Ren Redzepi Steps Down at Noma, world's most celebrated restaurant, Amid Allegations of Past Abuse [View all]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-resign-abuse.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SlA.KoDJ.EfX0_pZWN0RG&smid=url-share

René Redzepi Steps Down at Noma Amid Allegations of Past Abuse
After 23 years running the Copenhagen restaurant, widely considered one of the most innovative and important in the world, the chef is leaving.

The chef René Redzepi stepped down Wednesday from Noma, the restaurant he co-founded in 2003 and led to international acclaim.

The move came after recent reports in The New York Times and on social media about his abuse of employees at Noma in the 2000s and 2010s. The allegations overshadowed the debut of Noma’s 16-week pop-up in Los Angeles, where protesters gathered today, waving signs and chanting.

In a statement on Instagram, he wrote:

“The recent weeks have brought attention and important conversations about our restaurant, industry and my past leadership.

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.

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.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html

Punching, Slamming, Screaming: A Chef’s Past Abuse Haunts Noma, the World’s Top-Rated Restaurant
Dozens of former employees say René Redzepi inflicted physical and psychological violence on the staff for years.

Mr. Redzepi escalated the attack, punching his employee in the ribs and screaming that no one would go back inside until the chef said, loud enough for all to hear, that he liked giving D.J.s oral sex. His co-workers stood in silence until he breathlessly complied. Then they filed back into the kitchen and returned to work.


The episode was never mentioned again. Dozens of former employees described other violent punishments, and said silence among the staff was customary afterward.

“Going to work felt like going to war,” said Alessia, now a chef in London, who was in that circle and asked that her surname not be used because she feared retaliation. “You had to force yourself to be strong, to show no fear.”

While Mr. Redzepi and those who now work with him say the abuse is in the past, the former employees contend that he has never been held truly accountable.