Noma Head Chef Matt Orlando

En Route to Open His Own Restaurant, Amass, in Copenhagen

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After over two years serving as head chef at Noma, Matt Orlando will be leaving Rene Redzepi's restaurant to open Amass, his own venture.

Orlando tells the local paper Politiken that he's decided to stick with Copenhagen, settling on a picturesque location right on the city's harbor. The restaurant isset to debut on July 1st, 2013.

Orlando has no intention of doing New Nordic food. He's taking trips to Brazil, Japan, and Australia, not just for research, but so he "can rediscover [his attitudes] toward food."

He tells Politiken, "People should be able to detect immediately that the chef is American. It has to be honest." To that end, he's considering putting items like his take on short ribs on the menu.

The space: Orlando's restaurant will be housed in a 60-year-old depot for ship workers. It'll have a chef's garden out front and a communal table where people will have to share their food. MAD Symposium Director and Noma insider Ali Kurshat Altinsoy tells Eater: "Amass will be more informal than Noma but be serious and ambitious whilst not strictly Nordic... It's supposed to be fun and refreshing in both format and style."

Prior to assuming the role of head chef at Noma, Orlando held positions at Per Se and The Fat Duck. He has a reputation for being an excellent, extremely well organized leader. When reached for comment by Politiken, Redzepi said of Orlando, "In the many years he has been with us, I have always seen him asperhaps the greatest talent."

Source: eater.com/