Noma Projects To Launch A Pop-Up Series For One Week In NYC
For the past decade, Copenhagen's Noma has been one of the top culinary destinations in the world. For foodies in the U.S. who want a taste of its famously creative menu, the trip just got a little bit shorter, as Noma Projects has announced a series of pop-ups in New York City. A multi-time winner of The World's Best Restaurant award, Noma recently announced that it would close in 2024, but the Noma name is not dead. Instead, chef René Redzepi said the restaurant is planning to refocus its business on research and development for Noma Projects, a retail and e-commerce brand created to help share the kitchen's culinary knowledge around the world. While this has taken the form of products like corn yuzu hot sauce and mushroom garum, Noma Projects has also been participating in pop-ups, like a recent one-day event in London.
Well, sorry England, but the U.S. has you beat, as Noma Project's NYC pop-ups will feature six full days of events running from Sunday, April 14 to Friday, April 19. The Noma experiences won't all be at restaurants, either, as the series kicks off at Upper East Side independent bookstore Kitchen Arts & Letters. Redzepi and chefs Mette Søberg and Junichi Takahashi will attend and sign copies of Noma cookbooks, including "Noma 2.0: Vegetable, Forest, Ocean." For those planning to attend, $5 tickets were purchasable in advance, with the cost being deducted from any in-store purchases during the event, though it has already sold out.
Noma Projects NYC pop-ups include markets and school lunches
If you want a true meal from a Noma pop-up, that event is happening Tuesday, April 16 in collaboration with Superiority Burger in the East Village. The vegetarian fast food spot will be creating specials using flavors from Noma Project, with the first-come-first-serve event kicking off at 5 p.m. and running until supplies are gone. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will each feature a market at different locations across the city, where Noma Projects' products and pantry items will be available for purchase and sampling. April 17 will be an all-day market at Pop Up Grocer Market on Bleeker Street in the West Village. The next day, the market will be at Dashi Okume in Greenpoint from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 19 will see Noma Projects at Norwich Meadows Farm with the Union Square Greenmarket, where Noma will be cooking with some seasonal produce in addition to selling its products.
Perhaps the most interesting event is aimed not at the traditional pop-up crowd but at children. Also on Friday, April 19, Noma Projects will be putting its products to the test by serving a school lunch to elementary and middle schoolers at DREAM Charter School in the Bronx. We don't know how kids are going to feel about garum, but it will certainly be a fascinating challenge for some of the best chefs in the world that hints at the interesting directions Noma Projects could be going.