Noma 2.0: Vegetable, Forest, Ocean

The restaurant Noma in Copenhagen has justly earned a reputation for technically rigorous innovation coupled with beautiful presentation that enhances the experience of eating appealingly flavorful food.

This large format (9.75" x 13.5", 355 pages) book is the work of Chef René Redzepi, collaborating with Mette Søberg, the restaurant's head of research and development, and Junichi Takahashi, who has cooked at Noma since 2012. 

Together they have crafted something that will inspire professional cooks for many years, even those working far from Nordic climes. What is most fascinating about Noma 2.0 is not so much where it sources its ingredients, but how it uses them.

As it has for years, the restaurant explores the possibilities of a full range of ingredients, from garden vegetables and wild game to foraged greens and overlooked parts of land and sea creatures. Dishes range from rose hip sausage with quail egg or shrimp with dried fruits to celeriac shawarma and lumpfish roe with elm seeds and grilled ramsons.

There are desserts as well, including a strawberry ceviche, and crispy bee larvae with caramelized chocolate.

Dramatic and very clear photographs present each dish. These are accompanied by informative text. As the authors say, "this text is not a recipe. The lists of the ingredients do not include measurements because what's relevant here are the ingredients themselves, those elements reflective of the flow of each season—Vegetable, Forest, Ocean—and the creative perspective our team brings to them."

A QR code, however provides online access to full recipes, complete with measurements and techniques. Recipes are provided in the book for fundamental components, such as oils, garums, and broths, which are reused throughout each season.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.