Geir Skeie

Geir Skeie (born July 2, 1980, Fitjar) is a Norwegian chef and restaurateur, winner of the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Europe,[1][2][3][4][5] and the 2009 Bocuse d'Or world final.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Geir Skeie at Bocuse d’Or 2008 in Stavanger.

Career

Skeie runs two restaurants, both called "Brygga 11", in Sandefjord and Leirvik (close to his home town of Fitjar). He has been chef de cuisine at Mathuset Midtåsen Solvold in Sandefjord, owned by 1997 Bocuse d'Or bronze medallist Odd Ivar Solvold,[5] and has worked at restaurants Le Canard, Solsiden and Palace Grill in Oslo and at Skarsnuten hotel in Hemsedal.[13]

Skeie made the decision to pursue the Bocuse d'Or in 1993 when watching Bent Stiansen appear on the television program of Ingrid Espelid Hovig having become the first Norwegian to win the contest, and subsequently worked towards this goal for fifteen years,[10][14] spending the last two years perfecting the winning recipe.[15] In contrast to his fellow candidates in the 2009 finals who had lodgings in Lyon for making last preparations, Skeie rented a large semi-trailer truck with an installed training kitchen.[14] He was coached by previous bronze Bocuse d'Or medallist Odd Ivar Solvold and then assisted by commis Adrian Løvold,[16] having used Ørjan Johannessen as commis when he won the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Europe.[17]

After the contest, Skeie stated he was 90% satisfied with his performance.[7][16] The gold medal was won with a score of 1020 points, a comfortable margin over Swedish silver medalist Jonas Lundgren, who scored 994 points.[7][10]

Personal life

Following a traffic accident that shattered his kneecap in 2006, Skeie has been told by doctors that a career as a chef will lead to early retirement while still in his 40s.[14]

References

• Team Norway 2009 dossier Bocuse d'Or
• "Geir Skeie Bocuse d'Or visual presentation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2009-01-24. (3.89 MB)

Footnotes

1. Aardal Hagen, Guro, Dagens Næringsliv (July 2, 2008). Norsk gull i Bocuse d’Or (in Norwegian)
2. Holt, Morten, Horecanytt (August 15, 2008). Bocuse d`Or-nasjonene er klare (in Norwegian)
3. USAToday The winner of Le Bocuse d'Or competition
4. Wedum, Mari; Soppeland, Jan, Daniel, Isioma, Aftenposten (July 2, 2008). Gull-Geir (in Norwegian)
5. Hallock, Betty, Los Angeles Times: Daily Dish (January 26, 2009). Tracking the Bocuse d'Or: Meet Norway's Geir Skeie
6. Sciolino, Elaine, The New York Times (January 28, 2009). Norway Wins the Bocuse d’Or Competition
7. Lindeberg, Anne, Dagens Næringsliv (January 28, 2009). Bocuse d’Or til Geir Skeie (in Norwegian)
8. Abend, Lisa, Time (January 28, 2009). No Medal for U.S. at Cooking Olympics
9. Hallock, Betty, Los Angeles Times (January 29, 2009). Bocuse d'Or victory goes to Norwegian
10. Palmer, Daniel. Australian Food News (January 29, 2009). Norwegian chef reigns supreme at “Olympics of cooking”
11. Sciolino, Elaine, International Herald Tribune (January 28, 2009). Norwegian snags the Bocuse d'Or, edging out Swede
12. Criscione, Valeria, The Wall Street Journal (September 4, 2009). A League of Extraordinary Chefs
13. sirha.com "Bocuse d'Or Candidates' Portraits" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011.  (670 KB)
14. Anker, Nils, Dagens Næringsliv: D2 (January 24, 2009). "- Har jobbet mot dette i femten år" (in Norwegian).
15. "Norwegian chef wins Bocus d'Or". The Norway Post. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation/Aftenposten. 29 January 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
16. Guenin, Thierry, Le Petit Journal (January 30, 2009). Geir Skeie porte la Norvège au sommet lors des Bocuse d'Or 2009 (in French)
17. Horecanytt (February 20, 2012). Fra commis til sjefsrolle (in Norwegian)

External links

• Geir Skeie official site (in Norwegian)