Famed chef René Redzepi steps down from Noma after abuse allegations: What he told staff – Noma founding chef René Redzepi announced his departure from the world-renowned Copenhagen restaurant this week, after an explosive report by the New York Times detailed allegations of abusive working conditions from dozens of former employees.

“After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, l’ve decided to step away and allow our extraordinary leaders to now guide the restaurant into its next chapter,” Redzepi wrote in the caption of a video posted on his and Noma’s Instagram accounts Wednesday.

Redzepi has been in hot water since Saturday, when the Times report broke days before the opening of his highly anticipated Los Angeles pop-up.

The report by the Times includes accounts from more than 35 of the chef’s former employees, who alleged a history of physical and psychological abuse from 2009 to 2017.
The recent weeks have brought attention and important conversations about our restaurant, industry, and my past leadership,” Redzepi wrote on Instagram. “I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years. I recognize these changes do not repair the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Redzepi said he also resigned from the board of MAD, the Copenhagen-based nonprofit organization he founded in 2011. The nonprofit offers “educational courses, public events, and publications” intended to “help chefs and other professionals working in food lead the change that their industry — and the planet — need,” according to its website.

The Danish chef, who co-founded the New Nordic dining destination and food innovation lab with Claus Meyer in 2003, has earned countless accolades in his tenure, including the top spot on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list five times, and three Michelin stars.

Redzepi was set to host a 16-week Southern California residency in Silver Lake starting Wednesday, following Noma’s final dinner service earlier this year at the Denmark space. But after the firestorm of allegations included in the Times report, both of the event’s major corporate sponsors — American Express and Blackbird — backed out, the Times reported Tuesday.

In Wednesday’s video, Redzepi can be heard telling pop-up staff that he has made the decision to step away from the project “in order to make sure you guys are feeling 100% safe.

“We will get through this,” he says, “but because it’s so much focused on me, I have to remove myself.”