Witness History New Nordic cuisine
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Apr 1, 2026 
Claus Meyer, Danish food entrepreneur and Noma co-founder who launched the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto, shares how local seasonal ingredients reshaped cooking. He recalls childhood meals, French terroir lessons, founding Noma with a local-only ingredient ethos, and rallying chefs and politicians around freshness, seasonality and localism.
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Gascony Mentor Sparked Meyer's Food Mission
- Claus Meyer escaped an unhappy childhood by working in Gascony and living with a French pastry chef who became a mentor.
- The Gascony experience taught him terroir and rekindled joy in everyday food, prompting his return to Denmark to change its food culture.
Noma Launched As A Testbed For Nordic Ingredients
- After buying a harbour warehouse, Claus Meyer opened Noma to use only Nordic ingredients and showcase a new cuisine.
- Initial indifference to Noma led Meyer to draft the manifesto and seek buy-in from influential chefs and critics.
Manifesto Turned Localism Into A Movement
- The Nordic Kitchen Manifesto codified freshness, animal welfare, health, seasonality and local supply chains as core principles.
- Claus Meyer rallied journalists, chefs and politicians to launch the manifesto in Copenhagen in November 2004, securing public funding and attention.