The news that the famous Copenhagen restaurant Noma will close in the winter of 2024 is another sign that the restaurant scene, and fine dining in particular, is undergoing changes. The reasons are not only financial, but also psychological. It is worth analyzing them in a little more detail.

A restaurant model of this caliber is not sustainable even if they charge hundreds of dollars or euros per person. Specifically, at Noma, a wine pairing tasting menu costs over $500. These are enterprises that employ dozens of workers looking for the best raw materials, the best wines.

The competition in the world’s top 100 restaurants – a list that Noma has been doing well for several years – is relentless, constantly creating new needs, and at some point, no matter how much you charge a customer, the business bill just stops paying off. . When you add to this particular operating model the factor of the energy crisis driving up costs, it becomes clear that the equation is extremely complex. But besides the financial factor, there is also a psychological factor. The outbreak of the pandemic has brought a huge change, not only in focus, but also in how we think we can have a good time. Having closed ourselves in our homes for a long time, we realized that cooking can be a pleasant process for us too. Our home cooking has become our personal restaurant. Or, when we didn’t want to cook, the food delivery man became our personal “waiter.”

We have overestimated a lot. And, above all, the importance of meeting at the table, at any table, to enjoy a well-prepared meal that does not have to be exquisite, but includes the care and passion of the person who prepares it. So our view of fine dining has changed and we need something simpler and more direct.