More from Norman Want cookbooks? How about: Norman's New World Cuisine Norman Van Aken's Feast of Sunlight See Norman's web site: Normans.com

Cook Globally ... Buy Locally!
Owner and proprietor of Norman's -- consistently voted the best restaurant in South Florida -- Norman van Aken also has an freewheeling history. Born in Illinois, he started out as a humble short-order cook in Key West and worked his way up, without a formal culinary education, to become a trendsetting, accolade-garnering chef (and member of "the Mango Gang") whose eponymous restaurant in Coral Gables, Florida, regularly reaps rave reviews. He coined the term "fusion," helped to start a revolution in American cooking, and invented his own brand of haute blended-culture chow that he calls "New World Cuisine." When he's not inventing dishes like "Mofongo stuffed roasted breast of chicken with very black beans and homestead mango chutney," he's host of a radio show, author of two cookbooks, and a poetic, skilled writer in his own right.