Sara La Fountain
Encyclopedia
Sara La Fountain is a Finnish-American
chef
, cookbook
author
, designer
, and television personality
.
father and a Finnish mother, after they had met during the 1980 Winter Olympics
in Lake Placid, New York
. After her parents separated, La Fountain moved to Finland
with her mother, who then remarried. La Fountain's father has continued his family business in New York
, managing a restaurant and a hotel with his brother, while her stepfather is the famed Finnish architect Kosti Kuronen, who has designed around 50 golf course
s in Europe
.
La Fountain was raised in the Eira
neighborhood of Helsinki
, the capital of Finland, and in a family estate
in Kirkkonummi
, attending the Waldorf School of Helsinki. La Fountain was engaged with the renowned film and music video director Antti Jokinen
between 2005 and 2011.
, working also in a local restaurant. Previously, she had studied and worked at Sokerileipuri Alenius, a traditional confectioner in Ullanlinna, Helsinki
.
in her teens. She has since worked as a spokesperson for the high-quality shopping centre Kämp Galleria
in Helsinki, the Finnish fashion brand Marimekko
, and the Puma Women collection of PUMA in Finland.
La Fountain has since written food column
s in various Finnish magazines and newspapers, including Helsingin Sanomat
, Ilta-Sanomat
, and Seura
, in which she had a weekly column. La Fountain also arranges cooking courses, does food styling, and has her own catering service
. She has also done product development for different brands, including Fazer
and Finlandia Vodka
.
In 2010, La Fountain toured in the United States, including Miami, New York
, Chicago
, Dallas, and San Francisco, as part of the Slow Food USA charity programme. She created various new dishes for the Cooking with Finlandia Vodka
dinners at Fairmont Hotels
, and all the ticket sales were donated to Slow Food USA.
in Finland. Each of the 10 episodes had its own theme from brunch
es to birthday parties
, karaoke nights
, and Japanese
and India
n social evenings
.
In 2008, La Fountain starred in Perfect Day, which is an international lifestyle television series sold to around 60 countries worldwide. It includes four well-known Nordic
chefs (Tina Nordström
, Andreas Viestad
, Claus Meyer and La Fountain herself) introducing traditional foods, customs, and culture of their own countries, including Finland
, Sweden
, Norway
, and Denmark
. In addition to the television show, La Fountain also starred in a 36-episode online series called A Perfect Day in Sara's Kitchen. In 2008, La Fountain also appeared on UKTV Food
's popular Market Kitchen
television series as a guest chef.
As of 2011, La Fountain has been asked to appear in various international cooking show
s, including in the USA, where she appeared as a guest chef on the 5th season of New Scandinavian Cooking
on American Public Television
. La Fountain's own television show Perfect Day continues to air around the world, premiering in Germany
in autumn 2011.
, for her debut book à la Sara in 2006. In addition to the actual awards event, the Prime Minister of Malaysia
also hosted a dinner party for 500 guests at his private residence.
The book version of Perfect Day television series was published in 2008. It includes recipe
s from all of the chefs and information on the various locations they visited in the course of the series.
On her third book, Passion for Food, published by Tammi
in 2010, La Fountain has said: "My book goes through all the seasons as visual images of food. Each month has its own chapter, which has 10 different recipes, and dining section. I take note of the seasonal events, such as the picnic season in spring and the mushroom and berry crops season in fall, not forgetting the classic holidays".
Since 2010, La Fountain has written her own blog, Passion for Fashion & Food, on the Internet. She is also blogging on the Finnish women's magazine Olivias website under the title of Ruoka à la Sara (Food à la Sara).
, glassware
, and textile
s for the Finnish brand Luhta Home, including Lotus, Baroque, Marocco and Agadir. She has also designed patterns for shoes of kitchen professionals by the Finnish Jalas footwear
company.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, and television personality
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
.
Background
La Fountain was born to a French AmericanFrench American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
father and a Finnish mother, after they had met during the 1980 Winter Olympics
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
. After her parents separated, La Fountain moved to 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...
with her mother, who then remarried. La Fountain's father has continued his family business in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, managing a restaurant and a hotel with his brother, while her stepfather is the famed Finnish architect Kosti Kuronen, who has designed around 50 golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
La Fountain was raised in the Eira
Eira
Eira is a neighborhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.The district dates back to the early 20th century and received its name after Eira Hospital in the neighboring district of Ullanlinna, which in turn took its name from Eira Hospital in Stockholm, which was named after Eir, the old...
neighborhood of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, the capital of Finland, and in a family estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
in Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi is a municipality of inhabitants in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church moor"....
, attending the Waldorf School of Helsinki. La Fountain was engaged with the renowned film and music video director Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen is a Finnish music video and film director.-Early life:Jokinen attended East Carolina University on a basketball scholarship and later graduated with a major in broadcast and film.-Music video career:...
between 2005 and 2011.
Training
La Fountain was trained at The Culinary Institute of America, the world-renowned culinary school in Hyde Park, New YorkHyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
, working also in a local restaurant. Previously, she had studied and worked at Sokerileipuri Alenius, a traditional confectioner in Ullanlinna, Helsinki
Ullanlinna
' is the southern-most city district of Helsinki, in Finland. The name Ullanlinna refers to the fortification line that was built at the southern edge of the area during the 18th century , as part of the town fortifications, which also included the fortress of . The name refers to the Swedish...
.
Modelling
La Fountain started working as a part-time fashion modelModel (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
in her teens. She has since worked as a spokesperson for the high-quality shopping centre Kämp Galleria
Hotel Kämp
Hotel Kämp is a historical hotel in Helsinki, Finland.The hotel, originally built in 1887 by Carl Kämp, was designed by Theodor Höijer. The building was demolished and the facade was rebuilt in 1965...
in Helsinki, the Finnish fashion brand Marimekko
Marimekko
Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.- Foundation :Marimekko was...
, and the Puma Women collection of PUMA in Finland.
Entrepreneur
After returning to Finland from the Culinary Institute of America, La Fountain started her own business and was soon noticed by the Finnish media.La Fountain has since written food column
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...
s in various Finnish magazines and newspapers, including Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
, Ilta-Sanomat
Ilta-Sanomat
Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening dailys and the second largest newspaper in the country...
, and Seura
Seura
Seura is a Finnish weekly magazine published by Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet. Its first issue was published in 1935. A sample issue came out already in the previous year. Another weekly family magazine, similar to Seura, is Apu....
, in which she had a weekly column. La Fountain also arranges cooking courses, does food styling, and has her own catering service
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
. She has also done product development for different brands, including Fazer
Fazer
Fazer is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry.The company was originally founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian conditory" in central Helsinki...
and Finlandia Vodka
Finlandia Vodka
Finlandia Vodka is produced from Finnish-grown six-row barley and pure glacier water.The barley is distilled into a grain spirit using a continuous multi-pressure distillation system at Altia Corporation's distillery in Finnish village of Koskenkorva...
.
In 2010, La Fountain toured in the United States, including Miami, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Dallas, and San Francisco, as part of the Slow Food USA charity programme. She created various new dishes for the Cooking with Finlandia Vodka
Finlandia Vodka
Finlandia Vodka is produced from Finnish-grown six-row barley and pure glacier water.The barley is distilled into a grain spirit using a continuous multi-pressure distillation system at Altia Corporation's distillery in Finnish village of Koskenkorva...
dinners at Fairmont Hotels
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts. Currently, Fairmont operates properties in 18 countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, United Kingdom, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the...
, and all the ticket sales were donated to Slow Food USA.
Television
In 2005, La Fountain starred in her own lifestyle television series called Avec Sara on MTV3MTV3
MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials...
in Finland. Each of the 10 episodes had its own theme from brunch
Brunch
Brunch is a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.-Origin of the word:The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night...
es to birthday parties
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
, karaoke nights
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
, and Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n social evenings
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
.
In 2008, La Fountain starred in Perfect Day, which is an international lifestyle television series sold to around 60 countries worldwide. It includes four well-known Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
chefs (Tina Nordström
Tina Nordström
Tina Nordström is a Swedish celebrity chef, television personality, and pitch lady from Helsingborg, Sweden....
, Andreas Viestad
Andreas Viestad
Andreas Viestad is a Norwegian food columnist 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"...
, Claus Meyer and La Fountain herself) introducing traditional foods, customs, and culture of their own countries, including 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...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. In addition to the television show, La Fountain also starred in a 36-episode online series called A Perfect Day in Sara's Kitchen. In 2008, La Fountain also appeared on UKTV Food
UKTV Food
Good Food is a lifestyle channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its current format on 22 June 2009. Good Food is available on satellite through Sky and on cable services, primarily...
's popular Market Kitchen
Market Kitchen
Market Kitchen is a cookery programme, made by Optomen, that premiered on Good Food in 2007. Presented by Rachel Allen, Amanda Lamb, Matt Tebbutt, Tom Parker Bowles and Matthew Fort, the programme concentrates on seasonal cooking and features visits to a local market to obtain seasonal produce...
television series as a guest chef.
As of 2011, La Fountain has been asked to appear in various international cooking show
Cooking show
A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
s, including in the USA, where she appeared as a guest chef on the 5th season 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...
on American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
. La Fountain's own television show Perfect Day continues to air around the world, premiering in 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...
in autumn 2011.
Books and blog
La Fountain was awarded the Best First Cookbook award at the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, for her debut book à la Sara in 2006. In addition to the actual awards event, the Prime Minister of Malaysia
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
also hosted a dinner party for 500 guests at his private residence.
The book version of Perfect Day television series was published in 2008. It includes recipe
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
s from all of the chefs and information on the various locations they visited in the course of the series.
On her third book, Passion for Food, published by Tammi
Tammi (publishing company)
Tammi is a Finnish publishing company established in 1943 by an initiative of Väinö Tanner, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1996, the company was bought by the Bonnier Group, and it is currently the third largest book publisher in Finland....
in 2010, La Fountain has said: "My book goes through all the seasons as visual images of food. Each month has its own chapter, which has 10 different recipes, and dining section. I take note of the seasonal events, such as the picnic season in spring and the mushroom and berry crops season in fall, not forgetting the classic holidays".
Since 2010, La Fountain has written her own blog, Passion for Fashion & Food, on the Internet. She is also blogging on the Finnish women's magazine Olivias website under the title of Ruoka à la Sara (Food à la Sara).
Design
La Fountain has designed various series of tablewareTableware
Tableware is the dishes or dishware , dinnerware , or china used for setting a table, serving food, and for dining. Tableware can be meant to include flatware and glassware...
, glassware
Glassware
This list of glassware includes drinking vessels , tableware, such as dishes, and flatware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry whether made of glass or plastics such as polystyrene and...
, and textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s for the Finnish brand Luhta Home, including Lotus, Baroque, Marocco and Agadir. She has also designed patterns for shoes of kitchen professionals by the Finnish Jalas footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
company.