Kulinarisk Akademi

A culinary journey

TEXT: LISA MARIA BERG | PHOTOS © KULINARISK AKADEMI

If the thought of a dreary Christmas party in a function room makes you want to skip December all together; keep reading. At Kulinarisk Akademi in the heart of Oslo, the chance of you enjoying an experience you have never had before is pretty high. And if you cannot wait for Christmas, luckily, you can experience a culinary journey there at any time of the year.

If you want to treat the girls to a special outing, give someone a gift-card out of the ordinary, take your friends out for some after-work fun, or if your office is sorely in need of a day off and a communal reset, why not try a unique culinary experience? “We offer our guests all sorts of things. We let them join us in the kitchen, take part in the cooking, explore different cuisines and learn something together whilst having a lot of fun,” explains marketing director Céline Vannson, who is passionate about food. Together with most of her 16 colleagues at Kulinarisk Akademi, she trained as a chef and holds the love for a well-cooked meal in her very being. “We want our guests to come in and have a one-of-a-kind experience,” Vannson says. And they seem to be offering just that, and quite well too: this year, Kulinarisk Akademi celebrates ten years of bringing wine and food experiences to its many clients.

Made for you

General manager Espen Vesterdal Larsen sums it up nicely: “We want to be the best in the country at what we do.” With two fully equipped departments and, within them, five top-of-the-range kitchens, Kulinarisk Akademi is situated in the trendy east-end of Oslo, and always ready to treat its clients to more than just a whipped-up meal. What could be a better way to start a teambuilding experience than in the kitchen with a glass of something sparkling and a cuisine quiz to get the taste buds going? Maybe you have always wanted to recreate that lush street food you picked up on holiday, learn (once and for all) how to cook a steak medium rare, or perhaps you just want to master the perfect hollandaise sauce to impress that special someone: at Kulinarisk Akademi, all of this and much more is on the menu. Larsen points out: “Everything we do is based on a passion and love for food. That is the foundation of it all.” Vannson adds: “We tailor our sessions to each group’s needs. We want our guests to have a great time whilst exploring something new and fun.”

“Teambuilding is a big part of what we do too,” continues Vannson. “Cooking together, learning something new together and being in a place with your colleagues that is not the office, is something that people appreciate. There is also the reward of sitting down together at the end and having a meal you have cooked not just yourself, but together with someone.”

Following the seasons

The ethos at the Akademi is that the menu changes with the season. “We are always adapting to what nature can provide. This is important to us,” explains Vannson. In the Norwegian roots there has always sat a deep understanding for the need to be in collaboration with nature. With this, comes a promise that whatever time of the year you choose to visit Oslo, there will always be fresh produce served to you. “We teach all sorts of cuisines but always keep in mind that Norwegian produce is at the centre of it all. I think that because most of us working here are chefs, we have kept the awareness of sustainability beyond just what we do in the kitchen. It seeps into everything we do,” Vannson concludes.


Web: kulinariskakademi.no