Noma to pop-up down under

Having taken his three Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant to Japan earlier this year, René Redzepi’s Noma will be popping up in Australia next January.

René Redzepi

The 10-week pop-up will take place in Sydney’s harbourside Barangaroo precinct and will focus on local seasonal Australian produce.

Noma’s five-week pop-up in Japan was a storming success, leaving 62,000 diners on the waiting list.

“The immersion into Japanese culture challenged us to understand a new set of ingredients, develop new mindsets and explore new possibilities,” Redzepi said in a statement.

Edible soil at the A Taste of Noma pop-up at Claridge’s

“I’ve been wanting to spend more time in Australia exploring, tasting, and understanding its ingredients.

“From the tropical fruit in the north, to the native pepper leaf of Tasmania; the pristine fish and shellfish of the south and all the new exotic wonders in between.

“Our research forays will take us into the bush, around every shoreline, weeding our way through Flinders and Kangaroo Island,” he added.

Noma’s flagship in Copenhagen has spent three years at the top spot of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, but was toppled this year by El Celler de Can Roca in Girona.

Noma will be closed during the 10-week Australia pop-up as Redzepi plans to relocate the entire team to Sydney in order to give diners as authentic a Noma experience as possible. Details of the menu are being kept under wraps.

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.

Australia seems a popular choice for top chefs to relocate to – earlier this year Heston Blumenthal set up a temporary version of The Fat Duck in Melbourne while renovation work was carried out on its grade II listed home in Bray.