Greg Hozinsky, executive chef at The Strand House in Manhattan Beach, has been named as one of seven top chefs from around the country to serve on the Chef's Culinary Board of the Norwegian Seafood Council. Hozinsky, who recently traveled to Norway with the council, says he will be incorporating Norwegian seafood throughout the Strand House menu.

"A lot of fantastic seafood comes out of Norway, and one of the most important things we learned about was that Norwegian seafood is both wild and sustainably farmed," said Hozinsky. "There is a perception out there of what farmed seafood is, and I left Norway knowing and understanding that it isn’t so much “farmed” as a sustainable product that is overseen by people who put a great deal of care into what they do."

Hozinsky adds that diners can look forward to some of his favorite Norwegian seafood items on the Strand House menu. "I love the Sterling Halibut, so we will absolutely be putting that on the menu. There is this great salmon from the northern part of the country called Aurora Salmon that we will be serving, as well as king crab that is delicious."

In Norway, Hozinsky and other Chef's Culinary Board members learned about local aquaculture practices and had the opportunity to work with Norwegian chefs to observe local and traditional cooking techniques. Since returning from Norway, the chefs have begun to integrate the seafood, flavors and Nordic cooking philosophy into their own cooking styles.

At a recent Strand House dinner featuring Norwegian seafood, Hozinsky served Norwegian halibut with smoked sunchoke puree, matsukai mushrooms, and cauliflower; a smoked Norwegian salmon "pastrami" with pickled beets, mustard greens, and liquid nitrogen horseradish "snow" on top; and a pan-roasted Norwegian king crab in brown butter broth.

"The farmers market really dictates my menu seasonally," adds Hozinsky. "I love using sunchokes, celery root and pretty much any root vegetable."

Hozinsky is widely known as a rising star on the Los Angeles culinary scene. He graduated from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 2003, and worked at Aqua in San Francisco, the House of Blues Foundation Room in Los Angeles, Valentino in Santa Monica, Avenue in Manhattan Beach, and Frascati in Palos Verdes. At age 24, he became executive chef at Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach. Following three and a half years at Shade Hotel, Hozinsky moved to his current spot at The Strand House. In 2012, he was named as one of Zagat's "30 Under 30" top chefs in Los Angeles.