on’t lie – when you hear the term Nordic Cuisine, you definitely think of the most boring food possible: potatoes, pork and maybe some herring (yum). Up until recently, you would have definitely been right on the money, but things have taken a major 360 in the past few years with the help of some seriously innovative chefs who weren’t afraid to take some huge risks – or maybe they were just sick of the mind-numbing selection of cuisine their region had to offer.

In case you're a little unclear about what Nordic Cuisine is, or even which region Nordic refers to, here's a bit of insight on the matter. Although Nordic is a term that refers to the northern European countries, like Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the new revolution in Nordic cookery is in – and therefore centers on – Denmark alone, yet focuses particularly on its capital city of Copenhagen. The world began to realize how much this city's gastronomy was truly growing when the 2008 Michelin Guide (a foodie's bible) awarded 11 of its restaurants 12 Michelin stars, the most prestigious of restaurant honors. The city is also a standout because one of the main men behind the stir surrounding Nordic Cuisine originates from that growing metropolis.

It seems to make the most sense to start with him - the one chef who got the ball rolling; the man behind the movement (and it truly is a movement) is Claus Meyer. His restaurant, Noma, is the only one in Copenhagen to have two Michelin stars, and it has barely been open for four years. He was quoted in the New York Times saying, “It was crystal clear to us that somebody had to face up to the challenge of dusting off and updating traditional Danish cuisine, so that it could be lifted out from the nationalistic stench that fills the air in bodegas and inns, so that it could be resurrected in a modernized rendition.” His honesty and negative adjectives used to describe his native cuisine is shocking, yet it's tremendous that instead of succumbing to silly patriotism and pretending that everything about his country is picture-perfect, he faced the brutal reality that Danish cuisine needed a serious revamping – and he took this responsibility upon himself.

There wouldn't be such a big deal made of the cuisine if their resources weren't new and exciting, and therefore their new cuisine wouldn't be new and exciting.

You might be saying to yourself, alright, this is all nice, but what is Nordic Cuisine anyway? Before I tell you anything, it's imperative that you understand that this is serious business. While foodies might appreciate how innovative this new Nordic Cuisine is, as well as why some have even called it a revolution, regular ol’ people who enjoy eating without an interest in the detailed history behind it all might be asking, so what? So the Nordic peeps have finally caught up with the times!

FYI, these Nordics are flying ahead of the times by now. The New Nordic Cuisine Movement (official name) even has a full-out manifesto, of which an excerpt might help you understand why this is making news all over the globe. The first three points of their ten-point manifesto sum it up pretty well. The first point maintains how important it is to express the purity, freshness, simplicity and ethics that the movement would like to associate with their region. The second point emphasizes the importance of reflecting the different seasons in their meals (by the way, this doesn’t mean that food is cut out into little snowflakes in the wintertime). The third point is to base cooking on raw materials whose characteristics especially stand out because of the Nordic climate, landscape and waters. They want to stand out in the crowd and create available, quality food while maintaining aesthetics.