Mette Brink Søberg

32 / Copenhagen, Denmark

Five-time World’s Best Restaurant Noma may be best known for its star chef-owner René Redzepi, but he couldn’t have done it without long-time head of research and development, Mette Brink Søberg. Working from a small greenhouse in the gardens outside Noma in Copenhagen, Mette is the brains behind iconic dishes such as the celeriac shawarma that the new version of the restaurant pioneered at its first vegetable season in 2018. Calm under pressure and unafraid of failure, she works with whatever ingredients the team can find, constantly experimenting and scrapping ideas time and time again until she creates something worthy of the groundbreaking menu. Redzepi has said that Mette’s creative solutions are “limitless”,  and that she is at the forefront of food creativity not only at Noma but also within the whole restaurant industry.

After falling in love with cooking while starting out at classic Copenhagen fish restaurant Krogs, Mette moved to Sydney in 2012 to work at Marque, where chef Mark Best encouraged her to apply for a position at Noma. She joined the team as a stagiaire in her native Copenhagen in 2013 and has been working her way up the ranks for the past decade. Though she was always well-respected within the restaurant, it wasn’t until three years in that Mette really made an impact during Noma’s ‘Saturday Night Projects,’ where staff are encouraged to show off their own creations to their colleagues. Wowing Redzepi with her resourcefulness, creative mind and ability to cope in a crisis, she was given a position in the test kitchen and was later promoted to head of R&D.

Helping to inspire and empower future generations of talented young chefs, Mette is continuing her work in the Noma kitchen while fostering a kinder, more nurturing working environment that supports people’s mental health and work-life balance while building their careers.

“It’s very important that people feel respected and empowered. Those are some of the key factors that will ensure that the hospitality industry can keep attracting talented, passionate and ambitious people who can steer the industry in the right direction.” – Mette Brink Søberg