DESIGN-DRIVEN INNOVATIONwithin the discourse of New Nordic Cuisine

By: Kautsar An akara Hadianto - CPR no. 1205843341MSoc.Sc Or anizational Innovation and EntrepreneurshipCopenha en Business School Lecturer: Stefan Meisiek STU: 12 pa es January 2013

Images courtesy of Ditte Isager© / courtesy Phaidon Press

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Introduction

The Nordic food lifestyle, particularly the Danish, has been long influenced by efficient

agriculture and the puritan culture that strips away the pleasure and quality of the food

experience. Danish butter and pork lead the global market and the agro industries

deliver products with uniform quality at competitive price (www2). The home demand

was sluggish as the diet is mostly based on efficiency, without much consideration on

taste or origin (ibid.). However, the Nordic region is unique in its climate and landscape.

Its location from equator, the coastal climate and largely undisturbed area give room for

exploration of different flavors that can offer more meaning than the food of the

industrialization era.

Claus Meyer, a prominent Danish entrepreneurial figure, envisioned the idea of New

Nordic Cuisine as an answer to the non-sustainable food lifestyle practiced by a growing

part of Nordic society. It is a discourse based on locally produced ingredients only and

ways of cooking native to the Nordic region (Hermansen, 2012). He then mobilized his

networking flair to gather interpreters that could help build and address the discourse.

Since its emergence, the New Nordic Cuisine has built its discourse by working not only

with gastro-intelligentsia, but also scientists, governments, artists, educational and

research institutions, and many others. The collaborative work of interpreters making up

the discourse has resulted in many special projects aiming to not only explore Nordic

ingredients, but also utilizing food as an instrument to improve lives.

The discourse of New Nordic Cuisine serves as an interesting example of Design-Driven

innovation at play. By examining the discourse in connection with the theoretical ground

of Design-Driven Innovation written by Verganti (2009), the paper aims to describe the

process of building the discourse in relation to Design-Driven Innovation strategy.

Specifically, the paper examines two main subjects: the investigation of meaning the

New Nordic Cuisine proposes, as well as the collaborative interplay between the

interpreters participating in the discourse.

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The Meaning Proposed by The New Nordic Cuisine

Food culture has gone a long way since it served its initial purpose as a means of

survival. It embodies meaning that is more substantial than a mere biological instinct.

Some traditional culinary practices, for example in India and Indonesia, use food as a

form of identification of social strata within the society. The modern discourse of food

like Molecular Gastronomy built its meaning around novel experiences.

Fischler (1988) pointed out that food is central to the sense of one’s identity. The choice

of one’s food helps assert his/her stand in the construct of society, and his/her

“oneness” and “otherness” to those who eats differently (ibid.) The notion of identity is

even more apparent for some migrant groups who maintain their culinary tradition, even

when they have been fully integrated with the new culture they are in (Hermansen,

2012). In fact, various discourses on food put identity as a central tenet of its context.

The French culture embeds the concept of terroir as a cultural category in categorizing

taste in connection to the area where the cuisines are produced, and it forms people’s

everyday assumption about food (ibid.). Its literal meaning is somewhere in between soil,

locality and “part of the country” (Trubek, in Hermansen, 2012). The concept of terroir

has become a distinctive factor in not just taste, but also the meaning of food in relation

to its localities. An example of this can be seen through the categorization of wine, which

core assumption is that production landscape of the grape imparts a quality that is

specific to the growing site. In a sense, the localized notion of terroir can be seen as a

method of expressing local identity in everyday discourse (ibid.)

To a great extent, the New Nordic Cuisine incorporates the concept of terroir as it is a

discourse based on products only grown in the Nordic area. The discourse is shaped by

Manifesto for a New Nordic Cuisine, which describes the aim of the discourse and the

building blocks of what New Nordic Cuisine is (see Appendix 1). The manifesto

incorporates the universal belief of “Nordic identity” with the inclusion of “purity,

freshness, simplicity, and ethics” into the expression of the cuisine. It implies the special

character of the cuisine, which stems from the unique climate, landscape and waters.

The manifesto aimed to stretch the purpose of New Nordic Cuisine beyond taste and

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flavors, by combining the demand for taste with the modern knowledge of health and

wellbeing. Moreover, it brings the notion of inclusion as it is also aimed to unite

consumers, craftsmen, producers, researchers and other institutions that made up the

design discourse of New Nordic Cuisine.

By providing an avenue to connect with nature and landscape, New Nordic Cuisine

brings up a sense of place within the Nordic society. The attachment of shared values in

the Nordic society into the manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine, namely sustainability,

equality, and simplicity, create a level of resonance between the discourse and the

people within it. As pointed out by Hansen (2010), within the construct of a society lies a

shared cultural categories, values, and principles. The use of languages and shared

historical narratives are among the instruments used to transfer the meaning of those

shared values (ibid.) In this context, New Nordic Cuisine can be seen as a powerful

medium through which certain characteristics of the Nordics can be expressed

(Hermansen, 2012). Hence, at the very least, New Nordic Cuisine aims to recreate a

meaning around food as part of social identity. However, further examination toward the

tenet of the discourse unveils a more profound meaning from the discourse that can be

brought to life through technological exploration.

Verganti (2009) describes technology epiphany as the interplay between design-driven

and technology-push innovation that unveils the hidden meaning in technology. It is

within this technology epiphany that radical improvements of meaning occurs (ibid.)

Such epiphany is more apparent within the tech industry where new technology

immerses rapidly and serves as a core competitive edge. However, in the context of New

Nordic Cuisine, the role of technology is different in a sense that it helps uncover the

hidden meaning lies in nature. Such “natural epiphany” occurs when science and

technology promotes the discovery process of the new meaning of everyday things

surrounding us. When Claus Meyer first envisioned the New Nordic Cuisine discourse it

was welcomed with a high level of skepticism from the players within the food industry.

How can it be self-sustainable in such extreme climate condition? What would people

eat during wintertime? How to offer great tasting food without using French and Italian

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ingredients? It is through natural epiphany that the discourse managed to address the

skepticism.

There are several special projects that are established within the discourse to gain the

natural epiphany. Among some are Project Opus, that serve as a collaborative house to

develop healthy and palatable new food and eating concept, and Nordic Food Lab, the

design-driven innovation lab to further explore the meaning and building blocks of New

Nordic Cuisine. Those special projects has uncovered the potential of Nordic seaweed as

a source of protein, the usage of fermentation to bring up the umami flavor, and the

flavor mapping of indigenous Nordic ingredients, among others. In line with the

manifesto, the projects not only use collaborative research to discover new taste and

ingredients, but also aim to improve livelihood of people in the region. The central part of

Nordic Food Lab mission is to assist primary producers and food workers in their role as

knowledge workers (www1).

The usage of science and technology to bring natural epiphany is not a new concept

within the food discourse. It even grew more influence during the molecular gastronomy

movement, pioneered by the likes of elBulli’s Ferran Adria, Fat Duck’s Heston

Blumenthal, and Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. Ferran Adria of elBulli wants his

dishes to provoke, to make people think and feel when eating (Norton. et al, 2009). He

aimed at holistic novel experience, and utilizes scientific techniques to create new

textures and surprising flavors (ibid.) The discourse of molecular gastronomy aimed at

novel innovation, whereas New Nordic Cuisine utilizes natural epiphany to improve to

quality of primary produce (www2).

Figure 1 illustrated the meaning that different discourses in food try to propose to

society. The meaning within various food discourses is influenced and directed by a

number of interests from the discourse constituents. The discourse of terroir proposed

the meaning of food as a social identifier – a remembrance of identity, and the

connection between food and the whole terroir it belongs to. With the emergence of

globalization and industrialization, ingredients that are not native to its terroir became

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more accessible and society started to experiment with different kind of ingredients,

resulting in movement like fusion food and “international” cuisine. The joy of exploration

was further extended through scientific explorations, from which the discourse of

molecular gastronomy was born. Food became more than reflection of one’s identity.

For many people, it is a source of novel experiences.

Pine and Gilmore (1999) argue that experiences are not the final economic offerings.

Transformations are distinct economic offering that brings more progressive values to

people (ibid.) Kristensen (2009) define transformation as “a designed experience for an

individual who seeks a sensory experience, an intellectual or virtuous challenge, or an

intellectual or artistic insight.” A transformative experience changes the character of a

need, which set it apart from novel experiences. In this context, New Nordic Cuisine

propose transformative experience as its carried meaning.

The basic meaning of New Nordic Cuisine was drawn from the terroir discourse. The

recreation of Nordic terroir serves as a form of nostalgia for Nordic folks to discover

“who they are” and put them in touch with the environment they inhabit (Hermansen,

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2012). The Manifesto embodies the value of social identity, sustainability, healthy living,

and collaboration, all of which are virtue to transformation and cannot be achieved only

by following terroir discourse. On one of his talks, Claus Meyer believes that food

matters beyond pleasure, and he envisioned New Nordic Cuisine as an instrument to

improve lives (www9). It is the natural epiphany, drawn from series of collaboration,

discoveries and scientific exploration that allows the discovery of this meaning.

The Design Discourse of New Nordic Cuisine

The locus of Design-Driven Innovation strategy lies on the interaction within the network

of interpreters, helping them to generate and disseminate meaning within the design

discourse (Verganti, 2009). These interpreters; firms, individuals, artists, designers and

schools, are conducting their own investigation on the discourse, and a successful

innovation strategy requires a strategic collaboration among the network of interpreters.

The challenge, however, is these interpreters are not isolated within the walls of a

research lab, but rather are diffused throughout many industries and contexts (ibid.). This

section will elaborate on the strategy of identifying key interpreters and bringing together

the interpreters that make up the discourse of New Nordic Cuisine, a strategy that has

proven crucial in determining the successful dissemination of the discourse.

The meaning that New Nordic Cuisine proposes, evolves around transformative

experiences, with food as an instrument to improve lives. The first step of building the

discourse, is defining the life context that the project is addressing (ibid.). In the case of

New Nordic Cuisine, the life context evolves around improving livelihood. While the

“tastemakers” of New Nordic Cuisine movement includes chefs, cooks, and food critics

(Hermansen, 2012), the discourse has to expand its breadth of interpreters to include

actors not only from a culinary background, but also actors who conduct research on

how people could give meaning to things within the life context. This can include

scientists, social scientists, government, education institutions, firms and cultural

organizations.

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Verganti (2009) describes two types of interpreters that make up a design discourse:

cultural and technological producers. Cultural producers include people who are

involved in the production and investigation of social meaning, while the latter utilize

their discoveries, technical innovations, product and services to propose new meanings

of things (ibid.). The two engage in a continuous dialogue within the design discourse,

with one acting as a social observant and the other as an enabler. The interesting part of

the New Nordic Cuisine discourse is that it includes several interpreters who act as both

cultural and technological producer. When Claus Meyer first envisioned the discourse, he

approached Renè Redzepi, who was then a chef at Kong Hans Kælder Copenhagen. He

was offered to be the head chef of a restaurant at the North Atlantic House, an 18th

century warehouse which was being turned into a cultural center for the North Atlantic

region. The restaurant Noma was born not long after, and acted as pioneering project

that aimed at incorporating the vision of New Nordic Cuisine into its offering. In the

context of Design-driven innovation, Renè Redzepi acts as an advanced interpreter

within the New Nordic Cuisine discourse. While there can be many interpreters who

populate a design discourse, few has the ability to do advanced search for meaning,

while at the same time envisioning new possibilities and participating in the teamwork

that is required for innovation (ibid.). Renè Redzepi’s role as a chef puts him in the world

of cultural production, while his strive for discovery and exploration of nature helps to

bring out the natural epiphany.

It is important to look at the role of restaurant Noma in addressing the discourse of New

Nordic Cuisine. As a pioneering project, the restaurant serves as a playground to test out

the manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine. Renè Redzepi was given a greater freedom to

explore potential use of Nordic native ingredients. Noma was also established within a

special setting outside the market stream, as at the time the culinary landscape was

influenced more by novel experiences. Pioneering projects are often well suited for

innovation as clients of such projects are more willing to delve into new avenues and

experimentation, and it often act as beacons of cultural production (Verganti, 2009).

Noma quickly gathered attention from the elite circles within the culinary discourse,

which served as an important milestone in addressing the New Nordic Cuisine discourse.

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The attention from elite circles meant that opportunities were opening up for the

discourse to gather more interpreters to further elaborate the meaning of New Nordic

Cuisine.

Less than 10 months after the opening of restaurant Noma, Claus Meyer and Renè

Redzepi took the initiative to organize “New Nordic Cuisine” symposium (www2). Some

of the greatest chefs in the region were invited, and together they created the New

Nordic Cuisine manifesto. The manifesto serves as a ground to unite chefs and farmers

within the Nordic region, companies of all size, politicians and private people to define

the contour of Nordic cuisine (ibid.). Apart from the manifesto, the symposium also

acted as a form of buy-in from other chefs who were initially skeptical about the

sustainability of the discourse. As meaning cannot be designed deterministically and are

not an intrinsic part of a product, people can give their own interpretations of the

meaning embedded in a certain discourse (Verganti, 2009). The manifesto is a form of

shared vision of the meaning New Nordic Cuisine tried to propose, and it helps

interpreters around the discourse to work towards a shared vision. It is a form of design

circle where interpreters share a common vision and revolve around a common center

(ibid.).

The discourse gained more cultural interpreters when the Nordic Council of Ministers

adopted the New Nordic Cuisine manifesto as the ideology of New Nordic Food Program

(www2). The New Nordic Food program is a government-led initiative that encourages

new forms of local traditions and support local producers, artisans and entrepreneurs

(www3). The program also aimed at putting Nordic food on the world’s gourmet map,

which can be seen as a form of nation branding effort. Nations brand themselves to

construct shared national identity among it citizens (Olins, in Hansen, 2010). The fact

that the manifesto incorporates the Nordic terroir, and to some extent, the social values

of the Nordic folk, give relevance for it to be attached to the branding of Nordic region.

Within the life context of New Nordic Cuisine, the government serves an important role

as a mediator in providing access to other interpreters. To date, the New Nordic Food

program has helped addressing New Nordic Cuisine discourse by collaborating with

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interpreters in the areas of education, politics, entrepreneurship, and public service

sectors.

The government’s immersion in New Nordic Food program has provided the discourse

not only access to interpreters, but also a way to expose the meaning of the discourse to

a greater mass. For example, the Nordic Food Diplomacy project acts as a tool of

communication of Nordic values, through the display of food and culinary portrayals.

The recent conference of New Nordic Food put its focus on children and youth, where

development has been made to make the values of New Nordic Food to be an integral

part of schools curriculum (www4).

The credibility of the New Nordic Cuisines discourse was strengthened not only through

the New Nordic Food program, but also through various initiatives that the discourse’s

key interpreters undertook. Since 2004, Claus Meyer co-hosted the culinary TV show

“New Scandinavian Cooking”, with Swedish chef Tina Nordtsröm, Norwegian chef

Andres Viestad and Finnish chef Sara La fountain, where they explored local products

and cuisine around the Nordic region, and based the content on the Manifesto for a New

Nordic Cuisine (Hermansen, 2012). Claus Meyer also plays a pivotal role in Project Opus

that is led by Professor Arne Astrup of Copenhagen University’s Faculty of Life Sciences

(www5). Project Opus is a five-year project aiming to create the New Nordic Diet: a

modern, everyday cuisine that will contribute to improve health among the population –

in particular children (ibid.).

The dynamics within The New Nordic Cuisine discourse demonstrates a particularly

sophisticated art of networking. The collaboration of different interpreters that conduct

research around the life context of the discourse provides various inputs that can be

useful on exposing the discourse to a greater mass. However, the big twist that

contributes to the successful dissemination of the discourse lies on the role of restaurant

Noma as pioneering project. Within three years after its opening, the restaurant was part

of World’s Top 15 best restaurants on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Organized by

Restaurant magazine, World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is known to be one of the most

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prestigious awards within the culinary industry, where the ranking is based on a poll of

international chefs, restaurateurs, gourmands and restaurant critics (www6). Noma

quickly gained attention from the elite circles within the culinary world, and is set at par

with other big names like elBulli, Fat Duck and French Laundry.

As the discourse’s pioneering project, Noma has pulled various cultural interpreters that

act as powerful symbol creators in society; gastro-intelligentsia, celebrities, trendsetters,

among others, into the discourse. The sudden attention from these various symbol

creators attracted the greater mass, and the demand for local quality products was

booming (Hermansen, 2012). The “Noma-effect” has transformed the food choice of

many Scandinavians, with a shift towards local and sustainable products (ibid.). At the

time of writing, Noma has topped the list of world’s best restaurant for three consecutive

years.

While some radical innovations emerge from stroke of luck or “the right time, right

place”, the success of Noma, and the dissemination of New Nordic Cuisine discourse can

be attributed to the art of collaboration between interpreters. The intertwined play

between proposing social meaning and exploring new territories through

experimentation, is a key success factor for the discourse. To keep building the

capabilities within the discourse, Claus Meyer and Renè Redzepi established Nordic

Food Lab in 2008. The purpose of Nordic Food Lab is to explore the building blocks of

Nordic cuisine through traditional and modern gastronomies, and to share these results

with chefs, academics, industry, and the public (www7).

Nordic Food Lab plays the role of the main engine in building relationships with external

interpreters. Nordic Food Lab acts as a collaborative melting pot between cultural and

technological interpreters. The lab hires scientists, microbiologists and anthropologists

to work together towards a common goal. It also partners up with companies,

governmental and cultural organization (see appendix 3). The span of interpreters that

works together allows the lab to be the champion of opportunities for design-driven

innovation (ibid.). Its hub is located on a houseboat in Copenhagen harbor, where the

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network of interpreters investigates old and new techniques and materials, developing

knowledge and ideas to further build the capability of the discourse (www7).

It is one of the core works of Nordic Food Lab to conduct experiments and studies of

new materials and techniques. Ben Reade, the Head of Culinary Research and

Development of Nordic Food Lab recognizes that the study of food must be research-

based, but they also have the confidence to get things wrong, the confidence to fail

(www8). Such spirit triggers many ideas to flow at the same time, and there’s very little

limitation as to what kind of research they can do, as long as it still within the discourse

of New Nordic Cuisine (ibid.). The research that Nordic Food Lab has undertaken ranges

from scientific research mainly focusing on quality, to flavors and sustainable

production, and an anthropological study that explored localized cuisine as a focal point

of identity construction within the Nordic society.

In addition, the lab also relies on cultural prototypes to address the discourse. Verganti

(2009) defined cultural prototypes as a medium that embeds the results of a

manufacturer’s research. Nordic Food Lab conducts several tasting workshops to

potential interpreters, such as during Salone Del Gusto, the biggest Slow Food festival in

the world. It also partner up with Madkulturen, a Danish food organization, to create

various everyday food events.

Nordic Food Lab also helps to address the discourse of New Nordic Cuisine by

continuous communication with interpreters within the discourse. While many food labs

are directly associated with a specific restaurant, the purpose of Nordic Food Lab is not

to develop new dishes, and thus it bears no exclusive association to the restaurant Noma

(www8). In principle, Nordic Food Lab research is available for everyone, as it is part of

the manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine to move the foundation of the whole region’s food

culture. The open-source nature of Nordic Food Lab addresses the discourse as a whole:

it serves as a knowledge forum for potential interpreters, and general public to immerse

themselves into the New Nordic Cuisines discourse. It is a bold move in the context of

Design Driven Innovation as most discourses in radical innovations are kept within a

closed circle to maintain competitiveness. In the context of New Nordic Cuisine,

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competitiveness might not be the main focus of the discourse. As noted by Meyer

(www9), “It (New Nordic Cuisine) is not a crusade against Beef Bourguignon, Japanese

Sushi or Italian Pizza. If our movement is a threat against anything, then it is International

junk food and fast food companies…that ruined our health…and potentially damage the

planet.”

The New Nordic Cuisine discourse has gone a long way since its initiation in 2003. The

breadth of Claus Meyer’s network and the discovery-flair of Renè Redzepi has helped

the discourse gain key interpreters in relatively short period of time. To date, the

discourse has gained a central position not just within the bigger culinary discourse, but

also within the social construction of Nordic society. However, the challenge for the

current design of New Nordic Cuisine discourse is to envision a future for it. To fully

realize the manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine is a big challenge. A self-sustained, ethical

food discourse combined with excellent flavors seems to be a fairly utopic idea.

However, to reach that big vision, the discourse has come up with various innovations

that have made the whole vision seem to be less impossible. The interpreters within the

discourse have to keep the attitude of exploration, and not quickly move to exploitation

to sustain the value of the discourse (Verganti, 2009).

By looking at the recent development of the discourse, it seems like the attitude of

exploration is there to stay. According to Claus Meyer, “if this fairytale, bearing in mind

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the state of food ten years ago, could (have) happened in Denmark, then it could happen

anywhere” (www9). The full scope of the New Nordic Cuisine as a transformative

experience was not foreseen in the beginning of the discourse formation (ibid.). Claus

Meyer is currently testing the thesis that the manifesto of New Nordic Cuisine can be

applied in other parts of the world, by taking out the “Nordic” from it. Currently, a project

is being undertaken in Bolivia, with an aim to experiment with the country’s rich

biodiversity to help the 26% of the population who suffer from hunger, by looking at

self-sustainable options (www9).

Conclusion

The New Nordic Cuisine discourse proposes meaning around transformative experience.

While at the beginning of the discourse formation the focus lies on building the Nordic

Terroir, the emergence of various interpreters within the life context of the discourse

creates meaning that extends to sustainability, health and well being, as well as other

virtues to positive transformational experience. The aim of New Nordic cuisine is

described through the Manifesto for New Nordic Cuisine, which serves not only as an

aim but also as a shared value between various interpreters making up the discourse.

There are several observations that can be made on the Design-Driven Innovation

process within the discourse. The role of advanced interpreter is crucial on weaving

different streams of interpreters together. In addition, Renè Redzepi as one of the

discourse’s advanced interpreters plays the role of both cultural and technological

producers, the latter being more on observation and exploration of different ingredients

available in the Nordic region.

The discourse of New Nordic Cuisine is built around various research projects that help

generate the meaning of the discourse as well as addressing the discourse to people.

Although undertaking various research projects often requires a considerable amount of

financial resources, research projects conducted within the discourse are sponsored by

different interpreters. The interest from various interpreters is made possible due to the

attachment of the values of the discourse and the interpreter’s own values – in other

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words, they operate within the same life context. In addition, the creation of Manifesto

for New Nordic Cuisine serves as a form of shared vision between interpreters who are

involved in building the manifesto. Not only is the work of interpreters focused on a

common goal, but also the sense of ownership among the interpreters help sustain the

value of the discourse.

The final observation lies on the role of Nordic Food Lab to sustain the value of the

discourse, maintain interaction with various interpreters and maintaining the mindset of

exploration. In the context of Design-Driven Innovation, we can see Nordic Food Lab as a

form of Design-Driven Lab that acts as a center point of the development of capabilities

around the discourse, and whose mission is to specifically support the development and

monitoring of the innovation capabilities (Verganti, 2009). A Design-Driven Lab also

plays a role of enabling design-driven research projects to nurture the interpretation

process, and continuously communicates with interpreters within the discourse (ibid).

Nordic Food Lab has expanded the discourse’s pool of interpreters, and made its

research open source, so everyone can be a part of the discourse and contribute.

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References Verganti, R. (2009). Design-driven innovation: changing the rules of competition by radically innovating what things mean. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press. Hermansen, Mark Emil (2012). Creating Terroir: An Anthropological Perspective of New Nordic Cuisine as an Expression of Nordic Identity. Nordic Food Lab. Fischler, C. (1988) “Food, Self and Identity” in Social Science Information 27:2, pp.275-292 Pine & Gilmore. Welcome to the experience economy, the customer is the product in The Experience Economy, Harvard Business School Press, 1999 Hansen, Per H (2010). “Cobranding Product and Nation: Danish Modern Furniture and Denmark in the United States 1940 – 1970” in Trademark, Brands and Competitiveness, pp 77 – 101 Falcon, Nana (2010). Transformation – in the New Nordic Kitchen. Copenhagen Business School. Norton, M. Villanueva, J and Wathieu, Luc (2009). elBulli: The Taste of Innovation. Harvard Business School Online Source: www1: Nordic Food Lab Presentation. http://madkulturen.dk/. 25 Dec 2012 www2: Meyer, Claus. The New Nordic Cuisine Movement. www.clausmeyer.dk. 25 Dec 2012 www3: http://nynordiskmad.org/. 02 Jan 2013 www4: New Nordic Food Conference – it’s all about the kids. http://foodstudio.no/column/new-nordic-food-conference/. 02 Jan 2013 www5: Nielsen, Lise. Noma: A taste for a Changing World. https://www.mm.dk. 04 Jan 2013 www6: http://www.theworlds50best.com/. 04 Jan 2013 www7: http://nordicfoodlab.org/. 25 Dec 2012 www8: Liu, Kevin. Nordic Food Lab’s Ben Reade on Microbiology, Eating Insects, and the Pursuit of Deliciousness. https://www.sciencefare.org. 25 Dec 2012 www9: Meyer, Claus. Unfolding the Potential of Indigenous Food Culture. www.ted.com. Video Presentation. 02 Jan 2013

Appendix 1

Manifesto for the New Nordic Kitchen As Nordic chefs we find that the time has now come for us to create a New Nordic Kitchen, which in virtue of its good taste and special character compares favourable with the standard of the greatest kitchens of the world. The aims of New Nordic Cuisine are: 1. To express the purity, freshness, simplicity and ethics we wish to associate with our region. 2. To reflect the changing of the seasons in the meals we make. 3. To base our cooking on ingredients and produce whose characteristics are particularly excellent in our climates, landscapes and waters. 4. To combine the demand for good taste with modern knowledge of health and well-being. 5. To promote Nordic products and the variety of Nordic producers – and to spread the word about their underlying cultures. 6. To promote animal welfare and a sound production process in our seas, on our farmland and in the wild. 7. To develop potentially new applications of traditional Nordic food products. 8. To combine the best in Nordic cookery and culinary traditions with impulses from abroad. 9. To combine local self-sufficiency with regional sharing of high-quality products. 10. To join forces with consumer representatives, other cooking craftsmen, agriculture, the fishing, food , retail and wholesale industries, researchers, teachers, politicians and authorities on this project for the benefit and advantage of everyone in the Nordic countries.

Appendix 2

Sample of Recipe from Restaurant Noma

Radishes in a Pot (Serves 4)

Ingredients 16 long radishes 8g parsley 8g chives 5g tarragon 5g chervil 5g shallots 125g sheep's milk yogurt 15g capers 50g mayonnaise 5g instant food thickener

Malt Soi l Day 1 175g flour 85g malt flour 50g hazelnut flour 25g sugar 75g lager Day 2 40g flour 20g malt flour 50g hazelnut flour 4g salt 60g butter, melted Instruct ions: Radishes: Wash the radishes and cut off the bottoms. Remove the leaves and stems, leaving only a few pretty ones. Herb cream: Roughly chop the herbs and shallots. Add the yogurt and capers and process in a Thermomix. Blend in the mayonnaise and pass through a fine sieve (strainer). Blend the mixture with the instant food thickener. Malt Soi l : Day 1: Preheat the oven to 90°C (195°F). Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour into a food processor. Process 3 times in short bursts while adding the beer. Spread on a tray and dry in the oven for 3-6 hours. Push through a coarse sieve to remove the thickest lumps. Day 2: Repeat the mixing procedure from Day 1 with the remaining malt soil ingredients, then mix the 2 batches together by hand, ensuring that no moist lumps are left in the mixture. For Serving: Use a piping (pastry) bag to half-fill a small pot with the herb cream. Season the radishes with sea salt and insert them in the cream. Sprinkle enough malt soil on top of the radishes to cover the cream completely and the radishes partially. - Redzepi 2010: 315

Appendix 3

List of Partners of Nordic Food Lab

www.fdb.dk We work for a more responsible consumption in health, climate, environment and ethical trading. FDB has

1.7 million members and owns Coop, the largest grocery business in Denmark.

www.nordeafonden.dk Nordea-fonden has a public benefit and charitable purpose. We support activities which

promote good living. Donations are primarily made for activities that fall within the following four themes: health,

sports and exercise, nature, art and culture. Emphasis is placed on activities of high quality actively involving many

people. Donations are limited to activites in Denmark or activities with clear ties to Denmark. Annually, we also award

DKK 5 mio. in grants to Danish students studying abroad.

www.rosepoultry.dk All the Chicken from Rose Poultry is reared under safe production conditions in Denmark where

we can document all processes from the egg to the finished product. We are flavour and quality-conscious so the

chickens are meaty and succulent regardless of which product you choose. We have increased our focus on

environmental and safety requirements, as well as our working environment where Rose Poultry gives great respect

for each individual employee.So therefore, the name Rose is a guarantee of superior edible chicken.

Madkulturen (’Food Culture’) works to bring better food to all Danes – food that tastes good, every day, throughout the

year. Madkulturen is a national, independent initiative, open to anyone and everyone. The more we develop our

palates, spread the joy of food and inspire each other, the more our food culture comes to the boil. So we hope as

many people as possible will join us to improve the meals we all eat together.