Its been six years since the food world’s most famous, brightest names assembled in Copenhagen to plot the future of their industry. But on May 25, chef Rene Redzepi and the nonprofit organization MAD will reconvene them for the return of its seminal symposium. What’s more, the chef says from Japan at his vaunted Kyoto residency, the event’s theme also reveals the future he envisions for his famed restaurant, Noma, which he’s said would close for good in 2025.
"First COVID, then huge inflation, which created huge problems and bankruptcies and division in the restaurant world, I wanted to see how can we come together,” Redzepi says about why he’s resurrecting the MAD Symposium, which was started by the non-profit MAD organization in 2011 in a bright red circus tent on Copenhagen’s waterfront. The two-day event for 600 people features talks, demos and seminars, and not least, the opportunity to connect. Although chefs are the most notable attendees, there’s a wide range of participants from scientists to botanists and environmentalists.
The theme of this year’s MAD is Build to Last, says Redzepi, putting an emphasis on the present tense. "This year will be about how we plan with a long-term vision.”
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