CHEF HENNING NORDANGER was born and raised in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. Escoffier-trained, he worked in several large hotel restaurants and mountain resorts throughout Norway, and for the King of Norway on his royal yacht. After coming to the United States over 25 years ago, he began cooking in New York City, both in restaurants and as a private chef. Since 2006 he has lived in the Catskills and in June 2012 he opened his first restaurant, Henning’s Local, located in Sullivan County in the western Catskills near the Pennsylvania border, before relocating to Cochecton Center, where it operated from 2015 to 2024. There he built long-term relationships with many regional sustainable agricultural practices and businesses, including farms, bakeries, wineries, distilleries, and various culinary artisans throughout the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Henning’s Local “earned rave reviews for its surprising middle-of-nowhere culinary prowess.” (Forbes)
JULIA JOERN has been a Round Top resident since 1999. With a background in architecture and design, during her 25-year career in the visual arts and book publishing she focused on marketing, publicity, special events, and community outreach working at David Zwirner in New York, London, and Hong Kong; Phaidon Press in New York and London; Bruce Mau Design in Toronto; The Monacelli Press and Rizzoli International Publications, both in New York. In 2019 she purchased the Heart’s Content Road building in the heart of Round Top and simultaneously founded Round Top Productions, a boutique company organizing private and public programs and philanthropic projects in the culinary and literary arts. She was recently the host of ‘Hudson Valley Word of Mouth,’ a radio show on WGXC/Wave Farm featuring interviews with creative folks throughout the Catskills, Hudson Valley, Capital region, and beyond.