'In an effort to shape our way of cooking, we look to our landscape and delve into our ingredients and culture, hoping to rediscover our history and shape our future'
We were given a few minutes to settle in and make ourselves comfortable in the surroundings. We then ordered our wine, Adam took the reins on this so I can't really comment on the wine list myself. We settled to start with a glass of champagne and then a bottle of white from the Bourgogne region in France.
Within moments we were underway with our first course, the first eleven being the appetisers, the next six being considered the mains, and then a final three for dessert. To make it easier to layout the twenty courses I have listed them below and given a short explanation... enjoy the journey:
1. Elderflower Gooseberries
Carefully pricked with a toothpick for easy eating just like an olive. We were told to eat them fast to not lose their taste so in they went in one mouthful. It was a sour explosion of berry and chilled enough to feel it was thawing within your mouth. A quick intense moment of sweet and sour.
2. Nordic Coconut
A warm quince broth with a mushroom like flavour, served in a Nordic Coconut which to me looks like a cross between a turnip and a red potato... We sipped this through a shoot which made the experience of this course all the more fun. Definitely one of my favourites. Simple and intriguing.
3. Moss and Cep
This was deep-fried Reindeer moss believe it or not. Tasted like moss, had a texture like moss, and sprinkled in mushroom salt and served with cream fraiche. Interesting... but not a winner in my books, I have no desire to be a reindeer.
4. Blackcurrant and Berry Roses
We had to forage ourselves to get a taste of these little beauties. They had a hard candy-like shell and exploded in your mouth with an intense hit of berry and the softness of rose petals. Very cool and wicked presentation... I wanted more!
5.Cheese Cookies and Stems
These were cheese flavoured savoury crackers with finely chopped chives and rocket stems on top. I love a good herb so this was a mouthful of goodness with a peppery slap from the rocket. It was also a delight for these treats to be served in a traditional biscuit tin.
6. Pickled and Smoked Quails Egg
This was one of the most exciting presentations we had for the evening. These pickled and smoked quails eggs were served in a egg shell filled with wood shavings. As soon as you opened the top half a wood aroma and smoke drifted out, we were told to eat them quickly so they did not lose their flavour. The eggs were rubbery in texture but as soon as they popped the yolk oozed and a hint of smokey flavour was released. Deliciously good!
For those of you not common with the Danish language, Ebleskiver actually means grasshopper. Yes we ate grasshoppers. Grasshoppers that had been fermented for precisely 17 weeks we were told. They were then sautéed with leafy greens, a bit of garlic and ensconced in a dumpling like enclosure and believe it or not they were rather tasty!!! However had they been in their insect form I don't think I would have been so in like.....!
8. Sea-urchin Toast
This was my least favourite dish out of the whole experience. I had one bite of this and had to wash it down with my wine immediately. The urchin looked muddy, it had a sludgy texture and looked as though it was melting on its 'toast.' It was topped with duck fat crackling which was a crunchy garnish however I still wanted to barf. I quickly consumed the rest of this course and wanted to get on to the next one as soon as possible.
9. Chestnuts and Trout Roe
This was a small bowl of the largest fish roe I have seen, which reminded me of little Nemo's :( They were served with thinly sliced chestnuts which created a milk like soup. I really enjoyed the flavour of the chestnuts but felt a little ashamed eating all the fish roe which popped in your mouth, saying goodbye one by one...
10. Pike Head
As explained on the route to the restaurant in Part One we were discussing things we would not like to eat, mine being fish heads and insects. Never had I known I would be put to the test with both of these during the 20 courses! Number 10 was a Pike head - barbecued and pierced with a stick for easy eating. We were told by the chef to eat the cheek and if one is daring to eat the eyeball. The cheek was amazing, the flesh so delicate and moist - who would have thought?! I didn't go for the eyeball but Adam swallowed it down whilst thinking 'Why the heck am I eating the eyeball?!!'
11. Burnt Leek
They were obviously quite enjoying the use of the BBQ at Noma, this course was a charcoaled leek cut in slices inside. It was very flavoursome and was sprinkled with fennel leaves which I found rather overpowering.
12. Fresh Milk Curd and Blueberry Preserves
This was a thin slice of goats curd encased in a blueberry like jelly. It was a refreshing and sour flavour but was also covered with fennel leaves... which were once again too strong and overpowering.
13. Squid and Fennel
I wasn't a big fan of this course but the presentation was amazing. The squid was raw and served in a bowl of ice, it was dressed with what looked like 'A Thousand Island Dressing' and sliced broccoli stems. What a good way to use something I would usually discard so easily!
14. Beets and Aromatic Herbs
These were slow roasted beets, with a sweet fruit dressing. There were eucalyptus berries and fennel leaves scattered which made for a strong flavour but this time I thought it complimented the dish rather than overpowering it.
15. Cauliflower and Pine, Cream and Horseradish
This dish was delicious, I didn't actually know cauliflower could be so flavourful! It seemed to be caramelised and drizzled with pine oil which added a subtle flavour. Nice - Perhaps one to try out on Love Bites?!
16. Potato and Lojrom
These potatoes had a delicious earthy flavour, however mine seemed to be slightly undercooked - or were they meant to be that way? They had a barley flavoured skin and were served with fish roe which what seemed a random accompaniment but hey 'When at Noma!'
17. Wild Duck, Pear and Kale
We had the wine pairing for this course, which was a light pinot flavoured from the Beaujolais region in France. We were each given daggers before we were served this course, so the excitement was building intensely. The duck was ever so slightly seared so was really rare. The thin slices of pear and shavings of a beech tree (which can only be picked over three weeks in April in the whole year apparently) complimented the duck well.
18. Aronia Berries and Sol
This first course of dessert was refreshing and sour and had a jelly like texture. It was tasty and enjoyable.
19. Potato and Plum
This was one of my favourite courses and one I was most surprised at. It had interesting ingredients and the most amazing flavour. We were told to eat all three together - almond ice cream, plum quince and potato puree in plum juice (that's right - potatoes for dessert?!) = amazing. It was so delicate yet power i one mouthful.
In true Danish tradition we finished on Danish pastries. I can't actually say these were the best pastries I had eaten in our time in Copenhagen but they still were tasty. We were incredibly full by this time so we shared two between three of us. Despite what we thought this being our last course we were actually treated to a couple of extras...
Throughout the courses we were served with Noma's freshly home made bread. All the flour is homemade and this was one of the most amazing sourdough breads I have ever put into my mouth. It was so good were told to eat as much as we liked as there was an endless supply throughout our meal. Although we clearly did not need to keep filling up on this bread as by the end of the 20 courses we almost rolled ourselves out of the restaurant!
...Caramelised sweet breads with sea salt and a creamy butter.... Amazing caramel soft bread I could have eaten this for hours...
...And the finale of Chocolate covered pig crackling sprinkled with gooseberries with an instant smack of flavour. This was a wicked course that had me nibbling away even though I could swear I could fit no more in. The textures rocked - the bubbling of the cracking on your tongue, the smooth and coldness of the chocolate and the sour and sweet berry hit made this after dinner course a very special treat and end to our Noma experience.
_____________________________________________________________
To round it up...
The atmosphere of the restaurant felt like very suave, yet unpretentious. It is easy to assume that a restaurant that has claimed the title of 'Best restaurant in the World' for three consecutive years would appear to have some sort of stiff upper lip. This was not the case at all, in fact when I enquired on a dress code I was told 'we do not have a dress code, simply come as you are comfortable'.
From the flurry in the kitchen, a variety of chefs waited our table and explained each and every dish we ate. This was most helpful as they advised how fast to eat each course, what part to eat, and sometimes an interesting fact such as the beech tree bark in Course 17. Each chef was excited and seemed pleased to present their dishes to us. They were relaxed and happily answered any questions we had. This made for a really pleasant evening and quite a different experience to one I was expecting.
One of the most impressive things was that the chefs source all the ingredients themselves especially that they make their own flour and the bread. The way each course was explained it almost felt like you had been foraging through the forests with them by the end of the 20 courses!
My overall impression of the food was that it had a modern, organic, hippy-type feel to it, due to the colours, and amount of vegetable courses (we were only served two dishes of meat, duck and a fish head). The food was rich, but was varied and full of interesting dishes I would not usually think to order when dining out. I thought (perhaps controversially) that they overused fennel leaves in a few courses. The leaves were too strong and have a flavour that you either like or dislike. After the first fennel leaved course of Burnt Leek (Number 11) I had certainly had enough.
Overall Noma's food was not something I would go to a restaurant and choose to order myself but because it is foraged for you, prepared for you, and presented to you with such skill and enthusiasm you can't not eat everything they serve you. The whole experience was one I am so grateful and thrilled to have had that I would definitely recommend the Nordic journey of Noma to all who get the opportunity to go. I can only hope I get to go there again!
