If you missed it in Copenhagen or London, you must taste it in Cannes

by Jorn Rossing Jensen

16/05/2012 - If you failed to book a table at Denmark's Noma (the world's best restaurant, which will open in London during the Olympics, between July 28-August 6), and you probably did - everything was sold out within 2½ hours - you may still have a chance of tasting New Nordic Food in Cannes.

Last month (April) Copenhagen's Noma was for the third consequtive year named Best Restaurant in the World by the UK's Restaurant Magazine, and French and American gourmets have discovered Danish chef and Noma co-owner René Redzepi's cuisine. "He has redefined Nordic cooking," wrote the Washington Post.

10,000 wanted to dine at Noma's Olympic outpost - the Claridge's - but only 3,000 seats were available. The five-course menu will reflect the taste of his Nordic kitchen, with local ingredients of the season, at £195. Meanwhile, his Strandgade restaurant in Copenhagen will be closed for renovation, and reopen on August 15. Organising the presence of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Cannes, Scandinavian Films will promote both Nordic films and Nordic food (serving ten different dishes) at the annual reception for the international film industry on the Scandinavian Terrace, 55 la Croisette, this year on May 17.

"Nordic films and Nordic food are both front-runners in their fields, so why not unite them?" said Project Manager Charlotta Ranert, of the New Nordic Food secretariat, instigated by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Scandinavian entries at Cannes include Danish director Thomas Vinterberg's Golden Palm contender, The Hunt [trailer, film focus].