Tor was born in northern Norway in 1933.  At 18 years old, he joined the merchant marines and sailed around the globe. Tor had many responsibilities on the ship, but he often prepared meals for the crew and over the years grew his love of cooking. In 1950 he found himself in the port of Seattle.

Tor worked in the first El Gaucho restaurant in downtown Seattle soon after it opened in 1953. El Gaucho set the standard in the area for a fine dining steakhouse and has various locations open in the Pacific Northwest today. The chef in the original restaurant wanted to develop a signature all purpose seasoning to use in every dish. The chef hosted a competition among the kitchen staff and asked them to create their own seasoning recipes. Tor participated and the staff voted in favor of his all purpose seasoning recipe.

Tor went on to work in commercial fishing and captained large ships in Alaska. With his wife Dorothy, he opened a restaurant, a ski school at Stevens Pass, sold TOR's Spice in local stores, and eventually became an esteemed wine sommelier ending his career working at the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle.