From Caracas to Flekkefjord with Glow in the Pots

It's not every day a head chef comes to Flekkefjord via Caracas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cambodia and Vietnam. But then Orangel isn't a chef who has taken the short route to the pots and pans either.

The 36-year-old from Venezuela has a broad international background and a clear desire for a meal to be more than just something that fills you up.

He already has Been in the job for a month, and I'll gladly admit it's been a whirlwind from day one.

It's been fun so far, but there's a lot to get to grips with. It's busy and educational.

But that suits Orange well. Because when he talks about his own life, it's hard not to think he's used to the pace.

He grew up in both Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and in Galipán, a small tourist town in the mountains, known for its Canary Island emigrants and for a pace of life that was probably quite different from the metropolis below. There, his grandfather ran a place that was part shop and part eatery, precisely the sort of place that makes children wander into the kitchen and stay there.

– That’s where my interest in cooking started, he explains.

The page has food been more than a career choice. The whole family works in the restaurant and hotel industry, and today it's the fourth generation carrying on the family business. He himself obtained a professional diploma in gastronomy in 2012, after an apprenticeship at the Marriott Hotel in Caracas. In parallel, he started a café with his brother and mother.

It could have been the beginning of a long working life in their home country. That's not how it turned out. In 2017, the political and economic situation in Venezuela became so difficult that the family chose to close the restaurant.

FOR ORANGEL BLE the start of a new existence. He moved to Colombia, where he worked both in hotels and as a sushi chef.

It was also there that he met a Norwegian girl from Vigeland, a meeting that eventually led him to Norway. They have two children together, but are no longer a couple. Today he lives in Farsund and commutes to Flekkefjord.

Before Norway became a permanent address, he still made several stops along the way. After Colombia, the trip continued to Ecuador and Peru, and later to Cambodia and Vietnam, where he also worked as a chef. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, life became more uncertain.

Then everything became a bit uncertain and scary, he says.

In 2021 it was found moving to Norway. Eventually, he started working at Lindesnes Havhotell, first as a chef and later as a sous chef. During the same period, he also worked at the Michelin-starred restaurant Under.

– It was a very nice experience, he says.

That experience is noticeable in the way he talks about food. For Orangel, the kitchen isn't just a place where ingredients are turned into dishes. It's also a place for ideas, techniques, and attitudes. He's fond of fine dining, but has no plans to make Maritim a place where a stiff demeanour accompanies the menu.

– I fancy steering the menu a bit between fine dining and bistro, he says.

In summer I will This includes, among other things, having the barbecue outside, so that the food is prepared where the guests are sitting. This provides proximity, smell, sound, and a bit of that old truth about food tasting extra good when you can see the flames doing their work.

At the same time, he is concerned with something as unglamorous – and as important – as food waste. Local produce is high on his list, and much can be preserved through fermentation.

- A lot can be preserved through fermentation. I learned a lot about that at Under, he says.

AT THE SAME TIME WILL The new head chef has put a clearer personal stamp on the menu. Orangel likes to work with fusion, where different food cultures meet. At Maritim this will mean a mix of Nordic and South American flavours.

Cod should be able to meet cassava. Ceviche must be added to the menu. The same goes for scallops and corn dishes. Not as exotic flourishes for show, but as a natural extension of his own background and experience.

– The new menu will be a good mix of Nordic and South American dishes, he says.

Behind the venture is a kitchen team of five permanent employees: Orangel himself, two chefs, and a breakfast chef. In addition, the hotel is looking for a new sous chef. There will also be close collaboration with restaurant manager Jeanette Galdal, who is a trained sommelier.

– We're both creative types, and a good match, he says.

Or perhaps it is It is precisely in that meeting that the hotel's new direction lies – between the kitchen and the wine list, between Southern Norway and South America, between the unpretentious and the ambitious.

Orangel talks about food with both professional gravitas and personal passion. He grew up in the kitchen, enjoys trying new flavours, and believes that food should not just fill the stomach. It should also offer something more.

"One shouldn't just eat for the sake of eating. The meal should be an experience in itself," says Maritime's new head chef.