{"id":8363,"date":"2026-03-12T03:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7569505\/celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:31:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:31:52","slug":"celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8363\/celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrity chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi resigns from iconic Danish restaurant Noma after abuse allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) \u2014 Ren\u00e9 Redzepi, the founder and celebrity chef at the iconic Danish restaurant Noma that won three Michelin stars and other international accolades for its innovative \u201cNew Nordic\u201d cuisine<\/a>, has stepped down following allegations of abuse and assault at the Copenhagen landmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Redzepi has been dogged for years by reports of mistreatment of his staff as well as his yearslong use of unpaid interns to staff the pricy restaurant, which was ranked first on the World\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants List<\/a> five times. But the criticism recently came to a head on social media, and an article in The New York Times<\/a> detailed former employees’ accounts of abuse just days ahead of the opening of a Noma pop-up in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Sponsors have since pulled their funding for the Southern California residency, which opened on Wednesday to a small gathering of protesters and where a meal will cost $1,500. Redzepi announced his resignation on Instagram with a tearful video soon after.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years,\u201d he wrote in the post’s caption on Thursday. \u201cI recognize these changes do not repair the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Ignacio White, a former head of Noma\u2019s fermentation lab, collected anonymous testimonies of alleged abuse at the restaurant and posted them to his Instagram page. The accounts, which range from verbal abuse to physical assault at the hands of Redzepi and his deputies, have gone viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got punched in the face during service there,\u201d one unidentified person wrote to White.<\/p>\n

Another said: \u201cNoma destroyed my passion for the industry. I struggled with intense anxiety, bad enough to give me panic attacks in the middle of the night. The trauma, abuse and idea that nothing would ever change all led me to walk away from the career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redzepi has publicly addressed his aggression over the last decade. In response to Saturday’s New York Times article, which included interviews with 35 former employees who worked at Noma between 2009 and 2017, the chef apologized on Instagram and said he has worked to change his behavior.<\/p>\n

He was knighted in 2016 to Denmark’s Order of Dannebrog by then-Queen Margrethe II. <\/p>\n

Noma, Redzepi and the Danish royal family’s press department did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Kristoffer Dahy Ernst, editor-in-chief of Danish food magazine Gastro, said Redzepi had to step down for the restaurant to have a chance of survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cRen\u00e9 Redzepi is the face of Noma, he is Noma,\u201d Dahy Ernst told The Associated Press. \u201cIf you want to solve the huge problem that Noma has right now, you have to remove the source of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dahy Ernst said it is unclear whether Noma can continue without its visionary founder, who brought international acclaim to a Scandinavian country that can trace a change in its gastro-tourism before and after the restaurant’s 2003 opening. With its dedication to hospitality, flawless execution and culture of foraging from the nearby land and sea, Noma made Copenhagen a top dining destination for foodies worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very old-fashioned. We had open-faced sandwiches with rye bread, but we weren\u2019t really that proud of our gastronomy,\u201d Dahy Ernst said.<\/p>\n

Nick Curtin, the American executive chef and owner of Copenhagen’s Michelin-starred Alouette restaurant, said the culinary industry gives too much power to a single person at the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long overdue that we get rid of the notion that sacrifice, humiliation, pain (and) violence are the ways \u2014 the building blocks \u2014 for greatness,\u201d he told the AP.<\/p>\n

Copenhagen local Nicklas Keng said he doesn\u2019t expect that an industrywide reckoning will follow. But he\u2019s hopeful that even if Noma\u2019s excellence fades, its talented alumni in Denmark will ensure that Copenhagen\u2019s food scene stays on the map.<\/p>\n

For Annie Nguyen, an American tourist visiting Copenhagen, Noma had long been on her list of places to check out. But the recent headlines have prompted a change of heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally would not want to continue dining there with that kind of culture,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel it does kind of leave a bad taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Copenhagen restaurant was closed as scheduled on Thursday due to the Los Angeles pop-up, but the nearby Noma cafe was business as usual, and visitors milled around to buy coffee and specialty sauces. ___<\/p>\n

Dazio reported from Berlin.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
FILE – Danish chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi, in London, April 29, 2013. (AP Photo\/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Noma’s chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi smells a citrus fruit in Copenhagen, Nov. 24, 2024. (Soeren Bidstrup\/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A staff member polishes the glass doors outside a Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (Keld Navntoft\/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Exterior of Noma in Copenhagen, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Sebastian Elias Uth\/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) \u2014 Ren\u00e9 Redzepi, the founder and celebrity chef at the iconic Danish restaurant Noma that won three Michelin stars and other international accolades for its innovative \u201cNew Nordic\u201d cuisine, has stepped down following allegations of abuse and assault at the Copenhagen landmark. Redzepi has been dogged for years by reports of mistreatment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"45a2e507-30be-47c7-95e6-9c33a15d1db7","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"James Brooks And Stefanie Dazio","published":"2026-03-12 03:32:19","updated":"2026-03-12 15:24:09","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1822,1815,1829],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-8363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-international","category-media"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8363\/celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Celebrity chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi resigns from iconic Danish restaurant Noma after abuse allegations","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8363\/celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8363\/celebrity-chef-ren-redzepi-resigns-from-iconic-danish-restaurant-noma-after-abuse-allegations\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-b14a77052dc31cbbc83afcaf4557903642d520bebc48d47ae8d1046386fc1872.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-b14a77052dc31cbbc83afcaf4557903642d520bebc48d47ae8d1046386fc1872.jpg"},"articleSection":"Entertainment","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-03-12T10:32:19Z","datePublished":"2026-03-12T10:32:19Z","dateModified":"2026-03-12T22:31:52Z"},"rendered":"