It's Michelin star time again and the one thing everyone wanted to know was would this be the year that Noma gets its coveted third star.
The answer, alas, is no. Rene Redzepi's world-famous New Nordic eatery will have to once again be content with two Michelin stars, which means the restaurant is "worth a detour" rather than "worth a special journey".
Joining Noma in the two-star category is the restaurant Geranium, headed by star chef Rasmus Kofoed. Kofoed won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or award in 2011.
Eleven other Copenhagen restaurants were given one Michelin star, which indicates that the food is "very good cuisine in its category". The one-star winners were:
- Grønbech og Churchill, Copenhagen K
- Relæ, Copenhagen N
- Den Røde Cottage, Klampenborg
- Kong Hans Kælder, Copenhagen K
- Søllerld Kro, Holte
- AOC, Copenhagen K
- Era Ora, Copenhagen K
- Kiin Kiin, Copenhagen N
- Kokkeriet, Copenhagen K
- Formel B, Copenhagen K
- Kadeau, Copenhagen K
The city now has 13 restaurants with at least one Michelin star, one more than last year. An additional 13 Copenhagen-area restaurants were awarded a 'Bib Gourmand', denoting "good cuisine at a reasonable price".
As has been the case the last couple of years, there are rumblings in the Danish press about Noma 'only' receiving two stars despite being declared the 'world's best restaurant' three years running in Restaurant magazine's rankings of the world's top 50 eateries. Complaints are also coming from Jutland due to the fact that the Michelin reviewers only visit restaurants in the Greater Copenhagen area. That means that Aarhus's Restaurant Frederikshøj, which was named the best restaurant in Denmark last year – ahead of both Noma and Geranium – did not receive a visit nor the chance to earn a Michelin star.
"It's every chef's dream to win a Michelin star," Restaurant Frederikshøj head chef Wassim Hallal told the tabloid Ekstra Bladet. "It would mean that we would get international guests to come here."
Lotta Wrangle, a Michelin spokesperson, told Ekstra Bladet that it is simply too difficult to get to Jutland on a weekend trip from places like France.
The Michelin star designations come just one week after scores of diners got ill after eating at Noma due to an employee's illness spreading to customers.
Read the full summary of the 2013 Michelin Guide to the Main Cities of Europe.
