Andreas was born in Oslo, Norway. Since then, he has traveled extensively throughout the world and lived in many different places including Zimbabwe, Zanzibar and Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Andreas is one of Norway’s most famous TV-chefs and a respected food writer. Nobody brings to the table a combination of culinary and cultural expertise quite like him.
Andreas is different from many of the other chefs that you see on TV. Cooking with Andreas is not only about the how-to of cooking. It is also a rich learning experience regarding the traditions, culture and lifestyle of both the old and modern-day Norway. He gives you the fascinating story behind every ingredient and dish.
An Established Food Writer
As a culinary expert, Andreas has written about food as a journalist for leading Norwegian newspapers and radio stations. In 2003, he published his first English language cookbook titled “Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking”.
In 2007, the prestigious World Gourmand Awards honored Viestad for “Best Foreign Cookbook in the World” for his work, Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route. Andreas has long been Norway’s premier food writer. Since 2008 he has also been a columnist for the Washington Post. The column, entitled "The Gastronomer”, focuses on food and science from a home cook's perspective.
A New Approach to Cooking
Andreas combines the elegant simplicity of Provencal and Tuscan cooking with the raw materials of his native Scandinavia. The result is a completely new approach to cooking -- a range of delicious modern dishes with a history dating back to the Vikings.
Fun, Simple and Flavorful
Andreas has a natural talent for seamlessly incorporating a modern twist into traditional cooking, and for enriching new recipes with time-tested traditional ingredients. His bottom line philosophy is that cooking should always be fun, simple and flavorful.
Find more on Andreas' website andreasviestad.com
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5 questions for Andreas
What do you do when you are not in the kitchen?
I love to read, but apart from that, most of what I do is about food. I like to travel because I want to experience new cultures, meet new people and sample new flavors. I tend to travel where my appetite leads me.
You have traveled a lot. What are your favorite places so far?
My favorite places in the world are the big cities like New York, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro. Sicily is also one of my favorites. But it always feels good to come back to my summer residence in southern Norway and enjoy some lazy summer days.
How did you become so interested in food?
I learned to make food from my mother and my father. My parents were divorced and in my mother’s household there were only two of us. My mother was a restless cook who always liked to experiment and she hardly ever made the same meal twice.
Who taught you to cook?
In my father’s household, my father did almost all the cooking, as did my grandfather. I learned that it was only natural for men to cook. Ever since I was an adolescent, I have cooked more for others than I have been cooked for. And that is the way I like it.
What are your ambitions and plans for the future?
New Scandinavian Cooking has been a great way to learn more about my own background. Now I want to travel to exotic places -- perhaps somewhere further south. I can see myself sitting on a sandy beach in mid-January. I would like that.
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