Historic number of laureates participated in the Nobel Week
A historic number of laureates were participating in the
Nobel Week 2022. The Nobel organization also had 25 laureates attending the Nobel Prize banquet for the first time in history. Between 1901 and 2022, the Nobel Prizes and the prize in economic
sciences were awarded 615 times. In this period women were awarded 61 times, including 2 prices for physicist and chemist Marie Curie. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first
person and the only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. This year 2 women were awarded a Nobel Price; chemist
Carolyn R. Bertozzi and writer and professor of literature Annie Ernaux. This year's chef is Jimmi Eriksson and this year's pastry chef is Annie Hesselstad. Members of Sweden's
Royal Family and the entire government attended the ceremony.
Photo: Nobel Prize award ceremony at Konserthuset Stockholm © Nobel Prize Outreach. Credit: Clément Morin
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 was awarded jointly to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless "for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry".
Barry Sharpless started the ball rolling. Around the year 2000, he coined the concept of click chemistry. Shortly afterwards, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless, independently of each other, presented an elegant and efficient chemical reaction that is now in widespread use. Among many other uses, it is utilised in the development of pharmaceuticals, for mapping DNA and creating materials that are more fit for purpose.
See photo header © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Nanaka Adachi.
Carolyn Bertozzi took click chemistry to a new level. She developed click reactions that work inside living organisms. Her bioorthogonal reactions take place without disrupting the normal
chemistry of the cell.
These reactions are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes. Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals, which are
now being tested in clinical trials.
Click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions have taken chemistry into the era of functionalism. This is bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022 was awarded jointly to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig "for research on banks and financial crises"
Their discoveries improved how society deals with financial crises. They have significantly improved the understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises. An important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital.
"The laureates insights have improved our ability to avoid both serious crises and expensive bailouts,” says Tore Ellingsen, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2022
The 2022 Peace Prize is awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.
The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.
See photo header © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Jo Straube
Representatives of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates for 2022 are: Ales Bialiatski, representert av Natallia Pinchuk, Memorial, represented by Jan Rachinsky and Center for Civil Liberties, represented by Oleksandra Matviichuk.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022
The Nobel Price in Literature 2022 is awarded to Annie Ernaux, French writer and professor of literature. Prize motivation: "for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory". Ernaux delivered her Nobel Prize lecture in literature on 7 December 2022. Here's a quote from her lecture:
See photo header. Photo: Clément Morin. © Nobel Prize Outreach. Credits translation lecture: Alison L. Strayer.
"I continue to wonder about the place women occupy in the literary field. They have not yet gained legitimacy as producers of written works. There are men in the world, including the Western intellectual spheres, for whom books written by women simply do not exist; they never cite them. The recognition of my work by the Swedish Academy is a sign of hope for all female writers."
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 was awarded jointly to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger "for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science".
The ineffable effects of quantum mechanics are starting
to find applications. There is now a large field of research that includes quantum computers, quantum networks and secure quantum encrypted communication. One key factor in this development is
how quantum mechanics allows two or more particles to exist in what is called an entangled state. What happens to one of the particles in an entangled pair determines what happens to the other
particle, even if they are far apart.
"It has become increasingly clear that a new kind of quantum technology is emerging.
We can see that the laureates work with entangled states is of great importance, even beyond the fundamental questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics," says Anders Irbäck, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 was awarded to Svante Pääbo "for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution".
Thanks to Svante Pääbo’s discoveries, it is now understood that archaic gene sequences from our extinct relatives influence the physiology of present-day humans. One such example is the Denisovan version of the gene EPAS1, which confers an advantage for survival at high altitude and is common among present-day Tibetans. Other examples are Neanderthal genes that affect our immune response to different types of infections.
Annie Hesselstad - Pastry Chef at Artipelag in Sweden
Annie Hesselstad is a talented pastry chef at Artipelag. This is an international meeting point for art, good food, events and activities. It's beautifully situated in the Stockholm
archipelago. As a pastry chef, she was a member of the Swedish National Culinary Team in 2015 and 2016 and competed in the 2016 Culinary Olympics. She has lived and worked for many years in both
France and Austria. In the beginning of the pandemic, she studied foraging and locally produced ingredients at Örebro University. Annie Hesselstad created this year's dessert at the Nobel
banquet. She chose plums from Österlen being one of the desserts main ingredients. With support from former Nobel pastry chef Magnus Johansson and chef Jimmi Eriksson being responsible for the
first and main course, her creation became a success at the Nobel banquet with 1.250 special guests.
Photos: The pastry chef Annie Hesselstad & Banquet Menu: Dessert © Nobel Prize Outreach. Credits: Dan Lepp
How did you find your passion for creating beautiful pastries?
Before I became a pastry chef I was working in the service and sales industry, and had no plans for my future. During my years in the restaurant industry I used to bring 'fika' to work and chefs often complimented my baking skills. Little did I know that these chefs later on would be my colleagues in the National Swedish Culinary team, and that I together with them would compete in the Culinary Olympics year 2016.
At one point in year 2013, after failing the try outs to the military and feeling a bit lost, I applied to a 40 week long pastry school in Stockholm where I'm born and raised. The first day of school I knew, this is what I will do the rest of my life.
This was the start of my new life and later on it moved me to both Austria and France, to learn more about international pastries and desserts. I've always been eager to try new things, and never give up. My passion comes from a lot of long work, and the fact that I've never been afraid to try new things. When I first got the question to join the culinary team I couldn't believe it, it was too early and too big. The same with Nobel. But the eager part of me always wins. So challenge accepted.
You were in charge of the Nobel Prize 2022 banquet dessert, it must have been quite a journey...
It was and it still is an unbelievable journey, something that I never even dreamt of. That first call from the Nobel committee is still a blur. I almost fainted when the words "we are wondering if you would be interested in making the dessert for the Noble Prize banquet" came out from the other end of the phone.
The process in developing the dessert has been rather long, since the banquet has been cancelled two times due to covid-19. I knew from the start that I wanted to make a dessert that reflects me, and to try not to think too much on what other people would think. In the end, I got the question and that is what made me believe in myself during times of doubt because of the breadth of this mission. I'm very proud of the dessert that was served, mostly because plums is a forgotten fruit and something that deserves more light and shine. And the fact that I turned that forgotten and underestimated fruit into a beautiful and tasty dessert.
But it must not be forgotten that it wasn't all me. I was lucky enough to have a good relationship with Magnus Johansson, former Nobel pastry chef since many years. He gave me a lot of advice during the process and also made me believe in myself when I stood still in the process, not knowing if the direction I had chosen was right. Also having Jimmi as the chef made me calm, since he had been involved in the kitchen a few years earlier.
You are pastry chef at Artipelag, where nature and art come together. What are visitors loving the most, the art or your pastries?
The name Artipelag comes from a combination of art, activities and archipelago, and I would say that one of the activities is about the pastries. For every new exhibition I develop a 'pastry exhibition' together with the art department. There's been a few by now and I think that's what makes Artipelag unique. It's the way that both the art, activities and the archipelago inweave in the pastries we serve.
Both the nature and the art inspires me on a daily basis and I always try to connect those two in my pastries. It's a very creative environment and I truly hope that everyone that visits Stockholm, also pays a visit to Artipelag, both for the art and the pastries.
On the left: Anselm Kiefer, Opus Magnum – Daphne, 2016. Photo credit: Jean-Baptiste-Beranger. This year, Artipelag is celebrating its tenth anniversary by presenting its largest venture to date: the exhibition Essence-Eksistence featuring the work of German artist Anselm Kiefer opened. Although Kiefer is one of the world's greatest living artists, his work has never been exhibited in Sweden on a larger scale. On the right: the exhibition pastry weaved in the exhibition Anselm Kiefer - Essence eksistence. Credits: Artipelag / Annie Hesselstad.
What do you love the most about you profession?
The answer is easy, to be creative every day. And the fact it's different every day, one day I create the dessert to the Nobel banquet, and the next one I'm making 20 kg cinnamon buns for the cafe at Artipelag. It's never boring and I have not once had the feeling: "I don't want to work today". I think that comes from the fact that I do really love and enjoy my profession, doing what you love as a profession is a luxury.
Is there a special dessert you like very much to create at work?
This is hard to answer, because I enjoy everything I create. The humble and most honest answer would be the dessert that makes someone else happy. That is the upside of the profession, to make someone happy with the things you create.
Are you also baking with the same effort at home?
I rarely bake at home. I do occasionally, but way more easier things such as cookies or just a simple cake. It's a lot easier in a professional kitchen, and having everything you need at hand. However, there's always sugar and flour in the pantry, and of course: butter...
Do you think the art of making high quality pastries can still evolve? Even to an higher level?
I hope and think so, making high quality pastries is such a luxury for the guests to indulge, the beauty that occurs when design meets flavours is hard to beat. To always do better than the last time is my personal motto. The fact that my profession allows me to learn something new every day. To develop both myself and my skills with the help of great colleagues and all the other professionals in my industry in Sweden. It makes me feel happy about the future and the evolution of high quality pastries.