Throughout this project I hope to learn more about the man and Chef that Norman Van Aken is. I’ve always looked up to people that have gone before us and in a way prepared and made our lives just a little easier. Although Chef Van Aken has in a sense “gone before us” he is still ver much with us to this day. Throughout this paper I hope to take a closer look at some of his early life, training he went through, some of his accomplishments, and the impact he has left for us. First of all: His early life, Chef was born in Diamond Lake, Illinois in 1951. Norman started cooking around age five or six. He was inspired to start cooking from his mother and grandmother. In an interview over Facebook I asked “how did you know that this is what you wanted to do?” Norman answered “Essentially I knew from a very early age that I really wanted to be…show more content… I haven't been able to find anything about where he went to Culinary school but Chef Norman has published a memoir titled “No Experience Necessary, The Culinary Odyssey of Chef Norman Van Aken, 2013” so this makes me think he didn’t. Along with five cookbooks the is sixth almost finished, Feast of Sunlight 1988, The Exotic Fruit Book 1995, Norman’s New World Cuisine 1997, New World Kitchen 2003 and My Key West Kitchen 2012. When asked in an interview which one was his favorite he responded “They are like your children I think. You love them all equally but for different reasons.” He also has many awards, he has been a James Beard Foundation semi-finalist for Best Chef in America. “He is one of the only chefs in America to have won The James Beard Award, The Robert Mondavi Award, and The Food Arts Silver Spoon.” 2006 also brought him the honor of being one of the “Founders of New American Cuisine”. Van Aken is also the Director and Chef of restaurants at the Miami Culinary Institute, as well as the Co-Owner and Chef of the Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes,
