13-04-2016
For René Redzepi the ten weeks in Australia have been an extraordinary kaleidoscope of new aromas, scents, ingredients. Here's Valeria Senigaglia report for Identità Golose
After Heston Blumenthal, René Redzepi has also chosen to bring his restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen, Down Under. Arriving from Tokyo, where he had temporarily moved, the chef promoting the New Nordic Cuisine left the kimono and wore flip flops for 10 weeks, bringing Scandinavian creativity and technique to Barangaroo, Sydney, in the country burnt by the sun. Redzepi fermented, smoked and pickled the best products Australia could offer to create a 12 course menu that was then wolfed down by only 5 thousand guests, those with the quickest fingers, who managed to get hold of a place before the restaurant sold out in 4 minutes.
Redzepi is not a serial restaurateur, he was led to Australia by the same curiosity that led him to rediscover the forgotten products of his land. For a whole year an army of over 100 people between cooks, sommeliers and local guides explored and tasted the Australian delicacies, including Monstera deliciosa, something in between a banana and a pineapple which looks however like a cob with a creamy texture, sweet when ripe but the herald of blisters if picked too early.
The staff from Noma on the day of the debut
«With so many products to discover, it’s hard to choose» said the Danish chef. And then: «Even the best crab in Denmark will never be as good as the snow crab from Western Australia». Finally, he made his choices creating a 12 course menu including Broth of frog crab and macadamia nuts, Berry salad with powdered Kakadu plum and seaweed broth, Wattleseed porridge [these seeds come from Australian acacia and taste like coffee and toasted hazelnuts] in saltbush leaves (Atriplex sp), Sea urchin with sweet tomato and pepperberries (similar to peppercorns but more versatile and used both for savoury and sweet recipes), The Breaded abalone cutlet with palm nuts and bunya (an indigenous conifer) and bouquet of local herbs. The Seafood and crispy chicken skin with crocodile fat, the same animal that kindly offered its skin for Vuitton bags, had even more success than the previous recipes, just like the Albany snow crab with fermented egg yolk in kangaroo broth. As a tribute to local tradition, the chef from Noma also offered his take on the traditional pie, a Dehydrated scallop tart with lantana flowers, served after the Crêpe with grilled milk filled with Magpie goose sauce and marrow. Of course there had to be fruit too: Marinated watermelon with wild Davidson plums, Iced mango with green ants and Wattleseed with salt and lemon caviar. To finish, the famous lamingtons with rum, a classic Australian dessert which Redzepi reinterpreted with milk crumbs, tamarind and oil of rose root; finally, Chocolate with peanut milk ice cream and farik (toasted green wheat).
Sea Beads, one of the ingredients discovered by Redzepi in Australia
Noma in Sydney
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by
Born in 1985, marine biologist and sustainability and cooking enthusiast. After living in many places, from NY to the Philippines, she returned to Italy and worked in communication as a freelance journalist. Now she lives in Australia