Denmark vies to stay gastronomy star

With off-the-wall dishes like butterfly wings or simple local products, restaurants Denmark, the recent darling of the culinary world, in are outdoing each other to emulate Noma, a soon-shuttering three-starred eatery.

Tucked away at the far end of an industrial zone in an old shipyard, Alchemist is turning food into gold, offering its fortunate-enough visitors - the single set menu costs 4,900 kroner ($707) - a "holistic experience" consisting of 50 "impressions."

"The ambition is to change the world through gastronomy and try to make a very immersive experience by bringing different artistic fields into the culinary world," says Alchemist's 32-year-old chef, Rasmus Munk. And that experience is drawing crowds. Around 10,000 people are usually on the waiting list at Alchemist, which serves 52 people a day.

Behind a heavy bronze door, diners are plunged into an almost mystical ambiance, including music and light effects and a contemporary dance performance.

A first room is reserved for the bite-size amuse-bouches.

Guests then head into "the dome" for the rest of the meal, enjoyed under a cupola screening colorful scenes of ocean life ravaged by plastic pollution, followed by anxiety-inducing news reports.

For one dish, caviar is placed in the pupil of a fake eyeball made from dried cod broth. Here, titillating diners' minds is almost more important than teasing their tastebuds.

"My favorite part is when people begin to debate and create some interaction with the food and experiences," says Munk, whose establishment has two Michelin stars.

Noma, ranked the best restaurant in the world several times, announced in January that it would close for good at the end of 2024 to reinvent itself as a food laboratory.

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