Cookbook with the unassuming title "Grunnboka" is Norway's best-selling new release
Basic recipes from a Norwegian star chef teach Norwegians to cook from scratch and sell 200,000 copies.
Recipes for white sauce, lentil soup, omelets, and fried cod have taken Norwegians by storm. So much so that the cookbook "Grunnboka" (The Basic Book) from our Norwegian publisher Cappelen Damm became Norway's best-selling book in 2025 with nearly 200,000 copies sold. This makes the cookbook Norway's best-selling new release ever.
Behind the cookbook "Grunnboka" is the Norwegian star chef, TV personality, and cookbook author Eyvind Hellstrøm, who was head chef and co-owner of the first restaurant in Norway to receive two Michelin stars. "Grunnboka" was the cookbook used by participants in the TV 2 program "Kokkeskolen" (The Cooking School) as they competed to cook, and due to high demand from TV viewers, the book was publicly released on September 8, 2025, and subsequently flew off the shelves. The cookbook compiles simple and indispensable recipes, providing confidence in the kitchen for both beginners and more experienced cooks.
"The book is a mix of good advice and inspiration for better home cooking. Personally, I use 'Grunnboka' as a checklist and a reminder to get started with something that has fallen a bit by the wayside. Everything in the book is, of course, simple and manageable for most people, and also good to have at hand when things get hectic," says Eyvind Hellstrøm.
The cookbook has topped the Norwegian Booksellers' Association's bestseller list for 11 weeks.
"In my 33 years in the publishing industry, I have never experienced a book being so embraced by the public and selling so much in such a short time," says Knut Ola Ulvestad, Publishing Manager for non-fiction at Cappelen Damm.
"That 'Grunnboka' is by far the year's best-selling book is further proof of Hellstrøm's unique ability to engage and inspire an entire nation," he adds.
Eyvind Hellstrøm has personally signed over 10,000 copies of "Grunnboka" – an achievement that is likely a signing record for a Norwegian author.