Ren\u00e9 Redzepi, co-founder of Noma \u2014 several times crowned the world’s best restaurant \u2014 has announced he is stepping down.<\/p>\n
The Danish chef’s decision follows reports of a history of abuse at the famed Copenhagen restaurant.<\/p>\n
“After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, I’ve decided to step away,” Redzepi said in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, The New York Times published an article detailing witness testimony about abuse at Noma, including physical violence and episodes of public shaming.<\/p>\n
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The newspaper said it had interviewed 35 former employees about the period between 2009 and 2017.<\/p>\n
“I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years. I recognise these changes do not repair the past,” Redzepi said.<\/p>\n
He added that “an apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions”.<\/p>\n
Redzepi has previously admitted to losing his cool, including in 2015, when he said in an essay: “I’ve been a bully for a large part of my career.”<\/p>\n
In February, the former head of Noma’s fermentation lab, Jason Ignacio White, started posting about abuse he had witnessed at Noma and relayed stories sent to him by other former employees.<\/p>\n
“Noma is not a story of innovation. It is a story of a maniac that would breed a culture of fear, abuse & exploitation,” White said in an Instagram post in early February.<\/p>\n
An acronym formed from the Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food), Noma opened on a quay in central Copenhagen in 2003.<\/p>\n
It closed in 2016 and reopened two years later in a slightly more remote neighbourhood of the Danish capital.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Noma opened a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles, but the opening attracted a protest led by former employees.<\/p>\n
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