Norwegian Chef Wins Bocuse d’Or 2015

©Photos Le Fotographe

In January, Norway chef Ørjan Johannessen won the world’s most prestigious food competition, Bocuse d’Or, in Lyon, France. The contest, created by Paul Bocuse in 1987, rewards the best chef among 24 international candidates. Traditionally, Scandinavians have come out on top. This is the fifth time a Norwegian has won. Johannessen, 29, follows in the footsteps of previous Norwegian gold medal winners Bent Stiansen (1993), Terje Ness (1999), Charles Tjessem (2003) and Geir Skeie (2009).

Here’s a look at the countries that placed in the top 10 at the
2015 Bocuse d’Or:
1. Norway
2. The United States            

3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Japan
6. Denmark
7. France
8. Iceland
9. The Netherlands
10. The United Kingdom

You may remember Johannessen from Viking’s August 2012 issue, where we featured him and one of his recipes, Venison Carpaccio “Austevoll.” Johannessen works as a chef at Bekkjarvik Guesthouse, in Austevoll, just south of Bergen.

Follow Johannessen on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

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

The Minnesota Trilogy

Do you love Scandinavian crime fiction? Be sure to check out books by celebrated Norwegian mystery writer Vidar Sundstøl. In the February 2015 issue of Viking, we feature a Q&A with Sundstøl on page 46. He’s the author of seven novels, but is probably best known for his Minnesota Trilogy. The three books showcase his affinity for the North Shore of Lake Superior and combines immigrant stories with murder mystery.

The Minnesota Trilogy includes the books, The Land of Dreams, Only the Dead and The Ravens.

This spring, he will be touring the Midwest in conjunction with the release of The Ravens. Check out this podcast which features an interview with Sundstøl.

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

Viking's Book Giveaway!

Viking is giving away a signed copy of Paul Lowe’s cookbook, “Sweet Paul Eat & Make” to a lucky Sons of Norway member. On page 32 of Viking’s February issue, we feature a recipe from the book for aquavit-cured salmon with mustard sauce.

Lowe is a Norwegian-born crafter and food/prop stylist living in New York. His new book features charming recipes and easy craft projects for morning, brunch, noon and night. Lowe’s popular online magazine, Sweet Paul, is published quarterly and brims with more wonderful ideas for food and crafts.

Here’s how to enter Viking’s book giveaway contest: Send an email that includes your name, mailing address, phone number, lodge number and a brief description of one of your favorite Scandinavian recipes to vikingcontest@msp-c.com. Use “Book Giveaway” in the subject line. All emails received by midnight, Feb. 28, 2015, will be eligible for our drawing in early March.

Keep an eye out for Viking’s upcoming May, August and November 2015 issues in which we’ll include more recipes from “Sweet Paul Eat and Make” and additional chances to win signed copies of the book.

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

Tubfrim winner announced

Last month was a lucky time for Violet “Vi” Hills, a member of Jotunheimen 4-499 in Billings, MT . Vi was the winner of the Tubfrim drawing to give away a ticket to Norway, worth up to $1,000. Her postcard was drawn from among 2,530 other cards. With one card for every pound sent to Norway that means that Sons of Norway sent at least 2,531 pounds of stamps to Tubfrim in 2014. Gene Brandvold, Sons of Norway’s Tubfrim chairperson, conducted the drawing.

What is Tubfrim?
Tubfrim was established in 1928 by Postmaster Ditlef Frantzen in Nesbyen, Norway. The aim was to collect and sell used stamps and use the proceeds to aid in the eradication of tuberculosis among Norwegian children. Since tuberculosis is no longer the threat to health that it once was, today children and youth with disabilities and special needs receive the proceeds from the resale of the stamps. Sons of Norway has been involved with the organization since 1986 and is its major contributor of stamps from a group outside of Norway.

Win a Ticket to Norway
While helping children is a great motivation for Sons of Norway members to participate, there is a special incentive to say “thank you”. For every pound of stamps collected, the member or lodge can enter a drawing, held in mid-January every year, to win a round trip ticket to Norway, worth up to $1,000.

Have questions? Need additional information?
Contact Gene Brandvold, Tubfrim chairperson, at genegbrand@aol.com or 952-831-4361.

More With Sig Hansen

If you’ve watched episodes of The Discover Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” you’re probably familiar with Norwegian fishing captain Sig Hansen. We had the pleasure of interviewing him for the February issue of Viking. Hansen helms his family’s boat, Northwestern, and is one of the Alaskan crab industry’s top producers. Check out his interview on page 7. Here are a few more quotes from Hansen about his seafaring life.

“The town that my folks were from in Norway was a fishing village. The main thing they did was herring and cod. My grandmother would work at salting the herring and then put them in wooden kegs. Fishing has always been a big part of our lifestyle. Not just the Norwegian heritage, but for our family.”

“We like to keep the same people on board. If you pay well, and you get the same guys returning, it makes the whole operation a lot safer because we have a crew that knows the boat and has a routine. If you take five new guys and have them on a boat that they aren’t accustomed to, the odds are that bad things are going to happen. Every boat is different, and that is why we like to keep the same people.”

“You’re in charge of your business, your own destiny. And that is a nice feeling. I really appreciate what I have! Most people look at us like we are nuts, but the reality is, I don’t think we are crazy because we know what we are doing.”

“When we were younger, we could be gone anywhere from eight to 11 months. Now, depending on what we participate in, we are gone for four to six months for King Crab fishing.”

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