 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Does a Michelada Without Beer Still Taste as Sweet?
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- I find myself unhappily on trend. Young people everywhere are increasingly 'on the wagon' — to use the American idiom for sobriety from the 1920s, when the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned the production and sale of alcohol. The wagon in the expression was a public- service vehicle loaded with water to tamp down dust and grime on city streets; by extension, it described the clean and sober law-abiding citizens of America. According to some estimates, 39% of Gen Z say they have foresworn alcoholic drinks; about half of them imbibe such beverages only occasionally. Many have taken to non-alcoholic alternatives. I didn't set out to join that youthful bandwagon. Nevertheless, I have been alcohol-free since Jan. 20, 2025. Those of you who recognize that date as US Inauguration Day must get the coincidence out of your head. It just happened to be when I felt I'd had too much wine over the previous three months. Alas, my doctors agreed with me — because of decades of loving wine and champagne, not just those recent three months. And so, I've spent nearly 140 days looking at how to enjoy the brave new world of NA — a market that's gotten a huge boost in sales and creativity precisely because of health-focused Gen Z, a cohort that probably makes up 25% of the world's population. I am a late Boomer, but now I'm medically required to be young at heart. The NA market can be too sprawlingly defined, including everything from bottled water and high-fructose sodas to electrolyte-infused liquids to NA wines and beer. I'm going to look at beverages that someone who likes to sip good vintages would gravitate to, intriguing in their own right or complementary, even transformative, with food. I was in Copenhagen recently where I attended Noma Chef René Redzepi's revived MAD symposium on the future of restaurants.(1) These kinds of events are usually chock-full of discriminating chefs and sommeliers intent on sampling novel or rare wines and spirits. Would I find alcohol-free stuff to quaff to help me avoid all those temptations? I will admit to staring longingly at the wonderful vintages poured out in Copenhagen. I love wine, perhaps even more so now that I can't have it. But there was no shortage of NA wine. Indeed, Denmark is home to Muri, a pioneer in the blending of different fermented juices to create an alternative to wine. Other NA wine purveyors use physical means (often with low heat) to remove alcohol. That usually results in a thin impersonation of wine, with much of the mouthfeel and vibrancy extracted along with the ethanol (which is the predominant form of alcohol produced by the yeast in winemaking). Muri's process stops short of producing alcohol and utilizes several fruits fermented separately and then blended to create distinct potables. But as tasty as Muri can be (and its beverages are delicious), let me declare now that all the non-alcoholic wines I have sampled don't come close to the vivacity of even middling good wine. There are excellent NA sparklings — L'Antidote and L'Antilope by Domaine de Grottes in France's Beaujolais region — but even these are soda pop compared to champagne or even the new generation of English bubblies. Good wine is a liquid time capsule — a memento of earth, grape, water, the seasons and human touch. It moves beyond taste. I may no longer drink a good Savagnin from the Jura, but I can still appreciate its aroma. Nevertheless, the thrill of having something that looks and — at first blush — feels like wine is enough to fool the brain into producing dopamine. A guilty elation takes over, and you think, 'They've made a mistake. They've poured me real wine.' Soon enough, you realize it's an impostor in your glass. You aren't going to be fooled by the second — if you decide to have it. The NA beers I tasted in Copenhagen were more 'hoppy' or overly flavored with things like elderflower to disguise the absence of malted barley. That said, many non-alcoholic brews I've tried here in London are more successful in impersonating their originals. Guinness 0.0% is 99.9% identical in taste to its model (it has a flatter affect as it approaches room temperature). And Estrella Damm has tweaked the vacuum distillation method — the same one many NA winemakers use to remove alcohol — to reintroduce lost flavors. Its FreeDamm is remarkably good lager. Yet, the second-glass — or in this case, second pint — syndrome persists for both the lager and the stout. The buzz you thought you had turns out to be fantasy. Of course, the quest for buzz — that convivial lightheadedness — is the existential issue in the first place for many drinkers. The road to intoxication is broad. So how do you get the consumer to focus on flavor instead of inebriation? It may be cocktails or 'mocktails' — a terribly awkward word. But restaurants can customize drinks for their characteristic cuisine. I had a miraculous NA michelada at Sanchez, chef Rosio Sanchez's wonderful Mexican restaurant in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen. The super piquant concoction is usually made with beer, but that's been substituted by a NA pilsner from Rothaus, a German brewer. It went perfectly with the food, flowing and metamorphosing with the ingredients and heat. Micheladas — hellishly spicy — aren't for everyone and don't go with everything. But there are other choices. I had a range of kombuchas in Copenhagen (teas fermented with a variety of ingredients, including roses, magnolias and fig leaves) that were startlingly seductive. Those in the know will say that kombuchas contain some alcohol. That is an important concern for those with substance abuse issues. But the alcohol content is often less than a very ripe banana's (0.2% to 0.5% alcohol-by-volume in the fruit, compared with the 12% to 15% with wine).(2) The probiotics of kombucha may be beneficial too. NA alternatives are as costly as regular offerings — or more. Muri has about six different blends available on its websites, each around £25 ($33.75) a bottle. Guinness 0.0% is more expensive than regular Guinness. That's because — while the market is potentially enormous — the new technologies and processes for making the beverages can't scale up yet. The customer base has to grow to make everything more affordable. As for mocktails, restaurants have to find and pay bartenders skilled in fermentation to come up with those kombuchas, which take time to cultivate. If such things concern you, my friend Jenny Sharaf, an artist based in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, has an alternative to consider: the Wa-tini. You can style it like a Martini — dirty with olive juice, or with a twist or an indulgent kiss of NA vermouth — all poured into the classic glass. But one ingredient is key: bitingly cold, clean water. Shaken or stirred? It's all in your head. More From Bloomberg Opinion: (1) The previous MAD symposium was held in 2018. Funding and, eventually, the pandemic put a halt to what had been an annual get-together of the restaurant and food world. The name derives from a play on Danish and English. Mad means 'food' in Danish (pronounced like 'mal' and a close cognate of the word 'meal'). The insanity stems from the free-flowing proceedings at the symposium, which are conducted under a distinctive, four-peaked magenta circus tent. (2) A graver concern with NA beverages is sugar content and how it might affect diabetics or pre-diabetics who usually face much less risk with wine. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Howard Chua-Eoan is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering culture and business. He previously served as Bloomberg Opinion's international editor and is a former news director at Time magazine. More stories like this are available on
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Discover The Story Of New Nordic Cuisine At Norway's National Museum
Local ingredients are at the forefront of New Nordic cuisine. Two decades ago, a group of Scandinavian chefs met in Copenhagen and signed a manifesto that would quietly spark a global culinary revolution. Their mission was to redefine Nordic food culture by embracing seasonal, local ingredients and reviving traditional methods. Today, New Nordic cuisine has become a major culinary movement and one of Scandinavia's most influential cultural exports. This summer, Oslo's National Museum is peeling back the layers of this phenomenon in a major new exhibition: New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place. Running through September 14, the exhibition explores how the movement's philosophy of seasonality and sustainability has spread far beyond the kitchen, impacting the likes of design and architecture too. Among the 500 words on display, visitors will find handmade ceramics used in Michelin-starred restaurants, landscape paintings, sculptural menus, and photographs that reflect on nature, place and identity. When the manifesto was signed in 2004, it outlined ten principles, including purity, freshness, ethics and sustainability. Rather than replicating French haute cuisine, chefs like Claus Meyer and René Redzepi (of Noma fame) called for a culinary identity rooted in Nordic soil, climate and heritage. The movement redefined luxury in a Nordic context. Wild garlic or berries gathered from a nearby forest became just as prized as imported truffles. Pickling and fermentation, once survival techniques, were reimagined as high art. An outdoor pavilion will host interactive opportunities for visitors to the New Nordic Cuisine exhibition at Oslo's National Museum. Even the visual language shifted. Rustic wood, muted ceramics and dishes plated like miniature landscapes took center stage. Norwegian restaurants quickly became part of this wave. Oslo's Maaemo earned three Michelin stars by showcasing hyper-local ingredients with philosophical flair. Kontrast, RE-NAA, and Credo soon earned stars, each interpreting the New Nordic ethos in their own way with menus that change with the weather and interiors that echo the natural world. The National Museum's exhibition captures this intersection of cuisine and creativity. Alongside a langoustine press carved from wood and menus disguised as literary first editions, you'll find photographs, landscape paintings, and craft pieces that reflect the same aesthetic ideals: simplicity, nature, locality. A highlight is a handcrafted menu from the now-closed Ylajali restaurant in Oslo, designed to mimic the first edition of Knut Hamsun's Hunger. Another is ceramicist Sissel Wathne's bone-glazed tableware, created for Credo using reindeer bones. In true New Nordic style, the exhibition is not confined indoors. A specially designed outdoor pavilion on the museum's square will host foraging walks, open-fire cooking demos and fermentation workshops. Constructed from Norwegian spruce with wild plants growing on the roof, the space reflects the movement's principles of sustainability and local rootedness. The pavilion kitchen will host guest chefs and communal events through the summer. Visitors can participate by picking herbs from nearby forests and return to cook with them over a fire. Today, New Nordic Cuisine is studied in culinary schools and emulated in restaurants from Tokyo to Toronto. But its staying power comes not from trendiness, but from its grounding in a sense of place. Its call for seasonal, ethical and local eating resonates in a world packed with processed foods. The exhibition runs until September 14 at the National Museum in Oslo. A version of the show will then travel to the National Nordic Museum in Seattle in late 2025. Oslo is a fitting place for this exhibition given the Norwegian capital city hosts so many restaurants with Michelin stars earned for their innovative approaches. Maaemo stands at the pinnacle with three Michelin stars. Led by Chef Esben Holmboe Bang, Maaemo offers a seasonal tasting menu that emphasizes organic, wild and biodynamic Norwegian produce. Tables must be booked months in advance. Kontrast, holding two Michelin stars, is known for its commitment to sustainability and seasonality, while its name explains its concept of combining colors and tastes. Chef Mikael Svensson crafts dishes that highlight the purity of local ingredients, presented in a minimalist and modern setting. Other Oslo highlights include refined dining in historic surroundings at Statholdergaarden, and the hyper-modern takes on New Nordic cuisine at Bar Amour and Savage.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Lucinda O'Sullivan's restaurant review: Prepare for pure culinary mastery in the early bird menus at these popular restaurants
Value menus are more in demand than ever, writes our critic, as she discovers some of the best offers on the table Today at 21:30 There was a time when, probably having downed four vodkas in the pub with a crowd of friends, it'd be 9pm before we'd even think of descending on a restaurant; a time when the early bird was only for elderly Americans. Everything changed when the recession hit and early birds suddenly became a necessity, keeping the restaurant industry and ourselves afloat. This all reared its head again after the lockdowns, with restaurants finding themselves empty by 10pm. The 'long Covid' for the industry, not helped by the VAT situation, is that many restaurants are closed in the early part of the week and once again there's a prevalence of value menus. Call them what you like, pre-theatre or whatever, but they're basically early birds and offering value that's not to be sniffed at. We were blown away recently by a 'Neighbourhood' menu in Volpe Nera in Blackrock, priced at just €38pp, that was not only a highly skilled, detailed and complex presentation of dishes, but would rival some of the most expensive restaurants around. I remember pastry chef Louise Bannon, who spent seven years in René Redzepi's Noma in Copenhagen, telling me that on a Saturday night every chef had to present a new dish to the team which was analysed, discussed and perhaps developed for the customers. Well, at Volpe Nera, Barry Sun has challenged his chefs to develop their own ideas and boy does this bring out the competitiveness and talent.
