It was on seeing Bent Stiansen on TV, winning the Bocuse d’Or in 1993, that Geir decided that his day would also come. He trained in the best Norwegian restaurants with his country’s very best chefs. As a member of the national team, he also won team victories; an experience that would serve him well when training candidates for the Bocuse d’Or, in Sri Lanka or Hungary for example. With the true competitor’s spirit, he spent 50 hours a week (on top of his daily work) training with one goal in sight: winning! He always wants to be the best in everything he does. So when he needed advice, Eyvind Hellstrøm, Harald Osa and other Norwegian Bocuse d’Or winners were on hand to give it to him. He acknowledges the debt he owes to his chef and coach at the time, Odd Ivar Solvold. “He knows everything there is to know about food and how a kitchen works. He’s a complete professional who has an answer to every question”. Like so many of his compatriots, he likes nature and it certainly influences his cuisine, which “must be colourful and appetizing”. Geir is a (hyper)-active kind of guy: he skis in winter and sails in summer. And he keeps fit by working out at the gym! After an active sabbatical period, which he put to use starting up a wine import company, he is venturing out on some new culinary adventures. In November 2010, together with his wife Katrine, he opened a fish restaurant close to a famous fishmonger in Sandefjord. It’s a seasonal place where it’s a real pleasure to eat fresh-caught fish, sitting by the seaside with a view of the boats. Spring of 2013 saw the opening of another Brygga 11 in Stord, Geir’s native village. He also opened a fish restaurant in Hemsedal, the famous skiing resort in Norway. In 2018 he launched the Pink Fish concept, a fast-food based around salmon.
