I have begun a new series I’ve titled ‘Folks’. They include the myriad people I’ve met, cooked for, hung out with and more over the life. For other entries see that area of my site. It is under, “Writings”. You never know who you will bump into. MICKEY ROURKE The…
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Captain Tony
Boats are launched. So perhaps it is by some unconscious pull like a tide in the Gulf of Mexico I have selected the one and only ‘Captain Tony’ to start my first in what will hopefully be a surprising list of what I call ‘folks’ here that I’ve come to…
CHEF FERDINAND METZ NEW BOOK
For many years Chef FERDINAND METZ was the President of the vaunted Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Over my ‘coming up the ladder’ years, I met and worked with many graduates of that school. They uniformly respected him. Some spoke with a mix of awe and…
Orlando Weekly Top Ten
Thanks to our Norman’s Orlando Team for making this list of the “Top Ten Best New Restaurants Orlando”! It has been a long three years rebuilding from our previous location at the Ritz-Carlton where we spent 16 amazing years. But life teaches us that ‘change is the only constant’. So…
The New Times Miami
Please check out the new Miami New Times article written by Nicole Danna on the debut of my new show, “Norman’s Florida Kitchen”. To our delight Amazon Prime has picked it up and offering it where Amazon Prime is! Just hit the link above. We’d love to hear about your…
My Treasure Books: “La Technique” by Jacques Pépin
Hello Friends! Over on Tik Tok I’ve begun a series that showcases my love of cookbooks. Sometimes books on food and food culture as well. Over the years beginning with a fateful single purchase I’ve assembled a library that has enriched my life and made me, in part, the chef…
The Vision of Van Aken
The excellent journalist Alona Abbady Martinez wrote of my career in the Boca Raton Observer this week. I can’t thank her enough for the kind and thorough article she penned. She is an author that I hope you all will check out. Please read and let me know your thoughts!…
Norman Van Aken remembers Jimmy Buffett
Greetings from Key West! Or at least a trip down Memory Lane. Amy Drew Thompson can follow a winding road as you will see when you read this story about me and ‘The Eternal Honorary Mayor of Margaritaville’! The chef & the rock star: Norman Van Aken remembers Jimmy Buffett…
The Whet Palette Podcast
Hi All! It was my great pleasure to be the guest presenter on the fine podcast, “The Whet Palette”. Host Brenda is one of the most savvy and rigorous folks to interview me. We spoke for well over an hour. We got into my long history of cooking in Florida…
Norman’s Florida Kitchen
IN THE NEWS and ON AIR NOW! ‘Norman’s Florida Kitchen’ Season One. Join us as we share my love of cooking & traveling around the beautiful, diverse and delicious Sunshine State. We are now airing on Amazon Prime. We do market visits, hear some music and tell some stories on…
Norman Van Aken featured in Florida Foodie
Hi All! Recently I was up with our team at my new restaurant in Orlando just off Sand Lake Road in the Dellagio Plaza. The kind folks at the newscast ‘Click Orlando’ had me on their show, “Florida Foodie”. The digital storyteller is Thomas Mates and the hosts were Anchor,…
Norman’s Featured in Flamingo Magazine
9 Celebrity Chef Restaurants in Orlando You Have To Try Famed chef and cookbook author Norman Van Aken has a long history of operating successful restaurants in the Sunshine State. His recently-opened Norman’s, located in the Dellagio Town Center of Dr. Phillips, is a must-visit. Norman’s fusion menu includes everything…
Chef Norman Van Aken Stars in New TV Show
Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel Norman Van Aken is an accomplished chef, recipient of a multitude of James Beard acknowledgments among other culinary honors. He is an accomplished restaurateur. He is the author of many acclaimed cookbooks, but also one heck of an entertaining memoir, one that helps showcase why adding “TV…
Norman’s Return to Orlando
Hello Everyone! It is time (some might say past time) for an update on our restaurant, NORMAN’S. It has been a very busy time as opening restaurants always are. So please let me share some news with you all! Orlando Weekly food editor Faiyaz Kara review at the link. Now…
Miami Luxury Magazine May/June 2023
NORMAN’S Orlando was recently featured in the May/June 2023 Edition of Miami Luxury Magazine….
Smoking Fish and Listening to ‘Layla’
Last week my good friend Amy Drew Thompson … who also is the Food Editor of the Orlando Sentinel asked me if I had a memories of smoked fish I’d like to share with her readers. Amy a.k.a. ‘AD’ is person of journalistic energy like few I’ve known. She loves…