The no.2 ranked restaurant in the world has announced it will close its doors this week.
Chef and owner Rene Redzepi took to Instagram to confirm his Copenhagen restaurant would temporarily shut down due to the spread of the coronavirus, with the chef calling it one of the most difficult decisions he’s had to make in his life.
“Like many of our friends and colleagues around the world, we’re facing some challenges we’ve never experienced before,” said Redzepi.
“As a team … we want nothing more than to continue to service people, giving them some kind of escape from what’s going on. However, with what we know and continue to learn about the coronavirus … we’re making the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life, which is to temporarily close restaurant Noma until the 14th of April at the earliest.”
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Redzepi went on to confirm Noma will host its final service at the end of the week and reiterated keeping staff and customers safe was of the utmost importance.
While the restaurant will be closed, the chef made a number of commitments to staff including access to supplementary private health care which includes access to mental health services, full pay until the closure of the restaurant this week and short-term financial assistance to those in need.
The Noma team will also have access to take-home meals throughout the closure including breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The chef ended the video with a final message encouraging customers to support the industry during this trying time.
“On behalf of our industry, if you wish to help, rather than cancel, you could postpone your reservation or even buy a gift card to support your favourite restaurant.”
Image credit: World’s 50 Best