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Charles Tjessem
Bocuse d'Or laureate
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Charles Tjessem is the chef and owner of Charles & De in Sandnes, Norway. The work is built on discipline at the stove and judgment at the pass: exact standards, careful handling, and raw ingredients allowed to stay visible on the plate. His time across respected restaurants in Sweden, the USA, and Denmark added range without softening the core of the style. The result is cooking that keeps classical structure in view while making room for modern thinking, with restraint and precision carrying as much weight as invention and instinct.
Coming Up
Training at Godalen Hotel School, Culinary Institute of Norway in Stavanger, and Bagatelle gave Charles Tjessem a formal base for a methodical way of working. Those years point to a chef formed around technical control, but also around the ability to recognize when an ingredient does not need to be pushed further. From there, daily management at Gastronomisk Institutt in Stavanger and later a chef role at Statoil added service discipline and operational responsibility to the frame. The through line is clear: organized, composed cooking shaped by the realities of kitchen work. Leadership came into sharper focus when Charles Tjessem served as captain of the Norwegian national chef team (2000–2004). That role required coordination under pressure, with individual skill folded into a shared standard. It also marks a career that moved beyond execution alone into direction and representation. Today, Charles is chef and owner of Charles & De, carrying that same authority into his own house.
Where They Are Now
At Charles & De in Sandnes, the chef and owner role extends beyond cooking to the wider shaping of the restaurant’s rhythm and identity. The restaurant also appears in his career history as a place where he served as head chef and general manager, which fits a practice that has always included more than the stove. The style in that setting reads as calm and exacting, with attention kept on the product in front of him and on the discipline needed to treat it properly. There is little interest in fuss for its own sake; the method is to let technique support the ingredient rather than dominate it. That gives the kitchen a steady confidence grounded in consistency.
Signature
Charles's signature dishes include Barlaug, Beef tenderloin “Bouchère”-style with black truffles and duck liver, Shrimp flan with oyster and sevruga, and Coconut-citrus-curry emu. Read together, they show a chef working across rich and restrained modes, with classic luxury set beside sharper contemporary notes. The titles suggest deliberate contrast: lush and spare, earthy and marine, familiar and unexpected.
Honors
Charles's honors include Bocuse d'Or Gold (2003).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Charles
What is Charles Tjessem's current role?
As of 2026, Charles Tjessem is Chef and Owner.
Where did Charles Tjessem train or study?
Charles Tjessem trained at Godalen Hotel School and Culinary Institute of Norway in Stavanger.
What recognition has Charles Tjessem received?
Bocuse d'Or Gold (2003).
