This article was taken from the March 2016 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Noma's food is an art form in itself, but creating still lifes adds a real sense of drama. WIRED enlisted photographers Marco Grizelj and Kristin Krän -- working as photographic studio AORTA -- to create three compositions based on Noma's menu. "We were inspired by the food itself," said Grizelj. "For the still life shots we brought a lot of props and built small surreal worlds that in our heads had some connection with the actual dish in front of the camera."
Scenes were constructed using coloured hardboard shapes, minerals, rocks, cloth, wood, utensils and plants, with a freshly-cooked dish from Noma's kitchen taking pride of place. The dishes were shot fresh out of the kitchen and then edited into the meticulously constructed still life images.
The shoot took an entire day, with each scene also incorporating objects found in Noma's stores.
"They [Noma] are extremely dedicated explorers of the human sense of taste," said Grizelj, describing René Redzepi as a "truly talented craftsman as well as a skilled businessman." "Unfortunately we didn't spend enough time with him to discover the darker sides of his soul."
As for the future of food? For Grizelj, the most important task is making sure everyone has enough to live. "First and foremost, we hope that everyone on the planet gets some so noone has to starve," he said. "In the future we won't be able to consume meat the way we are doing. Vegetarian foods will flourish and evolve. We will start accepting more and more alternative exotic sources of protein."
**Roasted wild duck:**Wild Danish duck is grilled and glazed until it is cooked through. The glaze is made from water, fermented rye bread and smoked butter
**Forest flavours and chocolate:**Finnish reindeer moss with pine salt covered in chocolate; lemon verbena covered in chocolate with blackcurrant powder; fermented cep mushroom covered in chocolate with raw liquorice; oxalis covered in chocolate with verbena powder
**Grilled baby corn with cured egg yolk:**Baby corn from Noma supplier Søren Wiuff, brushed with an egg yolk and beef marinade and served with kelp oil, lemon thyme and smoked salt
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
