The Manifesto that changed Nordic food forever
Sophia Luise Dahl
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The global food system is a climate villain, responsible for up to one-third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. With the consequences of climate change breathing down out necks, restaurants everywhere are asking: “How do we confront this?”
For Danish chefs Claus Meyer and Rene Redzepi the answer is clear: Restaurants should develop new traditional dishes using only local and seasonal ingredients, while still staying true too traditional nordic cooking methods. In 2004 they published their vision in a manifesto and founded the restaurant: Noma. The restaurant’s focus on foraging, invention and sustainability made it ranked as the number one restaurant in the world in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021.
Sensationally seasonal and local
What does seasonal and local ingredients mean? It means no strawberries from Spain in the winter or oranges from Greece in the summer. It instead means a changing menu only using ingredients from, what local farmers can provide at the given time. The effect of such a paradigm shift is sensational. Only using seasonal and local ingredients immensely cuts down on the carbon footprint from transportation and storage. Plus, it supports local farmers. Win-win!
Bye-Bye Food Waste
Food waste is a major climate sinner, but New Nordic cuisine has a solution. New Nordic cuisine uses every part of the ingredient, from the hoove to the skull. Ready to try deerbrain-omelette? Or a salad made from potato peels and carrot tops? Another way to avoid food waste is by using the cooking techniques used by nordic people for thousands of years to preserve food in the long winters: pickling, fermenting and curing.
Making Mother Nature Happy
New Nordic cuisine isn’t just about what’s on the plate; it’s about what’s in the ground. That's why preserving biodiversity is so important. By planting a variety of crops, farmers keep the soil happy and healthy, which means fewer chemicals and happier bees. Sustainable farming practices like crop rotation and organic methods are the idealogy and backbone of New Nordic cuisine. It’s all about keeping Mother Nature in balance.