NORWAY Taste
Here is the thing about Norway.
It has the largest sovereign wealth fund by a long shot compared to any other country in the world.
Now how much are we talking?
A few billion $s …. No …$1.4 trillion … that’s more than China. But China has 1.4 billion people. Norway has 5.2 million people. It’s just ridiculous and it is from oil, gas and fishing, and a very clever team who know how to invest money.
It is just a place to just live. Yes that happiness index correlates with a high tax rate and good social and health care and state education. When I asked Norwegian friends about the Covid response they didn’t feel like their politicians had taken the covid opportunity to loot their country (as we do in the UK), in fact everyone seemed happy about the way things were run.
Naturally, Norway is expensive, you can very easily spend £50 per head for a couple of drinks and a pizza. Alcohol in Norway is the most expensive in the world, heavily taxed to curb alcoholism.
This is about survival but gourmet survival.
Reindeer feature heavily on the menu. For clothing items too. And sea creatures. Sealion shoes anyone ?
A question asked by a fellow tourist : "How long do your reindeer live?", Raoul, the indigenous Sami reindeer herder, casually replied – 'The reindeer live as long as I decide for them to live'. He spoke about how the reindeer die when they need to die for instance to keep a balanced mix of ages so they could thrive as a group. Of course nothing is wasted, everything is valued.. this was an optimal symbiotic relationship with the nature.
I wondered about wearable technology such as heated pads in such conditions (check out the interview with Raoul below). But all that portable power – never convenient especially where everything is wet. Or synthesized textiles. Particularly for interplanetary exploration. I don’t know if it was the otherworldly Northern Lights which put me into a sci-fi mood. Surely we would just need to send some fertilised reindeer eggs over to Mars and give them a base level ecosystem and then slightly change the conditions, gravity, pressure .. leak in some radiation abundant with the lack of atmosphere and let them evolve… I mean they are half way there already. And so much tastier than roaches.
So very tasty. During our ice hotel dinner experience, garlicy reindeer, salmon and a dessert cooked in front of us over an open fire within the cabin. We also had reindeer soup with bread the next day for lunch. And a hot blackcurrant cordial. We couldn’t stop eating it and so rustic ..at one with nature.
Norway also has 8 Michelin star restaurants. Maaemo Restaurant was £430 a head ... £630 with drinks for the tasting menu. And with a waiting list. Even Tromso has 3 Michelin star restaurants but everything was booked out way ahead. We did manage to try a lovely restaurant called Mathallen. Very creative with seasonal and local produce. Yes Reindeer and berries on the menu and oh my god the Cod was the best !
When we return to Norway, I would love to try the south and in particular a place called Lindesnes and it’s underwater restaurant (5.5 metres under the sea) called ‘Under’. I know the photo on their website is pure theatre … yes it’s the head chef catching some sea creature or foliage while the world with his restaurant is slipping into the Atlantic Ocean.. in slow motion. Armageddon arthouse chic. Gourmet survival.
INTERVIEW
