Andreas Viestad
Encyclopedia
Andreas Viestad is a Norwegian food column
ist and TV chef
. He has hosted five seasons of New Scandinavian Cooking
broadcast in the U.S.
, China
, Germany
, Italy
, Finland
and on BBC Food
in over fifty countries, and has a monthly column in The Washington Post
titled "The Gastronomer". Viestad has been called "Norway’s most exciting food writer", and "Norway’s culinary ambassador".
degree from the University of Oslo
, As his academic background is studies in history, political science and media science, his stated culinary qualification is an all-consuming preoccupation with food, where research is as likely to be conducted in a library as a laboratory or a kitchen. He frequently emphasises that he is not a trained chef.
From 1995 to 1997, Viestad wrote for Morgenbladet
, between 1997 to 1998 for Dagsavisen
, and has been with by Dagbladet
since 1998. His weekly column in the Dagbladet weekend supplement Magasinet titled "Det beste jeg vet" began in 1999, initiating his collaboration with the photographer Mette Randem of critical acclaim.
Viestad has been involved with the "molecular gastronomy
" movement since 1999, working especially with French food scientist Hervé This
at the Collège de France
in Paris, and was a member of the International Workshop for Molecular Gastronomy, where he has participated with food scientists such as Harold McGee
, and Peter Barham
and chefs Heston Blumenthal
and Pierre Gagnaire
. In his popular Washington Post column he writes about the science of everyday cooking.
In 2003, Viestad premiered as the host of the public television series New Scandinavian Cooking. With 5 million U.S. viewers per episode and a global reach so vast it was at the time viewed as the greatest ever exposure of Norwegian culture, second only to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics
. As the host of seasons one, two, three, five and six, Viestad became internationally known. In 2008 the series included four hosts and was named Perfect Day, of which Viestad was a co-host. Viestad is the host of the fifth season of New Scandinavian Cooking, airing in 2010, and a sixth season is under production.
On a visit to Zanzibar
, hotelier Emerson Skeens offered Viestad the position of "consultant chef" at the Emerson Spice Hotel, which Viestad accepted. Though an unpaid position, Viestad has said "One only gets to run a restaurant in Zanzibar once in a lifetime". His book Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route (2007) was a departure from previous themes of Scandinavian cooking. The book was selected the "Best Foreign Cookbook in the World" at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in April 2008. His book on Norwegian food was awarded Special Price of the Jury at the 2009 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Since February 2008, Viestad has written a monthly column titled "The Gastronomer" for The Washington Post about the science of everyday cooking. Viestad's recipes and writing have also been published in Gourmet
, The Sunday Times
, Vanity Fair
, Food & Wine and Vogue
.
Viestad has stated that he admires food writers Jeffrey Steingarten and Nigel Slater, chefs Alice Waters and Pierre Gagnaire, and Norwegian chefs Eyvind Hellstrøm
and Bent Stiansen
. The food writers of the great London newspapers are his role models, as they "operate in the grey zone between food columns and consumer journalism. They cultivate the 'good language', and at the same time contribute to setting the agenda in society."
Viestad has become more and more involved with farming. He has a small farm in the hamlet of Viestad in the Southern Norwegian town of Farsund
, as well as an agricultural project in Elgin
, near Cape Town, South Africa, named Garden of Elgin. The project is run in collaboration with Dr. Paul Clüver on the Cluver family estate, and features 50 different citrus
es, more than 40 varieties of peach
, nectarine and apricot
s and a wide selection of herbs and vegetables, including more than 100 varieties of tomato
es. He also has a home in his birth town Oslo.
In 2010, Viestad started working on a new food and agriculture project, a center for food culture for children at Geitmyra Gård, a protected farm in the middle of Oslo, inspired by Alice Waters
’ Edible Schoolyard.
Food column
A food column is a type of newspaper column dealing with food. It may be focused on recipes, health trends, or improving efficiency. It is generally geared towards gourmets or "foodies". Since 1994, food writers have also written columns and blogs on the web...
ist and TV chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
. He has hosted five seasons of New Scandinavian Cooking
New Scandinavian Cooking
New Scandinavian Cooking is a Scandinavian cooking show which over the course of five seasons was hosted by Andreas Viestad, Tina Nordström and Claus Meyer, produced by Tellus Works in collaboration with American Public Television...
broadcast in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and on BBC Food
BBC Food
BBC Food was the name of the BBC's international commercial television channel focusing solely on food until it was replaced in the television markets it was broadcast by BBC Lifestyle. The channel was owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm.The channel launched in June 2002...
in over fifty countries, and has a monthly column in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
titled "The Gastronomer". Viestad has been called "Norway’s most exciting food writer", and "Norway’s culinary ambassador".
Career
Viestad has a cand.mag.Cand.mag.
Candidatus magisterii , Candidata magisterii , i.e. Latin Candidate of Arts, abbreviated cand.mag., is an academic degree used in Denmark, and formerly in Norway and Iceland, roughly corresponding to an American Master of Arts and officially translated as such...
degree from the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
, As his academic background is studies in history, political science and media science, his stated culinary qualification is an all-consuming preoccupation with food, where research is as likely to be conducted in a library as a laboratory or a kitchen. He frequently emphasises that he is not a trained chef.
From 1995 to 1997, Viestad wrote for Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet
Morgenbladet is a Norwegian weekly newspaper. It was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg, and was the country's first daily newspaper. For a long time, it was also the country's biggest newspaper. It was closed down by the German Wehrmacht during World War II...
, between 1997 to 1998 for Dagsavisen
Dagsavisen
Dagsavisen is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999, and it is now fully independent...
, and has been with by Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
since 1998. His weekly column in the Dagbladet weekend supplement Magasinet titled "Det beste jeg vet" began in 1999, initiating his collaboration with the photographer Mette Randem of critical acclaim.
Viestad has been involved with the "molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
" movement since 1999, working especially with French food scientist Hervé This
Hervé This
Hervé This is a French physical chemist who works for the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique at AgroParisTech, in Paris . His main area of scientific research is molecular gastronomy, that is the science of culinary phenomena .With the late Nicholas Kurti, he coined the...
at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
in Paris, and was a member of the International Workshop for Molecular Gastronomy, where he has participated with food scientists such as Harold McGee
Harold McGee
Harold McGee is an American author who writes about the chemistry, technique and history of food and cooking and has written two seminal books on kitchen science. His first book, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen was initially published in 1984. A greatly revised second...
, and Peter Barham
Peter Barham
Professor Peter Barham is a Professorial Teaching Fellow in Physics at the University of Bristol, UK and visiting Professor of Molecular Gastronomy at the Royal Veterinary University in Copenhagen, Denmark....
and chefs Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal OBE is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005...
and Pierre Gagnaire
Pierre Gagnaire
Pierre Gagnaire is a well known French chef, and is the Head Chef and owner of the eponymous Pierre Gagnaire restaurant at 6 rue Balzac in Paris . Gagnaire is an iconoclastic chef at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement. Beginning his career in St...
. In his popular Washington Post column he writes about the science of everyday cooking.
In 2003, Viestad premiered as the host of the public television series New Scandinavian Cooking. With 5 million U.S. viewers per episode and a global reach so vast it was at the time viewed as the greatest ever exposure of Norwegian culture, second only to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
. As the host of seasons one, two, three, five and six, Viestad became internationally known. In 2008 the series included four hosts and was named Perfect Day, of which Viestad was a co-host. Viestad is the host of the fifth season of New Scandinavian Cooking, airing in 2010, and a sixth season is under production.
On a visit to Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, hotelier Emerson Skeens offered Viestad the position of "consultant chef" at the Emerson Spice Hotel, which Viestad accepted. Though an unpaid position, Viestad has said "One only gets to run a restaurant in Zanzibar once in a lifetime". His book Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route (2007) was a departure from previous themes of Scandinavian cooking. The book was selected the "Best Foreign Cookbook in the World" at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in April 2008. His book on Norwegian food was awarded Special Price of the Jury at the 2009 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Since February 2008, Viestad has written a monthly column titled "The Gastronomer" for The Washington Post about the science of everyday cooking. Viestad's recipes and writing have also been published in Gourmet
Gourmet (magazine)
Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. Founded by Earle R. MacAusland and first published in 1941, Gourmet also covered "good living" on a wider scale....
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, Food & Wine and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
.
Viestad has stated that he admires food writers Jeffrey Steingarten and Nigel Slater, chefs Alice Waters and Pierre Gagnaire, and Norwegian chefs Eyvind Hellstrøm
Eyvind Hellstrøm
Eyvind Hellstrøm is a chef and formerly the part owner of Bagatelle restaurant, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of Oslo...
and Bent Stiansen
Bent Stiansen
Bent Stiansen is a Norwegian chef, who in 1993 became the first Scandinavian gold medal winner of the Bocuse d'Or....
. The food writers of the great London newspapers are his role models, as they "operate in the grey zone between food columns and consumer journalism. They cultivate the 'good language', and at the same time contribute to setting the agenda in society."
Viestad has become more and more involved with farming. He has a small farm in the hamlet of Viestad in the Southern Norwegian town of Farsund
Farsund
is a town and municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 , although already recognized as a trading center in 1795...
, as well as an agricultural project in Elgin
Elgin, Western Cape
Elgin, situated in the Overberg region of South Africa, is an apple-growing area near Grabouw and is about 70 km southeast of Cape Town. A group of apple farms called Glen Elgin - owned by the Molteno family - gave the place its name...
, near Cape Town, South Africa, named Garden of Elgin. The project is run in collaboration with Dr. Paul Clüver on the Cluver family estate, and features 50 different citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
es, more than 40 varieties of peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
, nectarine and apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s and a wide selection of herbs and vegetables, including more than 100 varieties of tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es. He also has a home in his birth town Oslo.
In 2010, Viestad started working on a new food and agriculture project, a center for food culture for children at Geitmyra Gård, a protected farm in the middle of Oslo, inspired by Alice Waters
Alice Waters
Alice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, activist, and author. She is the owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients and for pioneering California cuisine.Waters opened the restaurant in 1971. It has consistently ranked...
’ Edible Schoolyard.