50 Years A Chef

A career well-seasoned…

In our 40th anniversary year we’re proud to also celebrate Corporate Executive Chef Vagn Nielsen‘s culinary career milestone of being a chef for 50+ years; a tremendous accomplishment in any industry.  Proof of the Pudding has been Vagn’s home for over 30 of those storied years. Soon after joining, Vagn made his way through the ranks and in 1990 become one of the Owners/Partners of Proof of the Pudding. Passionate about culinarians, we believe that a chef’s life is a journey that should be savored along the way. Click below to watch the award-winning 50 Years A Chef that shares Vagn’s career story – beginning in Copenhagen, Denmark and continuing today in the Southeastern United States. Video by: EventCurious.

As Corporate Executive Chef for Proof of the Pudding by MGR, Inc. Vagn Nielsen emphasizes creativity and flexibility when preparing cuisine for the thousands of clients they serve. From elegant dinners for former President and Mrs. Carter to picnic fare for Chastain Park concert-goers, or a seated dinner for thousands, Chef Vagn Nielsen can create unique, personalized meals appropriate for the various events catered by Proof.

“We are quite different from a restaurant,” says Chef Vagn, “because we must always be prepared for something new. One week it could be an outdoor barbecue, and the next a dinner for foreign dignitaries at the Carter Center or a convention at Georgia International Convention Center. But for all of our events, we insist on the highest quality food with a unique style of presentation.”

Chef Vagn has over twenty years of international gourmet cooking experience. He began his career in Copenhagen, Denmark in a six-year training program at a local culinary school. This training led him to a four-year apprenticeship at the Hotel Imperial in Copenhagen, one of Europe’s finest hotels. He rounded out his training as an apprentice at Copenhagen’s Sheraton Hotel.

After a year of required military service, Vagn left Denmark in 1975 on a foreign exchange program to Atlanta. Through this program he worked as a Sous Chef in the famous Midnight Sun restaurant, and was soon promoted to Executive Chef. After five years at the restaurant, he entered into a joint partnership to run The Anchorage House in Beaufort, South Carolina. This restored antebellum mansion was considered the finest restaurant in the Low-Country specializing in continental cuisine.

In 1984, Chef Vagn returned to Atlanta to pursue a completely new concept in dining. He served as the Executive Chef for Eats restaurant, an upscale diner with contemporary cuisine.

He was soon sought by Proof of the Pudding, and served as Proof’s Corporate Executive Chef for nine years. In January, 1990, Chef Vagn became one of the Owners/Partners of Proof of the Pudding by MGR.

Chef Vagn creates all of the menu items for any event catered by the Proof. With his staff of assistants, he can prepare an elegant gourmet meal for 2,000 or an intimate dinner for two. In addition to preparing the food for all catered events and parties at off-site locations, Chef Vagn oversees the food preparation for all of Proof’s permanent venues including: The Carter Presidential Center, The Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center, The Georgia International Convention Center, Chastain Park’s Amphitheater, and Fripp Island Resort. Says Chef Vagn, “My work here at Proof is always exciting because everyday there is something different to prepare. We want to create a very special and unique event for each of our clients.”