Chef René Redzepi is known around the world for his Michelin three-star restaurant Noma, often considered one of the greatest restaurants in existence (it’s been named such five times). His fame has only increased recently thanks to his delicious new Apple TV+ series Omnivore and, of course, being a major inspiration for the hit FX and Hulu show, The Bear. The series has referenced the restaurant and has actually filmed there, and Redzepi himself has actually had a cameo in the series. When we spoke with Redzepi about Omnivore, we had to ask his thoughts about The Bear and what it was like appearing in the show.
“The Bear is like when I grew up, and I watched The Wire. And The Wire was the best show on Earth. The Bear is The Wire of our time,” stated Redzepi. “And while some of it is fiction, or a lot of it is fiction, the restaurant industry can be a very, very tough place to be in. So much stress. And, so, of course, they have that in there. And no doubt that this can be a stressful place.” He continued:
”
The Bear
is a sensation in the world
. We feel that [at Noma], you know? We have people that come to our restaurant — young 22-year-olds. The other day, this young 22-year-old, he’s walking down the path, and I’m saying, ‘Hey. Can I help you?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah. Is this where they shot
The Bear
?’ He tells me he doesn’t care at all that it’s a restaurant.
He just wants to follow in the footpath of
The Bear
.
”
Related
The Funniest Moments in The Bear So Far, Ranked
With the recent release of the third season, let’s take a look through some of the culinary-centered series’ funniest moments.
Noma Makes a Cameo in The Bear
The Bear
3.5/5
Set in a Chicago sandwich shop, The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto, a young professionally trained chef who returns to take over his family business after the unexpected death of his brother. At odds with many of the shop’s employees due to his culinary training, Carmy struggles to maintain order and keep the shop from failing entirely. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri.
- Release Date
- June 23, 2022
- Seasons
- 3
- Network
- FX
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu , Disney+
- Showrunner
- Christopher Storer
“Being a part of The Bear is, like, fairly easy for [Noma] because we’ve known them for so many years. I mean, Matty Matheson and the crew, we’ve known them way before The Bear was even a thing,” explained Redzepi (Matheson is a famous Canadian chef who produces The Bear and stars as Neil Fak). “I didn’t even know about The Bear before it was out and people started texting me. ‘Hey. You’re everywhere in this show. What’s going on?‘ And then they actually shot here three weeks before the show finished.” Redzepi continued about his cameo:
“And I was sitting having burgers with Matty, and he’s like, ‘René, we need you on there. Tomorrow morning, we’ll just film you watching the plate.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay. We’ll do it.’ And so it was like a 10-minute commitment, honestly. And the day before was a two to three hour commitment from the crew. They’re super… they’re so natural.”
Omnivore is pretty super, too. Check out the eight-episode culinary docuseries through the link below on Apple TV+.