Noma is the supreme example of ‘localism’ in restaurants. Shame it’s in Copenhagen

It was too good an invitation to turn down. My friend James had managed to get a reservation at Noma, recently named best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine. True, it’s in Copenhagen, but James offered to use his air miles to get me a ticket if I paid for lunch. ‘You’re on,’ I said.

On the face of it, there’s something a little odd about this gastronomic landmark being in Denmark. I don’t mean that the Danes aren’t famous for their food. It’s more that you wouldn’t expect to find such a potent symbol of plutocratic excess in the world’s most socially democratic country. Of the world’s richest economies, Denmark currently enjoys the highest rate of intergenerational social mobility, possibly because it also has the lowest level of income inequality. In order to climb from the bottom to the top of the socio-economic ladder in Denmark you don’t have to travel very far.