COPENHAGEN — Bacteria and yeast will soon be next for diners at Denmark's restaurant Noma, the eatery which has been crowned world's best restaurant for three years. “It changes the chemical composition of food,” 34-year-old chef Rene Redzepi, who runs Noma, said of his experiments with bacteria and yeast in the test kitchen. “After many months you get a magic process.” Redzepi is setting up a team of chefs and academics to run the project and is currently working to perfect a dish of grilled leek which has been marinated for 24 hours in fermented yellow split peas, a dark, thick aromatic paste resembling intense soy or bean sauce. The experiment follows the introduction of three types of ants on the menu about four months ago, which after a rocky start, has been well accepted by diners. Redzepi spent two years studying whether eating ants is safe, where he could get them from, how to eat them and to build the courage to do it. “It is a taboo. People were horrified,” he said, referring to the beginning when Noma served the ants live. Today, the ants feature more modestly in one starter and one dessert while grasshoppers feature in two of the starters. In April, Noma was crowned the world's best restaurant for the third year in a row an the annual S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna World's 50 Best Restaurants. — Reuters
