He is the only Floridian inducted into the prestigious James Beard list of Who’s Who in American Food and Beverage. His restaurant, Norman’s, was nominated as a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Restaurant in America. He has been a James Beard Foundation semi-finalist for Best Chef in America.
He is the Chef and Director of Restaurants at The Miami Culinary Institute / Tuyo as well as the Chef and Co-Owner of Norman’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes, Orlando.
In 2006, he was honored as one of the “Founders of New American Cuisine,” alongside Alice Waters, Paul Prudhomme, and Mark Miller at Spain’s International Summit of Gastronomy ‘Madrid Fusion’ event.
Norman Van Aken has published five cookbooks: 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, (with Justin Van Aken).
