Is this the end of noma? That is a legitimate question.
Los Angeles, March 13, 2026
To set the tone here: supposedly, journalists report the news and are neutral. But me, as a critic, I give an opinion, which is what I am going to do below.
In January 2026, chef René Redzepi announced that noma would be coming to Los Angeles for a sixteen-week pop-up, from March 11 to June 26, at a $1,500 price ticket per person (menu, beverage pairing, hospitality and tax, and limousine service included). Back then, I did not have time to write about it as I was getting ready to head to Marrakech and indulge in the true culinary flavors that make Moroccan cuisine an absolute delight.
Going to noma
I have to admit, I have never been to noma in Denmark, so I have no point of reference, except overhearing that chef René Redzepi was granted with the title of the world’s best restaurant five times by one organization.
Since I am currently in Los Angeles, I decided to take my car and drive to The Paramour Estate in Silver Lake, where the pop-up is. I wanted to see firsthand what was happening. Security guards were holding what had become a fort, opening the black iron gate only to let cars in and out. All cars had tinted windows, so you could not see who had paid $1,500 per person to experience the cuisine of now resigned chef René Redzepi.
Yes, under the action of protestors, on March 11, 2026, in a four-minute and eighteen second video, René Redzepi announced in his own words “I am going to step away… We win over our guests one by one… I am going into planning the next phase.” Down the street two LAPD cruisers were guarding the street. Each car entering the estate was greeted by protesters.
Video © GAYOT.com
But how did this happen?
Like a soufflé, the excitement of chef René Redzepi bringing noma to Los Angeles kept rising. But on March 7, 2026, The New York Times released an article titled “Punching, Slamming, Screaming: A Chef’s Past Abuse Haunts Noma, the World’s Top-Rated Restaurant,” by Julia Moskin. Moskin interviewed more than 35 former noma employees, cataloging a litany of abuse allegations. They included Jason Ignacio White, who served, for five years, as Director of Fermentation at noma — one of the highest levels of leadership in the company — where he said he witnessed widespread abuse.
White has now become the central figure in bringing the noma abuse allegations to light. He has been standing with others in front of The Paramour Estate, where I interviewed him. See the exclusive video below.
Video © GAYOT.com
Now, the soufflé has fallen, if there is even any left.
> For more information, to go the noma Abuse official website.
Changing of the title
Let’s cross the bridge directly. It seems that from the world’s best restaurant accolades, noma has now been bestowed with the title “world’s worst restaurant to work at.”
The Paramour Estate is a Beaux-Arts inspired 1920s era villa built by socialite Daisy Canfield thanks to her very good taste and her inheritance of a petroleum fortune. At the time it was christened as “the most beautiful home in Hollywood.” In 1929, the estate became a boarding school for orphan girls and young women during the Great Depression. The Canfield family trust also established a scholarship fund, enabling many students to attend university at a time when higher education for women was rare. The Estate was gifted to the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and reopened as the Immaculate Conception Convent and Home for Girls in 1953. In 1988, it became an Historic-Cultural Landmark. In 1991, designer Dana Hollister purchased the property, restored the Mansion and grounds and transformed it as a hotel and an event space. Driven by a philanthropic spirit, she has also hosted charity concerts supporting music education and free health care.
Do you think all these women would condone what happened for years in the kitchen of noma under the tenure of its chef René Redzepi?
Respect
Out of a three-minute interview I did with CBS LA reporter Hunter Sowards, they extracted the six seconds where I discuss respect.
I was recently exchanging messages with one of the world’s best chefs. Here is how the chef ended the conversation: “I also thank my team who is doing an exceptional work.” After watching the video, my son, who knows me the best, said: “Well done!! Let’s bring respect in this world.“
Mr. Redzepi, it seems to be an easy way out by posting an edited resignation video on your Instagram account, with tears in the eyes, not yours but of your team members — I am refusing to link to it in my article. We know the video was filmed in Hollywood, and it is Oscars® week, but isn’t it too much, too fake?
Being a creative chef does not give ANY right to abuse your team members, repeatedly, for so many years both physically and mentally. You have admitted, in writing, that you have gone to therapy after these very unfortunate events. Maybe, you should have addressed your issues before and not inflict upon others your deep anger; especially, and above all when you are directly responsible for so many. You should have been smarter than that…
More prizes
Mr. Redzepi, here is the list of prizes you can add to your resume:
– American Express, a sponsor of the 2026 Los Angeles pop-up, pulled out on the first day
– Blackbird, a hospitality start-up, did the same
– you have hurt many lives
– you have hurt the restaurant industry
– but on the good side, you have started a movement of anti-abuse in the workplace. How funny that it started in Los Angeles, like the #metoo one in 2017. Has Los Angeles become a benchmark for new ideas? After all, in English, it translates to the “City of Angels.”
I will update the list when necessary.
Personally, I think you might be cooked
Since my message is clear, let’s conclude with this video. It’s what we call karma, and “what goes around comes around.“
Ah, and also, if Mr. René Redzepi wants to give me his side of the story, I will be more than happy to meet with him and update my article.
Video © GAYOT.com
