11. Jul 2018

Trøndere tuller ikke med maten

It helps to have good soil and the right climate, but the Trønders really know how to reap full value from quality raw ingredients. Popular festivals and increased interest in genuine foods are also key factors.

“One main reason we chose this location was the local supply of excellent raw ingredients,” says owner and head chef at Experience Restaurant in Steinkjer, Kim Tore Sjøbakk.

Trønders (i.e. the people of Trøndelag) don’t mess around when it comes to food. On the contrary, they make up a significant part of agriculture and aquaculture in Norway, and Trøndelag County has established itself as Norway’s leading food region thanks to bountiful yields from the sea to the mountains and fertile areas in between.

The farmer’s market here sells more than anywhere else in the country. World-class chefs and restaurants have also helped to put Trøndelag on the international food map. The British celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, couldn’t heap enough praise on the raw ingredients and the dishes he was served during his visit to Trondheim in 2014.

 

Trønders (i.e. the people of Trøndelag) don’t mess around when it comes to food. On the contrary, they make up a significant part of agriculture and aquaculture in Norway, and Trøndelag County has established itself as Norway’s leading food region thanks to bountiful yields from the sea to the mountains and fertile areas in between.

The farmer’s market here sells more than anywhere else in the country. World-class chefs and restaurants have also helped to put Trøndelag on the international food map. The British celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, couldn’t heap enough praise on the raw ingredients and the dishes he was served during his visit to Trondheim in 2014.

“The raw ingredients might be a bit more expensive, but with regards to taste and carbon footprint, they are better than anything else I’ve come across,” says Sjøbakk, and this includes his 11 years as a cook in London’s top restaurants.

He has worked at several Michelin star restaurants and was head chef at the luxury hotel, “The Milestone”. Despite having exquisite cuisine, the raw ingredients served in the big city often came from afar. Now, he and his wife operate their own restaurant in a beautiful, old barn at Bjerkem Farm.

“Here, we pick the carrots right from the fields – soil and all. We get all of the raw ingredients locally, except lemon, lime, chocolate and coffee. Fish from the coast and local rivers; meat and game from up around here. We work together with organic farms, including Salberg Farm at Røra which grows what we want.

The food he serves is Nordic yet based on classic, French cuisine with elements from different corners of the world. Sjøbakk likes to make cured meats using local game, and he has moose bacon and 20 different cured hams in stock.

Aquavit after 116 years

Cheese from Røros, Oppdal and Inderøy, vegetables and berries, salmon, crayfish and scallops. Trøndelag aims to become Northern Europe’s best food region, where trackable, pure foods and sound animal health is a given.

Two people who are helping to make this happen are Svein Berfjord and Kirsti Farbu. They operate Berg Farm and Inderøy Distillery at Kjerkensvågen in Inderøy along the so-called Golden Detour, 25 kilometres from Steinkjer. The farm became the site of the country’s first farm-based butchery and blew new life into a Trøndelag tradition when they began production of aquavit in 2015.

He and his wife have made full use of the land since they bought the farm in 1987. They were going to work with forestry, and then came the grain before they got a sheep to graze and maintain the cultural landscape. One thing led to another and they currently have forests, grain, caraway, sheep, free range pigs, bees, a farm shop and function rooms.

They process the raw ingredients the traditional way. No showing off, just good and hearty home cooking. Around 12,000 to 15,000 guests visit the farm annually.

“We provide short-travelled food, which we make entirely from scratch. No sit-down dining and white tablecloths; people help themselves and eat until they’re full,” says Svein Berfjord.

He also has a stand at the Trøndersk Food festival. You can sample some of what Berfjord produces there.

Special festival train from Oslo

In 2017, the Reiseliv travel magazine voted the Trøndersk Food Festival and Brewery Festival as one of the twelve top destinations in Scandinavia.

“People outside of Trøndelag can see that the food and brewery festival maintains a high level of quality, and it’s extra exciting that it is held concurrently with the St. Olav Festival. Trondheim is full of pleasant surprises on these days,” says Aslaug Rustad, General Manager of Oi! Trøndersk mat og Drikke AS.

The hotel industry is noticing the interest. A few years ago, there was 50 percent occupancy at hotels in Trondheim during the festival days, and now they are fully booked.

“We charter a special brewery train to the festivals from Oslo Central Station. The trains are jam-packed along the railway to Trondheim. There are an estimated 200,000 visitors at the festivals,” says Rustad.

However, it’s the Trønders themselves who keep up the demand for local foods.

“Trønders are good about buying local foods. The farmers market here has the highest sales of any in the country despite a population of only 400,000 in this region. We have a great variety of raw ingredients, not to mention being at the forefront of developing speciality foods including meat processing, cheese, baked goods and processing of old grain varieties.”

At the Food and Brewery Festival, there are 150 food producers from 12 Trøndelag regions and 25 craft breweries. This is not a cattle show, but rather the country’s biggest sales arena for local foods, and the demand to be able to participate is great.

Boiled hot dog, anyone?

Although the Pstereo Festival is a dedicated music festival, the festival will serve quality food and only deals with local suppliers.

“We get a lot of inquiries from national food suppliers who want in, but we have been strict in this regard. We have the best raw ingredients in this region and, not least, there has been a lot of focus on developing the products. The level of restaurants in Trondheim is outrageously high. Some shining stars have led the way and now many new entities are coming on the scene with a mission,” says festival director, Bård Flikke.

According to Flikke, a music festival should appeal to all the senses. Whether you like it strong, sweet or tart, you’ll find something good to eat from Falafelkompaniet, Indian Tandoori, Færsk or Lysklæt.

“The classic, Trøndersk dish of boiled hot dogs is rarely served at festivals nowadays. The demands of the public have become greater, but there is also enhanced awareness regarding quality and an enjoyable taste experience,” says Flikke.