Sawt Falasteen - Co-founder of Copenhagen's Noma steps down after abuse allegations

"After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, I've decided to step away," Redzepi said in an Instagram post.

Over the weekend, newspaper The New York Times published a story detailing witness testimony about stories of past abuse at Noma, including physical violence and episodes of public shaming.

The newspaper said it had interviewed 35 former employees about the period between 2009 and 2017.

"I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years. I recognize these changes do not repair the past," Redzepi said.

He added that "an apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions."

Redzepi has previously admitted to losing his cool, including in 2015, when he said in an essay that "I've been a bully for a large part of my career".

In February, former head of Noma's fermentation lab, Jason Ignacio White, started posting about abuse he had witnessed while working at Noma and relayed stories sent to him by other former employees.

"Noma is not a story of innovation. It is a story of a maniac that would breed culture of fear, abuse & exploitation," White said in an Instagram post in early February.

An acronym formed from the Danish words "nordisk" (Nordic) and "mad" (food), Noma first opened on a quay in central Copenhagen in 2003.

It closed in 2016 and reopened two years later in a slightly more remote neighbourhood of the Danish capital.

On Wednesday, Noma opened a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles, but the opening was marked by a protest led by former employees.

D.Khalil--SF-PST