Here is a barnburner of a talk about the power of food and memories from one René Redzepi, delivered at last month's Terroir Symposium in Toronto. Redzepi shares that not long after Noma had been named the best restaurant in the world for the first time, he began feeling burned out. He was not okay. "I kind of realized that the truth is I'd started feeling scared," Redzepi says. "Scared of losing this world-wide precious attention that we had stumbled into. Success is a marvelous thing, don't get me wrong, but it can be dangerous and limiting." People were suggesting that Noma begin to use proper silverware and luxury ingredients or perhaps make servers wear suits "like the food would improve with a fucking bowtie." It was at that point, he says, that he decided to say, "Fuck it."
Update: The video has been taken down/marked as private.
Redzepi also offers a thoughtful back story about an early and influential food memory — a perfectly roasted chicken with his family in Macedonia — and how the memory of that chicken inspired his culinary journey. Decades later, it was the memory of that chicken that helped to reignite Redzepi's inspiration. So what does he like about food? "I fell in love with flavor and what deliciousness, if you allow it to, can do for you," Redzepi says. "It excites you and it fuels you. It can be a time machine. It fills you with memories." Just watch it already.
Video: Rene Redzepi - Terroir Symposium 2013
Update: The video has been taken down/marked as private.
· Rene Redzepi - Terroir Symposium 2013 [Vimeo]
· All René Redzepi Coverage on Eater [-E-]