Noma dishwasher made co-owner of top restaurant

A dishwasher who has toiled in the kitchen of world-famous Danish restaurant Noma since it opened in 2003 has been made a co-owner in “recognition of his hard work and enduring smile”.

Lau Richter, Noma’s service director, James Spreadbury, restaurant manager, and Ali Sonko, dishwasher, have been made co-owners in Noma. Credit: Facebook Rene Redzepi

Ali Sonko, 62, was described as the “heart and soul” of the restaurant by its owner and chef Rene Redzepi, having worked as a dishwasher in his kitchen for the past 14 years. Sonko moved to Denmark 34 years ago after emigrating from his native Gambia, where he had worked as a farmer.

As well as Sonko, two other members of staff were also made co owners; Lau Richter, Noma’s service director, and James Spreadbury, restaurant manager since 2009.

Announcing his new business partners in a post on Facebook, Rene Redzepi said: “As we close the doors to the old Noma, we also push towards the next rendition. We are almost positive we will open the doors to our new space at the end of this year. But, most importantly, we are here to tell you that Noma in its new edition will have a handful of new partners.

“It gives me incredible joy to let the world know that our restaurant managers Lau and James, and our dishwasher, Ali, have become partners in Noma. This is only the beginning, as we plan to surprise several more of our staff with a piece of the walls that they have chosen to work so hard within. This move is one of the happiest moments of my time at Noma.”

Last year the two-Michelin-starred restaurant announced that it would be closing the restaurant at its current site and reopening on an urban farm in Copenhagen in December 2017.

Upon moving to its new rural location, Redzepi plans to put a greenhouse on the roof of the farm, which will include a floating field on a giant raft. He also plans to employ a full-time farmer to look after the land, which will produce seasonal fresh produce for the kitchen, wild game, foraged mushrooms, berries and seafood.

Noma was crowned the World’s Best restaurant three years in a row from 2010 to 2012 and then again in 2014, but was toppled in by Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca in 2015.

Noma dishwasher Ali Sonko