Inside the Creation of Noma’s New Vegan Burger

David Zilber, director of fermentation at Noma in Copenhagen, shares his creative process for developing the restaurant’s new burger.

Sarah Ridgeway
Published in
6 min readMay 29, 2020

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David Zilber. Photo: Asmund Sollihøgda

David Zilber is restaurant Noma’s Director of Fermentation and the co-author of The New York Times best-selling book The Noma Guide to Fermentation. One of his latest creations is a vegan burger that’s brightening up a dreary pandemic for eaters at Noma’s temporary, outdoor wine bar concept in Copenhagen.

I spoke with David about Noma’s recent reopening, and his hand in creating of what many are describing as the best veggie burger they’ve ever eaten. David’s curiosity is truly infectious and inspiring. In addition to the burger, we discussed his ideas and philosophy around vegetables, climate change, and eating for a better world.

As he was creating the plant-based burger he set a high bar for himself, pondering the question, ‘How good can we make vegan taste in between two pieces of bread?’

Different food for a different time

When the pandemic hit Copenhagen, Restaurant Noma was closed within a week. Though the…

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Sarah Ridgeway
Tenderly

I’m a content designer who loves to tinker in the kitchen. My pronouns are she/her.