After stints in Australia and Japan, one of Denmark’s most popular chefs, René Redzepi, has announced plans for another gastronomic residency, this time in Mexico.
Before he relocates permanently into the second incarnation of his Michelin-starred restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Redzepi will head to Mexico to open a pop-up restaurant in a country he considers to be his second home.
“I consider it to be my adopted home, one filled with almost a decade of cherished memories from vacations with my family,” he wrote on his blog.
“The place that I dream about. Home to one of the most exciting cuisines I have ever tasted: as old as time and yet so relevant. Full of ingredients I never knew existed.”
For the temporary residency, Redzepi will team up with a former Noma alum Rosio Sanchez, who brought authentic Mexican tacos to Copenhagen with the opening of Hija de Sanchez.
For six months, Sanchez and Redzepi together with a small team traveled throughout Mexico researching the country’s vast food traditions, from different variations of mole, nuances of chiles, and regional treatments of seafood.
When it opens, the restaurant will be an open-air destination located between the jungle and the Caribbean Sea in Tulum.
Or, in Redzepi’s words: “Exposed to the climate, it will be hot, steaming and unpredictable. Billowing smoke and the orange glow of flames will define us as all cooking will take place over the fire. It will be wild like the Mexican landscape as we share our interpretation of the tastes from one of the most beautiful countries we’ve come to know.”
Redzepi is a pro at opening pop-up restaurants in foreign turf. Last year, he struck a partnership with the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo where he brought Noma to locals in Japan.
At the invitation of Australia’s tourism office, Redzepi also brought his world-famous cuisine to Australians for a pop-up that ran at the beginning of the year.
Noma shot to international stardom after taking the title of the world’s best restaurant four times, according to UK-based Restaurant magazine.
After serving their final meal in February, the restaurant will close and re-open as an urban farm-to-table eatery in a new Copenhagen location.
The Mexican pop-up will open April 12 to May 28, 2017, with the price of meals at $600 USD per person.
Bookings open December 6 at 10 am EST at http://noma.dk/mexico/.