Andrew Zimmern in Viking

Travel Channel star and James Beard Award winner Andrew Zimmern graces the October 2014 cover of Viking magazine, and we couldn’t be more excited! In addition to hosting his hit television shows, including “Bizarre Foods,” Zimmern is a chef and food writer. Born in New York, Zimmern lives in Minnesota with his wife and son. In the article, he talks about Nordic food, life and values. Here are a few more comments from Zimmern that didn’t make it into the article:

“Here’s what I adore about Nordic and Scandinavian culture: They embrace everything that’s around them. They accept what they have. And we do that here [in Minnesota] to a large extent; people who move away from here are people who don’t figure out how to deal with winter. I like to ski and snowboard, but it’s not like I go out every day with the cross-country skis. But we love our outdoor activities, including sledding, ice fishing and ice-skating. I hunt in the winter, and we snowmobile. We’ve turned wintertime into a really cool exploration that we’re not afraid of. We’ve got our son Noah going to different state parks every weekend in the winter, and we’re talking about tromping in the woods through four-foot snowdrifts. We have so much fun doing that, coming home all wet and cold, having hot chocolate to warm up and then snuggling and watching a movie. In Scandinavia, the acceptance that you work with the cards that you’ve been dealt is a big part of their cultural way of viewing life. Spending time in Iceland in small little towns where nine months of the year you can’t even go outside: bleak, wind-swept sorts of places where they’re eating dried fish, always having a piece of harfiskar in their pocket so they can put dried fish in their mouth and eating the same four food items all winter long. I mean, it makes you hard in the best sense of the word.”

In July, the Viking team had an exclusive photo shoot with Zimmern at The Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, which serves up Nordic-inspired cuisine. We had three hours of Zimmern’s time on set, so things had to move pretty quickly. Here’s a look at how the day went and a few behind-the-scenes shots.

What: Andrew Zimmern photo shoot for the October 2014 issue of Viking magazine
Where: The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
When: July 11, 2014
9-10 a.m., photographer Steve Henke and his team set up the shots
10 a.m., Zimmern arrives on set
10-10:30 a.m., wardrobe and makeup
10:30-11 a.m., shot one, (the cover photo)
11-11:15 a.m., set up for shot 2
11:15-11:40 a.m., shot 2  (seen on page 16)
11:40 a.m., food delivered by The Bachelor Farmer’s Executive Chef Paul Berglund  
11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., shot 3 in the Afghan Room (seen on page 14-15)
12:15-12:45 p.m., shot 4 (seen on page 3)
1 p.m., photo shoot wraps

Zimmern and photographer Steve Henke

Zimmern brought a whole bag of pocket squares to the set!

Planning the cover shot on set.

Half-way through the shoot.

The Bachelor Farmer Executive Chef Paul Berglund puts the finishing touches on the dishes.

The amazing Afghan Room at The Bachelor Farmer.

If you’re in the Minnesota area, see Andrew Zimmern speak at the Nordic American Thanksgiving Breakfast in Bloomington, Minn., on Nov. 25. For details, go to sonsofnorway.com.

Keep up with all of Zimmern’s globe-trotting adventures on his website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest accounts.

Anya Britzius is editor of Viking magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., and enjoys baking, reading and keeping up on modern Norwegian trends.

Knitting Conference in Seattle

Attention knitters! The Nordic Heritage Museum’s Knitting Conference is just around the corner, taking place from Oct. 3-5, 2014. If you’ve wanted to brush up on your knitting skills, it’s time to register! The conference features internationally known knitters, textile artists and will be headlined by popular Norwegian knitwear design stars Arne & Carlos. 

You probably have seen Arne & Carlos’ book “55 Christmas Balls to Knit.” Their newest book, “Knitted Dolls” is filled with fun, whimsical knitted designs.

Learn a little more about Arne and Carlos in this video:

Anya Britzius is editor of Viking magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., and enjoys baking, reading and keeping up on modern Norwegian trends.

Nordic Food Festivals

This month, two Nordic Food Festivals are taking place on the East Coast. The NORTH Nordic Food Festival is one of the world’s largest Nordic food festivals outside of Scandinavia. It takes place in New York City from Sept. 13-20, 2014. Nordic chefs, such as Morten Sohlberg, Marcus Jernmark, Frida Ronge and Sasu Laukkonen, will host dinners and teach cooking classes.

The Smörgåsbord Nordic Food Festival happens on Sept. 20, 2014, and is put on by the Scandinavian Cultural Center in Newton, Mass. Local chefs, including Peter Hansen, Mark Hardin and Tim Fahy, will host tasting sessions. Chef and cookbook author Sami Tallberg will discuss his books on foraging and the use of wild herbs. Love salmon? The Norwegian Seafood Council will present a Norwegian salmon cooking duel.

Anya Britzius is editor of Viking magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., and enjoys baking, reading and keeping up on modern Norwegian trends.

New International Board Members Elected

On August 23rd, during Sons of Norway’s 2014 International Convention, held in Jacksonville, FL, delegates elected eight new International Board members! They include:

Jon Tehven—International President
Tehven previously served on the Sons of Norway board as its Secretary and prior to that had a long, successful career in the insurance industry, spending 26 years with Lutheran Mutual Life Insurance Company. During that time, Tehven spent 11 years as an insurance agent followed by 15 years as the company’s Manager of Field Training where he administered and supervised the training of sales managers and agents. In addition, Tehven was a consultant for the Self Management Group of Toronto, ON, where he provided major sales organizations with psychometric assessments for management and sales candidates. Most recently Tehven was awarded the Wartburg Medal by the Board of Regents of Wartburg College for his personal commitment to the College’s mission, quality, and character.

Ron Stubbings—International Vice President
Stubbings previously served on the Sons of Norway board as an International Director and has enjoyed a long career in the grain export industry. He has also spent many years as a leader with groups like the Normanna Foundation, Nordlandslaget Midnattsol and the Norwegian House Society.

Dan Rude—International Secretary
Rude has served previously on the Sons of Norway board as its International President and prior to that had a long, successful career in education, having spent nearly 40 years as a teacher in the Missoula community. During that time, Rude also spent time on the board of directors of various organizations, including the Missoula Education Association, St. Paul Infant Center and Habitat for Humanity.

Ray Knutson—International Treasurer
From 2012-14 Knutson served on the Sons of Norway board as an International Director and prior to that had a long career in the plumbing and inspection industry, having spent many years with Rockford Industries, Mechanical Incorporated and Miller Engineering. He also has spent a number of years serving the community through his work with groups, like the Independent Order of Vikings, Little League Baseball and the Rockford Association of Clubs.

Jon Grinde—International Director (D5)
During his time with Sons of Norway, Grinde has held a number of leadership positions at the District and International board levels. In addition, he has been involved with starting new lodges for Sons of Norway and participating in a number of other fraternal organizations.

Lyle Berge—International Director (D6)
Berge previously served as a Sons of Norway District President and prior to that enjoyed a long career in management and law, having spent many years working in Colorado law offices. He also has spent many years serving the community with the Legal Aide Society of Colorado, the Colorado Springs Cultural Committee.

Gloria Benazic—International Director (D7)
Benazic previously served as a Sons of Norway District President and prior to that had a long career in education, having spent many years as a Financial Aid Coordinator, Student Services Coordinator and Development Officer at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Odd Harald Olsen—International Director (D8)
Olsen previously served as a Sons of Norway District President and prior to that enjoyed a long career in leadership, having spent many years with Hjelmeland Kommune, Ryfylke Miljøverk and Ryfylkekommunane iks.

Please join us in thanking these eight individuals for their steadfast dedication to Sons of Norway and congratulating them on their accomplishments.

Nordic Colleges Stateside

In the September 2014 issue of Viking magazine, we highlight U.S. colleges and universities with strong Nordic ties. In the article, we highlight the University of Washington-Seattle, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, UCLA and St. Olaf College. Of course there are many more that we would have loved to include, such as Concordia College, Waldorf College, Luther College and Augsburg College, to name a few.

If you’re looking for more Nordic college or university recommendations, check out Sons of Norway’s NorwayConnects website. It has a lot of great information on study programs in and about the Nordic countries, scholarships information and job opportunities in North America and aboard. Check out their listing of Nordic colleges. 

Another wonderful resource is NORTANA (Norwegian Researchers and Teachers Association of North America). It's a non-profit organization for researchers and teachers involved in Norwegian language, literature and area studies. 

Anya Britzius is editor of Viking magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, Minn., and enjoys baking, reading and keeping up on modern Norwegian trends.