The world’s most famous restaurant is trying to turn the page on its controversial past — and its legendary chef stepping aside is just one part of that shift.
Noma detailed sweeping changes it insists have been made to transform its workplace culture on Wednesday, after its acclaimed founder, René Redzepi, announced he would step away from the restaurant, effective immediately.
The announcement came on the first day of Noma’s lavish Los Angeles residency — where diners fork out $1,500 per seat to attend — after a group of former workers staged a protest outside Paramour Estate, alleging years of physical violence, sexual harassment and exploitation of unpaid labor inside the elite kitchen.
Along with Redzepi’s resignation statement, the restaurant group released a lengthy outline of reforms implemented over the past several years — many of them introduced after criticism erupted over Noma’s reliance on unpaid interns and the grueling culture of fine dining kitchens.
“There was a turning point for our organization in 2022,” the company said, describing a restructuring aimed at improving employee safeguards and workplace conditions.
Among the biggest changes: every worker at Noma is now paid.
The restaurant eliminated its controversial unpaid internship model in 2022 and replaced it with a fully paid internship program lasting six or 12 months, allowing young cooks to gain experience at the three-Michelin-star restaurant without working for free.
Noma also introduced a four-day work week for restaurant staff — a dramatic shift in an industry known for punishing hours — as well as expanded employee benefits, including health insurance, generous parental leave and financial planning support through a new pension fund.
The company also created a dedicated human resources department to support staff, many of whom come from abroad and require assistance with visas, housing, travel and banking. Previously, the HR department allegedly consisted of Redzepi’s mother-in-law.
To further evaluate its culture, Noma said it had also launched an independent workplace audit designed to review employee experiences and identify areas where additional improvements may be needed.
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Meanwhile, Noma detailed how the LA residency itself reflects some of the new workplace policies that have been implemented.
About 130 Copenhagen-based employees relocated to California for the project, along with some family members.
The company said those workers are receiving free housing, travel insurance, monthly stipends, childcare support and daily staff meals. No interns are working in LA.
The restaurant also hired more than two dozen local employees, all as full-time hires — and earning above LA’s minimum wage and receiving health insurance from day one.
Activists who have criticized Noma’s workplace culture said the restaurant’s reforms are a step forward but argue that broader accountability is still needed.
Noma’s former director of fermentation, Jason Ignacio White, has been the face of a movement shedding light on the alleged mistreatment of Noma staff.
He recently launched a website called noma-abuse.com, which aggregates testimonials from over 50 people, from former sous chefs to interns, that detail harrowing accounts of abuse.
“All of your voices were with us in Silver Lake,” White wrote in an Instagram caption sharing Redzepi’s announcement that he will step down.
“Almost there. See you tomorrow.”
He said the next step is addressing “the bigger system that failed to protect us,” calling for promises, funding for victim support and independent evaluation of restaurant workplaces.
“He can be the real change if he wishes,” White wrote, adding that workers who were “abused and exploited now have a stronger voice.”
In a letter addressed to Redzepi on behalf of former Noma employees, the group also demanded “the settlement of legal claims, immediate reparation for multiple harms, and changes to the company’s management and employee policies.”
Despite Redzepi’s resignation today, protestors announced they will be back at the iron gates of the Paramour Estate tomorrow afternoon.
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