Claus Meyer

Claus Meyer (born December 27, 1963, in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark) is an culinary entrepreneur, food activist, cookbook author, professor and TV host. He is often accredited as the founder of the New Nordic Cuisine philosophy.

Projects

Meyer has been engaged in a plethora of projects and has been a popular mediater of food culture in both Denmark and internationally for many years. He is often accredited as the sole founder of the New Nordic Cuisine philosophy, but regardless of his obvious and groundbreaking contribution, mediation and writing on the subject, other people have also contributed to the philosophy and materialised it in practice.[1] A total of twelve chefs from the Nordic countries wrote a New Nordic Food Manifesto in 2004 to initiate the movement, based on Claus Meyer's initiative, inspirational draft and coordination.[2][3] The New Nordic Cuisine Movement seeks to foster local agriculture, honor the region's agrarian traditions, encourage environmentally friendly production, and establish food with a uniquely Nordic identity among the world's great cuisines.[4]

Meyer is a co-founder and owner of groundbreaking restaurant Noma, which obtained two Michelin stars and was voted best restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.[5]

He has hosted several Danish and international TV cooking shows such as Meyers Køkken (English: Meyer’s Kitchen) on national Danish television (DR1) from 1991 to 1998 and New Scandinavian Cooking, broadcast in more than 130 countries.

Meyer has founded several organisations, including the Melting Pot Foundation, focused on driving social change through food. With Melting Pot, in 2013, he started and helped establish a food school and a food movement in South America, opening the gourmet-restaurant Gustu in Bolivia[6] and several cafeterias.

Late spring 2016, he will establish Great Northern Food Hall[7] and restaurant Agern, both in Grand Central Terminal in New York, bringing culinary concepts, flavors and ideas rooted in the history and the landscapes of the Nordic countries to the City of New York. In the summer of 2016, Melting Pot will initiate a social project in Brownsville, East New York, establishing a culinary school, cafeteria, bakery and community center, serving the local community and with the goal of engaging at-risk youth.

Professional background

Meyer is an associate professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen University of Copenhagen.[8] as well as an adjunct professor at the Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility at the Copenhagen Business School. In 2015 he was appointed “Social Impact Fellow” at the Hass School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Meyer also holds an MA in International Business Studies from the Copenhagen Business School.[9]

Meyer is a restaurateur and culinary entrepreneur. He has also written and published numerous cookbooks. Meyer co-owns several restaurants, including Studio in Copenhagen, which received a Michelin star just four months after opening, as well as a chain of bakeries, delis, a catering business, an orchard, fruit and chocolate supply companies, a vinegar factory,[10] a coffee roastery and a cooking school for kids and adults.

Believing in food as a driver for social change, Meyer established the Melting Pot Foundation in 2010. The organization runs a cooking school project in Danish prisons, motivating incarcerated people to live a life without crime. In 2013, Melting Pot established a cooking school in La Paz, Bolivia, providing culinary education to impoverished Bolivians, also serving as a gourmet restaurant, Gustu, voted 17th best in Latin America on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Personal

Meyer is married to the graphic designer Christina Meyer Bengtsson. They have four daughters: Elvira, Viola, Filippa and Augusta.[9]

He has recently relocated to New York City with the purpose of establishing a food hall and restaurant rooted in the New Nordic Cooking philosophy to be located at Grand Central Terminal.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.