The head chef at the world’s most prestigious restaurant has issued a grovelling apology after dozens of former employees accused him of physical, verbal and psychological abuse — just days before the opening of his highly anticipated $1,500-per-person pop-up in Los Angeles.
René Redzepi, who founded Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, became a culinary superstar after opening his eatery in 2003. It was ranked best in the world by Restaurant magazine a record five times between 2010 and 2021, and was awarded three Michelin stars.
While whispers of bullying and bad behavior have long threatened to overshadow his glittering career, the star chef has previously denied physically abusing staff, instead claiming he may have “bumped” into them.
But in a bombshell investigation published by The New York Times on Saturday, 35 former employees say they witnessed Redzepi punch workers in the face, jab them with kitchen implements and slam them against walls.
“Going to work felt like going to war,” one ex-employee told The Times. “You had to force yourself to be strong, to show no fear.”
Redzepi responded to the claims in a statement, saying: “Although I don’t recognize all details in these stories, I can see enough of my past behavior reflected in them to understand that my actions were harmful to people who worked with me. To those who have suffered under my leadership, my bad judgment, or my anger, I am deeply sorry and I have worked to change.”
After opening Noma, Redzepi won instant accolades for his “New Nordic” cuisine, with a focus on hyper-local foraged foods, including wild berries and forest mushrooms.
The restaurant once served reindeer brain custard covered in bee pollen, which garnered international headlines and made the restaurant a bucket-list destination for the wealthiest and most powerful people on the planet.
But in the back kitchen, chefs say they were terrified and traumatized by Redzepi, who also allegedly engaged in body shaming and public ridicule.
One female chef told The Times that Redzepi punched her in the ribs so hard that she fell against a metal counter, cutting her hip on its corner. The incident left her bleeding and crying on the floor.
A male chef said Redzepi would often take his anger out on all staffers, even if they had not made any mistakes.
“He just went down the line and punched us in the chest…even the interns who had been upstairs picking elderflowers,” the ex-employee alleged, recalling one particular instance.
30 former employees said physical abuse carried out by Redzepi and other senior chefs was “routine.”
As a boss, Redzepi purportedly presided over a kitchen in which senior chefs would intimidate and abuse their subordinates. Many were scared to leave or speak out for fear that they would be blacklisted from working at other exclusive eateries.
“He raised a generation of bullies, and they bullied us,” Mehmet Çekirge, who worked as a Noma intern in 2018, told The Times.
The Turkish native said supervisors mocked his accent, called him a donkey and made gobbling sounds as he walked by.
Ex-employees interviewed by The Times said they witnessed the abuse occur between 2009 and 2017.
The Times report comes after a whistleblower website, noma-abuse.com, was set up last month by former Noma fermentation lab lead Jason White.
White compiled a digital dossier of horror stories from 56 staff and the site has received more than 9 million page views in two weeks.
A Noma spokeswoman said the company has been overhauled and now has formal HR systems and management training in place.
In 2023, Redzepi announced he planned to close Noma to devote attention to other projects, including global pop-ups.
Next week, Redzepi’s Los Angeles pop-up will open at the historic Paramour Estate in Silverlake.
A 16-week stint running from March 11 through June 26 sold out in minutes despite the eye-watering price tag of $1,500 per person.
However, a protest held by former employees is planned outside the event on opening night, with participants purportedly set to call for accountability and a re-evaluation of Noma’s reputation.
It threatens to overshadow the fine dining festivities and rattle the deep-pocketed diners who paid four figures for the coveted cuisine.
In his interview with The Times, Redzepi attempted to distance himself from the upcoming pop-up, saying he stepped away from leading day-to-day service.
He added that he has undergone therapy and has “found better ways to manage” his anger.
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