DEPARTURES TRAVEL
DEPARTURES TRAVEL NORTHERLY DINING 26 PRIOR TO EACH of my three trips to rural Norway this past year, I was asked a variation of the following question: “But what about the food?” Everyone knew the landscapes in Norway were beautiful (they were right) and they assumed the hotels were comfortable (some yes, some no), but what had put them off venturing up to the frigid north themselves was the country’s reputation for mediocre cuisine, a contrast to the much-lauded farm-to-table cuisine championed by neighbouring Denmark. Oslo has recently garnered acclaim as one of Europe’s under-the-radar culinary destinations, a cauldron of creativity now home to 13 of Norway’s 22 Michelin stars as well as flourishing cocktail and coffee scenes. The country’s next three cities – Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger – combine for eight more stars, leaving only one solitary étoile for the Norwegian countryside: the architecturally astonishing Under (under.no), where diners eat five metres below the ocean’s surface in a stark, minimalist concrete bunker that reminds many diners of the recent gastro-horror film The Menu. (In fact, the Ralph Fiennes film was inspired by another Norwegian restaurant, Cornelius Sjømatrestaurant (corneliusrestaurant. no), which, I discovered, is not just benign but actually quite friendly – a short boat ride from Bergen harbour.) The rest of Norway now has its sights set on culinary acclaim, too. Iris (restaurantiris.no) is a newly opened spaceship-like orb in Hardangerfjord, some three hours south of Bergen. Accessible only via the restaurant’s own boat (like Cornelius), it serves up an 18-course tasting menu centred on chef Anika Madsen’s interpretation of the seasons and the scenery: it is called “expedition dining” because the intention is to match the literal journey to the table (the whole experience lasts six hours) with a metaphorical one through the landscape – and indeed, on the boat ride to the orb, you stop at Chef Madsen’s boathouse for a snack. The restaurant offers detailed advice on how to get there (including by private plane) and good suggestions about where to bed down, though, inevitably, the surrounding days and meals will pale in comparison to the main event. Elsewhere along the Norwegian coast, other restaurants are seeking their own interpretation of site-specific fine dining. In the astonishingly picturesque Lofoten Islands, Holmen ( holmenlofoten.no) has long been a hallmark of locavore cuisine at a high standard. During my visit there in August, I wondered Inside Iris (far left), which is set in the watertop art installation Salmon Eye, and its chef Anika Madsen (near left) whether farm-to-table might not be quite appropriate for the Arctic Circle (I wanted more vegetables!) but there was something truly profound about connecting with my surroundings so deeply. The family-run hotel offers a culinary adventure of its own, Kitchen on the Edge of the World, where 20 guests at a time dig into the food and landscape on a multiday adventure, accompanied by superlative craftsmen and globally renowned chefs: in 2024, highlights include José Pizarro from 2-6 May and Henry Harris from 3-7 October. Elsewhere in Lofoten, Fangst at Hattvika Lodge (hattvikalodge. no) served up the best meal I had all summer. It was twice as expensive as the Holmen dinner – all those imported ingredients – and the hotel is not nearly as nice, but do go if you are in the area. In the adjacent islands of Vesterålen, another family-run destination, Kvitnes (kvitnes.com), offers a further variation on the taste of Norway. More a restaurant with rooms than a hotel, its spirit and ambition are admirable and show off a remarkable bounty of both ingredients and techniques. Next year sees the arrival of Six Senses Svart, a hotel on the coastline just above the Arctic Circle. It will be the first major international brand to open a standout luxury hotel in rural Norway – and a harbinger for the backwaters of Norway transforming not just into a foodie destination but one where the beau monde may flock to in the coming years for both the Northern Lights in winter and the astonishing scenery in summer. Hattvika Lodge in Lofoten, home to the locavore restaurant Fangst CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TOBIAS L. TORJUSEN, © SALMON EYE, © HATTVIKA LODGE
