Renowned chef René Redzepi steps away from Michelin-starred Noma amid abuse allegations

On opening day of the highly lauded $1,500 a ticket Noma L.A. pop-up in Los Angeles, René Redzepi, the internationally renowned Danish chef and co-founder of the Noma restaurant and lab, said he would “step away” from daily operations amid claims he physically and mentally abused staff.

The announcement came less than a week after a blistering report in The New York Times that chronicled allegations from 35 former employees, including the former head of Noma’s fermentation lab, Jason Ignacio White.

White had been posting claims of abuse from former staff on Instagram and spearheaded a small protest outside the historic Paramour Estate in Silver Lake where Noma L.A. kicked off its 16-week residency Wednesday.

While some of the allegations in the report were not new, many of the former employees claim to have endured punching, kicking and stabbing, as well as body shaming, public ridicule and psychological abuse between 2009 and 2017.

Danish chef Rene Redzepi poses for the photographers prior to the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards in London, Monday, April 29, 2013. Redzepi’s restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, won the second place. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Representatives for the restaurant told the Los Angeles Times that the Noma pop-up would continue as scheduled. That plan appeared to disintegrate by Tuesday, when some event sponsors pulled out and refunded their customers.

By Wednesday afternoon, Redzepi released another statement acknowledging the attention the abuse allegations have garnered in recent weeks and the conversations about the uproar over his past leadership at Noma and the industry at large.

“I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years. I recognize these changes do not repair the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions,” his statement read. “After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, I’ve decided to step away and allow our extraordinary leaders to now guide the restaurant into its next chapter. I have also resigned from the board of MAD, the nonprofit organization I founded in 2011.”

Paramour Estate is the future site of Noma LA. Photographed at Paramour Estate in Silver Lake, CA on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Redzepi added that he is proud of the direction the restaurant is going and that the Noma team is the strongest and most inspiring it has ever been in its 23-year history.

“This team will carry forward together into our LA residency, which will be a powerful moment for them to show what they’ve been working toward and to welcome guests to something truly special,” he said. “Noma has always been bigger than any one person. And this next step honors that belief.”

Shortly after its 2003 launch, the Copenhagen-based Noma, widely considered one of the most influential restaurants in the world, became something of a global authority on foraging, fermentation and fine dining.

Named best restaurant in the world five times, Noma announced in 2023 that it would shift from service at its Copenhagen location to a “seasons”-themed style of service that could be hosted anywhere, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Noma’s L.A. season runs from March 11 to June 26, with 42 guests at a lunch or dinner seating sampling a locally inspired tasting menu four days per week.