A Work in Progress: A Journal

by René Redzepi

The world-famous chef René Redzepi's intimate first-hand account of a year in the life of his renowned restaurant, noma A Work in A Journal is a highly personal document of the creative processes at noma and the challenges faced by its chefs over a twelve-month period in an unspecified year of the restaurant's history. After a month of vacation, Redzepi made a resolution to keep a journal and to dedicate a year to the creativity and well-being at noma. The result is an unusually candid, and often humorous, insight into the inner workings of one of the food world's most creative minds. Originally featured in the bestselling A Work in Progress , first published in 2013.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Art, Memoir, Business

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2013

Reviews

[Michael Dubakov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Рене — шеф-повар ресторана Noma в Копенгагене с двумя (уже тремя) мишленовскими звездами. Эта книга — его рабочий дневник за один год. Я завидую Рене белой завистью. Особенно его энергии. В каждой странице этого дневника сквозит невероятная любовь к работе, ответственность, увлеченность и энергия на грани одержимости (или за гранью).

Пару историй из книги.

1. Как-то раз (как и всегда) Рене остался в ресторане после часа ночи и зашел на кухню. Нашел там грязь в раковине — убрал. Увидел грязную чашку, решил засунуть ее в посудомойку, открыл посудомойку — а там куча грязной посуды. Начал исследовать кухню и обнаружил там много неприятного, включая немаркированную еду в холодильнике. В 1:30 ночи он позвонил ВСЕМ поварам и дал им 15 минут на сборы. Все приехали и убирали кухню до утра. Рене тоже убирал. Такое отношение к Качеству встречается редко.

2. В декабре у ресторана возникли финансовые проблемы. Каждый день полный зал. Все на кухне работают как проклятые (50 поваров!). Посетители довольны как слоны. В чем же дело? Выяснили, что они готовят слишком много блюд в меню, слишком много затрат на экспериментальную кухню и слишком низкие цены ($130 за ужин с человека), а рентабельность наступает только после $150 с человека за ужин. Сократили ассортимент ежедневного меню, подняли цены и начали зарабатывать. Рене искренне считал что разнообразие — это именно то, чего хотят посетители. Но посетители совсем не расстроились, а даже стали отмечать более высокое качество старых привычных блюд. Кстати, сейчас там цена ужина $500+ (но и звезды уже три).

Рене пытался в дневнике исследовать рецепты креативности. Ничего нового он в целом не придумал. Основных ингредиентов три:

1. Тяжелая работа (с раннего утра до 12 ночи)
2. Ощущение игры на работе (playfulness)
3. Постоянные эксперименты и любопытство (типа, а какой на вкус муравей? что можно приготовить из крови? как сделать десерт из картошки? как меняется на вкус сушеный огурец, если его сушить при разных температурах?).

Ясно, что все это невозможно в режиме remote. Эксперименты с реальными продуктами с такой плотностью коммуникаций возможны только offline. Как сделать работу playful and fun в распределенной команде? У меня пока нет ответа на этот вопрос...

[Samprabhu Rubandhas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going through a period of introspection, I watched Rene's interview with Jiro-san. Jiro-san has been a huge inspiration for me. I wanted to be like Jiro-san but did not know how. When I watched the interview, I was stuck by the humility and the depth of the questioner. That led me to this wonderful book. This book, imho, gives a ringside view of someone at the very highest echelons of his trade pushing the boundaries even further. It gives a perspective on what it takes to be striving for excellence every single day. It tells us that success is a by-product of doing/creating/striving every single day. None of this is news, but, to see a person and his team, execute this was inspiring.

Being a creative person, it immediately stuck a chord within me. The theory and practice, the old and and the new, a man and his team - all somewhat cliched expressions- are suddenly fused together to mean what they should truly mean. Thank you Rene Redzepi for this book. You have inspired me!

[Haydn Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting insight into Renés mind and his experiences as a business owner and chef. Read this funnily enough on holiday when I myself was feeling burnt out, i feel like ive found a new inspiration and cant wait to get back into the kitchen. Rene is one of the greats and noma will always be a special place

[Elza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patika palasīt kā kāds cits lēni progresē, mocās un pārdzīvo par lietām, kas viņam svarīgas. Pie reizes uzzināju, cik daudz ko var darīt ar ēdienu. Ēst skudras, skujas, ķērpjus, lapas, kas garšo pēc citronzāles utt.

[Janey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the chef’s creative process and philosophy of cooking, though I couldn’t help but notice how much of a boy’s club his kitchen is.

[Truman Vieth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insight into the culinary worlds greatest mind.

[Ben Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a wonderful breath of fresh air to read. Just seeing people push themselves to the limits of creativity for its own sake is really inspiring.

[Peter van Hardenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal view into the inner mind of René Redzepi, the head chef of a restaurant that works to carve out a whole new haute cuisine for the Nordic people from ingredients that can be sourced seasonally in the region.

His temperamental personality is on display in his writing, even if though seems that he's edited out most of the embarrassing stuff. You can feel the swings in his moods and how they manifest in tantrums - at one point he calls his entire staff back to the restaurant at some ungodly hour to clean the shop because he finds a mess when he finally leaves.

He is a poor husband, too. He leaves notes for his wife (with his second child only a few months old!) that read "I'll see you in ten days." He struggles with the basics of the restaurant and despite being completely booked out months in advance and being the world's top rated restaurant finds himself in the red and in danger of losing the whole thing because he overextends himself on a renovation.

Overall though, his quest to create a kitchen which is staffed by more than just "soldiers" that do his bidding, to find joy In his work even as the world tries to pigeon-hole his cuisine, and to figure out how to break into that creative space where innovation happens, well, it's magical to watch it unfold.

Highly recommended. I hope the moral of the story isn't that you have to be a complete asshole to be the best. Maybe it's just that you have to be willing to work harder and smarter than everybody else.

[Paul Leddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic look inside the ideas, successes and failures that a 5-star restaurant chef deals with. The innovative design of having 3 books: a journal, a book of recipes, and a book of snapshots was maddening at times (having to look up one of the recipes or photos when it was referenced in the journal) but it made the experience more intimate as if we were truly looking over Redzepi's shoulder as he wrote in his diary.

I can think of no other book that fully captures how the seeds of creativity and innovation in a restaurant are planted. Excellent book.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The library version came with only the recipes. But that is fine. There are ideas that live in the recipes and if you have read enough of the NOMA stuff, you get the idea.

This is not really a home cookbook but if you are looking for ideas there are those. I had forgotten some of his quirks; cep powders, teas and oils; lots of malt recipes; and interesting flavour pairings. It is all of this that makes it worthwhile.

I do not own this book but I do own Herve This and a few others that travel a similar road. Just a quick look into these books reminds me of things to try and risks to take. There are parts of recipes and ideas to steal if that is what you would like.

For instance, I have a bunch of flavoured vinegars given to me and they aren't the best grade or particularly good on their own. I hadn't thought of using them for pickling to enhance but now I have. So, that's the kind of inspiration that I expect from these kind of cookbooks and they rarely fail to provide some insight into cooking.

[Julie Botnick]

Every page was literally jaw-dropping. The disclaimer on the last page sums it up, though: "A number of the recipes require advanced techniques, specialist equipment and professional experience to achieve good results."

Don't expect to be able to cook a single thing from the book - it would've been nice just to have the pictures and descriptors!

The plating notes were by far the best parts. A fun read!

[Evan Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative dude working at such a high level, would have loved to eat/work there. How he uses food should be the mentality of every chef. People say about the unpaid interns but the interns want to be there, paid in experience it’s just the way it is, 30 interns is a bit crazy tho lol

Favourite part of the book was the discovery of what to do with the cucumber, reminds me of Vancouver where I started reading it first

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even from a non-food perspective, this journal is a great look and description about the creative process. Throughout the book, Redzepi’s description of even the seasons feels real, and is entirely illustrative of emotions felt while even reading about them.

[Haute Curiosité · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step back, slow down, move forward. A view of the valley between peaks of success, and the grit that it takes to continue innovating and pushing through challenges of all forms...and coming out of it all the better.

[Khanh Ngo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insane creativity and ideas! Much respect for the chef and his team for their love and devotion to food. Regardless, it was hard to feel connected to some of the dishes they created as it went beyond my comprehension of how everything could taste as a whole with rare and exotic ingredients.

[Neil]

pretty cool thread: https://twitter.com/kevinleeme/status...

[David Brinkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into a creative mind. You can feel the pressure and relate to the mindset of a working team.

[Willow Lezcano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read snap shots. Beautiful book, love the green. Wish some of the photos were a little less blurry but I understand he’s a chef.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

worth reading. His reflections & journey to growth. Not a lifestyle I envy. Some good ideas about food.

read in two visits to my mother-in-law’s home.

[Nicholas Aune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rene Redzepi, of the acclaimed Noma restaurant, considered to be the best restaurant in the world produced another book... or another three books. Unlike the Noma cookbook, which irconsidered to be uncookable, Redzepi tells the story of a year in his restaurant through photos, a daily journal, and , yes, an uncookable catalogue of daily specials. The books work best as the whole set, but individually they have their flaws. The photo album puts a face to most of the names mentioned, but is fairly bland. The special recipe book has some gorgeous photos and interesting sounding dishes, but uses some insanely intense techniques, equipment and ingredients that are hyper local to the restaurant. It's food porn and has little practical use for a home cook. The shining member of the collection is the journal, which tells the moments of clarity, though processes, and personal and financial struggles during the year that Rene really cranked Noma into full gear. This collection is a special one, as it sheds some light on why Rene has decided to close down Noma.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi é piaciuto, é un diario tenuto per capire meglio certi comportamenti/sensazioni negativi che Renée prova negli ultimi tempi, per inquadrare ciò che provoca in lui questi comportamenti. Quindi é piuttosto coinciso, frammentato da riflessioni, con resoconti di giornate o singoli avvenimenti che sono stati particolarmente positive o negative. Mi é piaciuta l’onestà, e lo spiraglio che da sulla sua vita/lavoro e sul ristornate. Molto interessanti gli accenni alle ricette e a come lavorano nella test-kitchen; scoprire come fosse il Noma back in the days (e come forse ancora in parte é adesso). Un must avere anche il libro di ricette pubblicato insieme. Molto carino e genuino il libretto con le foto.
Essendo un diario é piuttosto onesto, non sembra esserci stato un lavoro di abbellimento di ciò che Renée prova, o di come si comporta: l’ho apprezzato molto, anche se a tratti mi ha dato un po’ fastidio. Ma é umano.

[Mihai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on creativity in the kitchen. If you're looking for another recipe book, don't look here. If you're looking for insight into the creative mind of an award-winning chef, if you're curious to know about his struggles and how a dish comes together, look no further. The package contains a journal (the main part of the "work"), a beautifully illustrated recipe book (you won't attempt to recreate any of those, but the inspiration value is huge), and a collection of snapshots from the life of the restaurant, taken during that year.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't have sea buckthorne juice or biodynamic blue carrots lying around anywhere, let alone live shrimp or snails, so most of these "recipes" were out of bounds. oops, all of these recipes. but it really is a book of recipes. you can't do anything this guy does, but he tells you how to do it if you're silly enough to try. or michael cirino.

plus, a nice journal and a picturebook that is fine but was too much like looking at rene's intern's instagram feed.

[Brenda Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through these creative and hilarious cooking notes - especially with Danish and English expletives thrown in for cheekiness. A true walk through some Nordic cuisine - first stop in Copenhagen is now Noma with a side of sea squid with purple carrot aioli ;)

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to read because I would set it aside to read other things, but I'm glad I finally finished it. Rene Redzepi is an amazing next level chef, and reading his journal was extremely interesting. Seeing the ups and downs of someone I respect. Worth reading if you're into food.

[Domien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book showing the process of staying creative and innovative even while being number one.

[Lisa Fetterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rene Redzepi is hilarious! I cannot believe how much I learned from this book. I felt his struggle, I pumped my fists up in the air at his triumphs. Definitely worth the read.

[Latiza Quijada · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny

[Hilary Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mega inspo!! Cannot wait to go to Noma someday. Loved every second of this one.

[Livvie Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars !! Really interesting insight into lifestyle and processes of an industry leader. Really made me think about food differently and feeling super inspired. Man loves saying f**k - I back it.