A stint at the World's Best Restaurant
Internship @ Noma
I had the opportunity to spend a short spelt at Noma couple of months ago; and that was simply mind-blowing as you may imagine. Something I had in mind for a while & it was a privilege to be part of such dedicated team even for such short time.
So, where do I start; well first it is clear that intern or paid worker they can’t mess up with whom they are taking on board. I have contacted René Redzepi via Instagram and was given the number of his manager; after a couple of interviews/chat and reviews of my CV dates were fixed; 4 weeks to start full on from the end of September
I have arrived 3 days before my stage started settle in Copenhagen. I was super excited as you may imagine; I was pretty soon to be in a place I have dreamed about going for the last 10 years and finally could make it. I found great 1 bedroom flat in a nice area call Amagerbro 4.5 kms away from Noma; found a great second hand bicycle too!
First day before arriving mixed feelings went through my mind, nervousness and excitement. The former disappeared when I persuade myself before entering in that after all I have already quite a bit of experience under my belt at amazing places so should just relax and enjoy the moment.
The restaurant itself is stunning (and Huge!!), entering trough the staff door I met one of the sous chef who brought me to James, the main restaurant Manager. Most nervous part as to introduce myself during morning briefing (mind you the team is composed of 120 people and most nationalities you could find on a planet); once passed this, time to work. What a day it was; once task allocated to everyone it is like being on a high-speed train, in a good way. The all team members working at a very fast paced yet paying attention to every detail; everything has to be (and is) as perfect as it can possibly be; whether is cleaning the table; polishing cutlery or preparing vegetables, everything is done meticulously with pride, care & extreme passion; AND QUICKLY!
On my first day one of my tasks was to make pumpkin bowl; very demanding but such an amazing feeling to know that some guests will enjoy a meal here and that I would have contributed a little to their experience. It is very much the spirit of the team there; learning from each other, working extremely hard together with the determination to offer something unique and truly amazing to the guests. And yes, this is achieved in so many aspects. Every single detail mattered, from the cutlery use to each dish passing by the decoration who changes constantly in order to match every season, but most importantly the thought into the food is insane. I mean by insane that they are working every products combinations and cooking method you can think of (and way beyond) to craft the best menu matching the season you are in. Being there in October it was the game season; a delightful 22 servings combining flair, research and creativity; but most importantly makes sense and taste great.
Throughout my days there I was involved in different tasks from making duck tongue spoons; preparing berries or planting some cabbages to name a few. Everything was truly amazing, especially eating the 22 servings as a guest during a test run. Memories to last for a long time. After being there for small amount of time it is easy to understand why Noma is considered to be the best restaurant in the World. What an inspiration for people within the hospitality industry and an eye-opener of why I’m doing this job in the first place.
To be continued…