Noma to move restaurant to Japan

Three Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant Noma is to move to Japan for two months at the beginning of 2015.

Noma’s head chef, René Redzepi

In a statement on the Noma website, head chef René Redzepi said: “Five years ago, I was invited to Japan by chef Murata of the acclaimed Kikunoi and was awestruck by the richness of Japanese food culture.

“In some way since that first visit, I’ve been secretly planning this temporary relocation.”

While Noma’s entire staff will move to Tokyo to work on the project, rather than working with Danish ingredients, Redzepi plans to make the most of “pristine winter produce” from across Japan.

Will Noma wow Japanese diners with live ants?

“The whole staff is exhilarated, like myself, by this opportunity and we believe that the wealth of knowledge from the journey will enrich our own restaurant and cooking when we return to Copenhagen,” Redzepi wrote on the Noma website.

Further details about the project will be announced in June.

This is not the first time Noma has upped sticks to a different country. In August 2012, Redzepi and his team made Claridge’s in London their home for the month-long A Taste of Noma pop-up.

The stint hit the headlines due to the serving of live ants for one of the courses. Presented in a Kilner jar, the ants tasted of lemongrass as they share a chemical component.

Last week, culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal announced he was moving his three Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck to Melbourne for six months in 2015 while renovation work is carried out on its grade II listed home in Bray.