Chef
Jimmy Øien
- Discipline
- Chef
Portrait of Jimmy Øien
i. Biography
Executive chef at Gausta, Jimmy Øien has built a career that feels shaped as much by discipline as by invention. His defining stretch came at Rest in Oslo, where a kitchen devoted to turning food waste into a fine dining experience became the center of his story and the place where his reputation was sharpened. Before that chapter and after it, there was the long apprenticeship of Bocuse d'Or commis work to 2015, followed by the milestones that would come to define his rise: a Michelin Green Star, Michelin Young Chef in 2022, and, now, the next chapter at Gausta.
The Path
Jimmy Øien trained at Norwegian national culinary team (2015), a formative step that brought with it the exacting rhythm and pressure of elite culinary preparation. From there, he moved into one of the most defining periods of his career, becoming head chef and co-owner at Rest in Oslo (2018–2024). In that role, he helped steer the restaurant through a significant and closely watched chapter, one in which the kitchen’s identity was its purpose. The work culminated in a reputation built on restraint, ingenuity, and a willingness to make the discarded feel deliberate. When that Oslo chapter closed, Øien stepped forward into his current role as executive chef of Gausta, carrying with him the weight of that experience and the momentum of what came before.
The Work Today
Øien serves as executive chef at Gausta, where the title itself signals both continuity and change. After the intensity of the Oslo years, this role marks a move from a restaurant defined by food-waste fine dining to a new leadership position at a named destination, with his career now framed by operational responsibility as much as by creative authorship. That through-line of discipline under constraint remains central to how his work reads. Bocuse d'Or commis work to 2015 demanded one kind of rigor; head chef and co-owner at Rest in Oslo (2018–2024) demanded another; and the restaurant’s approach to discarded ingredients required yet another layer of imagination. Taken together, these experiences sketch a chef who has learned to operate where standards are unforgiving and the margin for error is slim. His rise has been built less on spectacle than on sustained seriousness, on the accumulation of hard-earned authority.
Career - executive chef, Gausta - head chef and co-owner, Rest, Oslo (2018–2024) Education: Norwegian national culinary team
Signature
Jimmy's signature dishes include Puffed Fish skin, Baked Mountain Trout, and Grilled Goat Ribs. Each suggests the same instinct that has followed him through his career: an interest in texture, fire, and ingredients handled with intent, the cooking that feels rooted in precision rather than excess.
Acclaim
Jimmy's honors include Michelin Young Chef (2022), Michelin Green Star, Bocuse d'Or (2015), and Ingrid Espelid Hovig Food Culture award.
FAQ What is Jimmy Øien's current role? Jimmy Øien is Executive Chef. Where did Jimmy Øien train or study? Jimmy Øien trained at Norwegian national culinary team. What recognition has Jimmy Øien received? Michelin Young Chef (2022).
