The perks of being a food blogger go beyond just stuffing delicious morsels in my mouth: Recently, I was contacted by the Director of Publicity at Magnolia Pictures to pre-screen the highly-anticipated, feature-length documentary film, Noma: My Perfect Storm (debuting to the public on Friday, December 18th). 

"Noma" not sound familiar?  Geez, do you live under a rock?  Just kidding.  Here, this may help:

"Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The name is a portmanteau of the two Danish words "nordisk" (Nordic) and "mad" (food).  Opened in 2003, the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine.In 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, it has been ranked as the "Best Restaurant in the World" by Restaurant magazine."  (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Click on picture, below, to watch the trailer!

Film director, Pierre Deschamps, spent more than three years at Noma following chef/co-owner Rene Redzepi on a creative culinary journey that traversed the Danish landscape in his quest for inspiration and the pursuit of perfection in concocting bold, exciting dishes for travelers from around the world.  Noma: My Perfect Storm is set against the backdrop of Chef Redzepi's Copenhagen-based restaurant, which is famous for its reinvention of Danish cuisine.  Chef notably pioneered the approach to “foraging" (sourcing nearly all ingredients from the various environments of Scandinavia), and Noma is atthe forefront of experimenting withnew techniques in food.

As someone who both enthusiastically and trepidatiously decided to quit her job in finance and apply to culinary school, this film really solidified my life-altering decision.  I'm not, by any stretch, calling myself a prodigy like Chef Redzepi, but the way that he thinks and speaks about food and pairs specific ingredients together is something that makes clear and concise sense.  Perhaps all of us who are kitchen-bent have some sort of creative mental alignment, if you will, when it comes to the art of cooking and culinary?  

Another aspect of the film that I appreciated was outside of Noma's kitchen, when Chef's parents were interviewed and his background/childhood was brought to light.  Hailing from Macedonia, Chef Redzepi was born to working-class parents who fled to Denmark at the start of the Yugoslav wars.  His father, a practicing Muslim, experienced racism in blonde hair/blue eye-dominant Scandinavia.  Now before you question why I'm bringing these points to light and/or glorifying the struggle, let me just say that it just made me appreciate Chef's incredibly hard work and accolades that much more.  After all, it's so easy to put someone of his clout on a pedestal of perfection when, at the end of the day, we are all human.  And what's more beautiful than celebrating the success of someone who's earned every ounce of it, despite silver spoons, roadblocks, and set-backs?

I hope - and expect - that you will enjoy this documentary and appreciate the insane amount of detail, creativity, blood/sweat/tears, stress, and passion that go in to each and every day at Noma, the "Best Restaurant in the World." 

**Make sure to mark December 18th in your calendar, when Noma: My Perfect Storm opens in theaters, on Demand, Amazon Video, and on iTunes!**

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Until we eat again,

Lindsay, The Lunch Belle