(Editors' note: This story has been updated to include a link to a recently published report detailing accounts from former Noma employees.)
Los Angeles restaurants have had a brutal year. The 2025 wildfires tore through entire neighborhoods, destroying businesses and displacing tens of thousands. Then, last summer, LA became the first major US city to face large-scale ICE raids, stoking fear among undocumented immigrants and disrupting the restaurant workforce.
It's no surprise that more than 100 restaurants closed last year. "I'm worried about whether we can make all of our tortillas today, because some people are afraid to come in to work," says Sherry Mandell of Tehachapi Grain Project, a farm north of the city preserving drought-tolerant heritage grains.
Into this landscape, Noma—one of the world's most influential restaurants—arrived to prepare for a four-month residency in Silver Lake this spring. For a city still reeling, some say the timing feels complicated.
The local restaurant industry has largely embraced Noma with open arms. "It's a nice flex for Los Angeles to have people interested in the city and what we do here," says Brian Dunsmoor, chef-owner of the acclaimed live-fire restaurant Dunsmoor. But some in the food world, including producers tapped to supply ingredients for Noma's test kitchen, voice frustration around the restaurant's tight-lipped approach, sourcing practices, and most obviously, the $1,500 price tag.
As the discourse continues on social media, others have resurfaced controversy spanning at least a few years. For instance, in recent weeks, the restaurant’s former director of fermentation, Jason Ignacio White, on social media alleged physical abuse and the exploitation of interns by Noma founder René Redzepi and his management team.
This is not the first time Noma has been accused of being a toxic workplace. In 2022, Redzepi opened up about undergoing intensive therapy to make amends for his bullying behavior. In 2023, the New York Times reported about “a code of loyalty among Noma alumni [that] makes it impossible for workers to speak out about working conditions, sexual harassment and other problems.” Bon Appétit has not verified the new allegations, but the New York Times interviewed 35 former employees for a new report published March 7, detailing accounts of physical and psychological abuse by Redzepi and supervisors dating back years. In a promotional video on Instagram which drew ire from commenters, Noma addressed the accusations in a pinned comment, writing, in part, “these claims do not reflect the workplace Noma is today.”
At LA farmers markets, inside restaurants, during food deliveries, the Noma residency is all anyone can talk about.
Industry insiders have spoken of intermittent communication from Noma buyers and have alluded to them pitting farmers against each other in pursuit of better prices. Most of the folks I spoke to for this story said cost would likely prohibit them from eating at Noma L.A.
Still, for a restaurant of Noma's caliber to choose Los Angeles—even temporarily—brings global attention to the city and raises the stakes for everyone working here.
To Oliver Woolley, the third-generation rancher behind the pig-and-beef farm Peads & Barnetts, that attention feels important: "We all know that the last few years here have been pretty difficult for the restaurant industry, and it definitely needed a little jolt of electricity to get going again, and to feel excited about things."
For Alex Weiser, a farmer known for his cult-favorite melons and potatoes (and who partners with Mandell in the Tehachapi Grain Project), Noma's interest highlights greater Los Angeles as an agricultural region. "They're bringing awareness to our unique spot on the planet," he says. "We have the coast, the high desert, and the mountain valley all within driving distance."
The impending pop-up’s wine program offers further proof of that recognition. Noma's sommeliers have committed to an all-natural, all-California wine list—a choice that feels significant to Riley O'Neill Latta, a Pasadena-based winemaker and an advocate for local wines. "They don't need to do this," he says. "Noma has some of the most sought-after bottles and one of the biggest cellars in the world, and they could've just shipped a container full of wine over."
For some suppliers, working with Noma means pushing into unfamiliar territory. Woolley described his interactions with the Noma team as "very seat of the pants, which is understandable, because they're trying to pull off something pretty substantial." The test kitchen has been experimenting with unusual cuts from his retired dairy cow beef, including whole tails. “I have no idea yet if they’re going to use our meat on the menu. It seems to be getting pretty down to the wire now.”
Dunsmoor is excited about how Noma can leverage its reputation and resources to spotlight native Southern Californian ingredients that don't typically get used in our restaurants. "They'll be able to teach us about what foodways here used to look like, and they're going to be using a lot of wild ingredients, which not many people are familiar with," he says. That sensibility was on display during Redzepi's appearance on KCRW's Good Food in January, where Noma served a whole-cooked acorn to attendees. "I can't tell you how much I loved that," says Woolley, "because we raise our pigs underneath oak trees for the fact that they produce acorns."
Beyond what it might inspire, there's the hope that Noma will bring food-obsessed visitors to Los Angeles who'll dine at more than just one restaurant while in town. "If you're traveling to L.A. and you're going to eat at Noma, I hope you eat elsewhere, too," says restaurateur Lien Ta, whose Here's Looking At You closed last year. Though Noma's price point limits access for the average diner, the tourists it attracts could be a win for the city's restaurants.
“It is going to have an effect on everybody's reservation count,” says fisherman Conner Mitchell, who owns the seasonal, seafood-forward Dudley Market in Venice and has been in talks with Noma about supplying catch. He’s not yet sure how they'll utilize his resources, but he's curious to see how they’ll put their spin on sourcing locally.
"I think some people get competitive, but most of us are here to support each other in an incredibly tough business, and we love seeing other people be creative, even if it's not always for us," he says. "When you have people that creative, that passionate, who go so far to execute the way they do, even if we don't get to go to dinner, we still get to watch the show."