Edible soil anybody?
What would you order if you had dinner at the world’s best restaurant? Not I suspect a tempting mixture of radishes and soil.A Danish restaurant which serves dishes such as radishes in edible soil has emerged as the best in the world, knocking Spain’s exclusive El Bulli off the top for the first time in five years and demoting the coveted British eatery The Fat Duck to number three.
Noma, which serves up Nordic specialities in a converted 18th century shipping warehouse on Copenhagen’s dockside, was crowned number one at the annual S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. They were announced in London last night.
Described as an “homage to soil and sea”, Noma has two Michelin stars and specialises in “cold climate cuisine”. It is famous for using seasonal and local ingredients largely unheard of outside of the Nordic region.
Headed by 32-year-old chef Rene Redzepi, the restaurant has become a favourite of gourmets worldwide. Meals can cost around £150 per head.
The restaurant has quickly established itself as a place of pilgrimage,” the judges said. “Copenhagen is no longer the last stop on the gastronomic subway.”
El Bulli’s defeat is another blow for the world’s most exclusive eatery and its trailblazing chef, Ferran Adria, 47, after he announced in January that the venue would close for two years from 2012.
He said he decided to shut the restaurant, situated on Spain’s northeastern Catalan coast, for reflection and plans to reopen it in a new format.
Adria is known for his avant-garde approach to cooking which uses high tech methods to “deconstruct” and rebuild ingredients to produce surprising dishes, such as gold-tinted caramel of quails’ eggs and a frozen dust of foie gras. He was still recognised at the awards when he was named chef of the decade.
Maybe it’s just me – but dishes like a frozen dust of foie gras leave me feeling rather cold.