The Noma Team Served Bugs at Justin Timberlake’s Album Party

Pop star Justin Timberlake is rebranding himself as a “man of the woods” right now — and those woods, apparently, are the ones surrounding Copenhagen fine-dining destination Noma. Last night, the recovering fedora fanatic hosted a listening party for his new album at a ritzy Manhattan loft where catering was provided by René Redzepi’s impossible-to-get-into Copenhagen restaurant, which has landed at number one on the World’s 50 Best list for several years in a row.

In keeping with the restaurant’s dedication to foraging, the menu included ants, grasshoppers, kelp, and “wild beach plants,” plus pork cracklings with chocolate and berries for dessert — not typical music industry party fare. Judging by the reactions on Twitter, some of the journalists and party hoppers at the event were surprised to be served bugs after listening to JT’s newest jams, but the menu clearly made a big impression on the crowd.

Timberlake’s latest opus, Man of the Woods, lands on February 2, just two days before the “SexyBack” singer will perform at the Super Bowl. Noma, meanwhile, will reopen in its brand new space with a fresh menu on February 15.

• Justin Timberlake Premieres ‘Man of the Woods’ at Listening Party With Menu Featuring Grasshoppers, Ants [Variety]
• Justin Timberlake dished up bugs at a woodsy private listening party [Twitter]
• All Coverage of Noma [E]