US News Metro Long Island Politics

Sports NFL MLB Olympics NBA NHL College Football College Basketball WNBA

Business Personal Finance

Entertainment TV Movies Music Celebrities Awards Theater

Lifestyle Weird But True Sex & Relationships Viral Trends Human Interest Parenting Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Travel

Health Wellness Fitness Health Care Medicine Men’s Health Women’s Health Mental Health Nutrition

Science Space Environment Wildlife Archaeology

Today’s Paper Covers Columnists Horoscopes Crosswords & Games Sports Odds Podcasts Careers

Email Newsletters Official Store Home Delivery Tips

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

Noma chef’s departure is a chance for change— but California needs to fix two vital issues for restaurants to thrive

Chef René Redzepi has resigned from his role overseeing the restaurant group behind Noma following a week of anticipated protests surrounding his $1,500-per-person pop-up planned for LA.

In his statement, Redzepi noted that Noma is bigger than any one person, which is entirely correct.

At restaurants of this stature, it’s the cooks, dishwashers, line cooks, and sous chefs who ultimately make the operation run.

Grand vision matters, of course. Every great restaurant begins with a creative leader.

But once an institution reaches the global prominence of Noma, it becomes far more than the ideas of a single chef. It becomes a machine powered by the relentless work of dozens of people behind the scenes. Those workers should power on.

What likely made Redzepi’s position untenable was not simply criticism from food writers or social media. I imagine the pressure from financial sponsors and partners was simply too intense.

As anyone in the food service industry knows, when sponsors and investors get nervous, decisions happen quickly. Money talks.

The well-organized protests, complete with professionally printed signs and coordinated messaging, added to that pressure.

Organized protest campaigns have become a familiar part of the restaurant industry’s political landscape,........

© New York Post