Andreas Viestad (born 5 April 1973, Oslo) is a Norwegian food columnist and TV chef, restaurateur, and activist.
[4] He frequently emphasises that he is not a trained chef, but an enthusiastic home cook with a special interest in the history and cultural context of food.
His weekly column in the Dagbladet weekend supplement Magasinet titled "Det beste jeg vet" began in 1999, initiating his collaboration with photographer Mette Randem of critical acclaim.
[6][7] Viestad has been involved with the molecular gastronomy movement since 1999, working especially with French food scientist Hervé This at the Collège de France in Paris, and was a member of the International Workshop for Molecular Gastronomy, where he has participated with food scientists, such as Harold McGee, and Peter Barham and chefs Heston Blumenthal and Pierre Gagnaire.
With 5 million U.S. viewers per episode and a global reach so vast it was, at the time, viewed as the greatest ever exposure of Norwegian culture, second only to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
[9] His book Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route (2007) was a departure from previous themes of Scandinavian cooking.
In 2011 he established Geitmyra matkultursenter for barn,[12] a non-profit inspired by Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard, which has educational programs for school children, along with courses and cultural activities.
[14] In 2020 he opened Salome [15] with Norwegian chef and restaurateur Dag Tjersland, a venetian restaurant opposite Oslo's Opera house.