Denmark's famed Noma beaten to top Michelin honour

Denmark's famed Noma beaten to top Michelin honour

Copenhagen - Denmark's famed Noma restaurant may have been voted the world's best four times, but it is no longer top in its home country, according to foodie bible the Michelin Guide.

The latest Nordic edition of the French-based guide, unveiled Wednesday, gave its prized three-star rating to another Copenhagen eatery, the Geranium - the first in Denmark to receive top Michelin marks.

Noma, which was named best restaurant in the world by Britain's Restaurant magazine in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, was left with only two, still impressive but the same as last year.

Geranium's top chef Rasmus Kofoed, who received one of international cooking's most coveted prizes, the Bocuse d'Or, in 2011, opened his bio-friendly restaurant in 2007, won his first Michelin star in 2012 and his second a year later.

In Denmark, the latest Michelin rating did not surprise gastronomes, who spoke of Geranium's consistently superlative standards.

"Noma makes food into a plaything, its dishes are too all over the place to get three stars. They serve entertaining cuisine, but there is a little too much banter and jokes for Michelin," the editor-in-chief of Gastro magazine Jesper Uhrup Jensen told DR public television.

France's "La Liste," which collates the views of some 200 gastronomic guides and websites, puts Geranium at 173 in its global rankings, ahead of Noma at number 217.

The only other Nordic restaurant to receive three Michelin stars is Oslo's Maaemo, which also got its top rating this year, joining the exclusive club of just 116 three-star eateries worldwide.

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