Culinary festival season in Norway
For a long time, Norwegian gastronomy was confined to the role of subsistence and country cooking, but in recent years it has become one of the most fashionable culinary cultures. When gastronomy is the main theme of an event, the offer is rich and diverse. Between June and November each year, culinary events flourish all over the country.
Restaurants and producers set up their stalls on the pavements of the city centre and offer their regional products for tasting. Some festivals offer cooking workshops for children, others cooking demonstrations by Norway's top chefs.
Gladmat in Stavanger - 30 June to 3 July 2021
Gladmat literally means 'happy food'! Established in 1998, it is Scandinavia's largest food festival with 250,000 visitors each year.
This festival aims to introduce the general public to gastronomy and the culinary traditions of the region: the salmon of course, but also the sardine (until 1982, the city was home to no less than 108 canneries, representing 70% of the country's sardine production), or the kraftkarThis is a cow's milk cheese with blueberries that was voted best cheese in the world at the World Cheese Awards in 2016.
Sørlandets matfestival in Kristiansand - 9-10 July 2021
The Sørlandet festival brings together some 60 exhibitors of local gastronomy, including the famous Norwegian berry farms, honey producers and local craft beer makers.
Trøndersk matfestival in Kristiansand - 29 to 31 July 2021
Small and large game, lamb, shellfish and fish are among the specialities of the Trøndelag region. It is also possible to drink the karskA popular recipe is to place a coin in the bottom of the glass, pour coffee until the coin is invisible, and then drink alcohol until the coin appears again! A popular recipe is to place a coin at the bottom of the glass, pour coffee until the coin is invisible, then alcohol until the coin appears again!
Matstreif in Oslo - September 2021
Matstreif is usually held in September in the heart of Oslo on Rådhusplassen, the town hall square. The festival presents culinary specialities from all over the country. More than 140 participants display their products, homemade dishes and local specialities at four different markets. Norwegian specialities include finnebiff, thin slices of reindeer meat with cranberry sauce, fenalår, a dried and salted leg of lamb dish, brunost, a brown cheese with a caramelised flavour often eaten with crispy Sigdal bread, waffles, fromasj, a fruit soufflé...
The speciality not to be missed in Bergen is the famous fish soup, a stew made from chopped fish and shrimp mixed with cream. You can also try hjorton, a polar berry dessert, fårikål, a mutton stew cooked with cabbage and accompanied by potatoes, or reindeer sausage, accompanied by sweet mustard, cranberry jam and fried onions.
Smakfest in Tromsø - September 2021
The festival, which was established in 2013, welcomes around 70,000 visitors and more than 80 exhibitors each year. The Smak Nordnosk Festival claims to be "a good arena for sales and gastronomic discussions".
Tromsø is Norway's second largest fishing village, so seafood is a major part of the local gastronomy. You can taste salmon cooked in all its forms, and cod of course, but also boknafisk, a dish composed of half-dried fish, accompanied by potatoes in field dress and bacon, fiskemolje, a mixture of cod liver and fish roe, and fiskeboller, fish dumplings with a béchamel sauce
Norsk Rakfiskfestival in Fagernes - 4-6 November 2021
Organised since 1993, this festival highlights the Valdres Rakfisk, a trout originating from local lakes and rivers and refined by a process of fermentation in vinegar before being drained. Valdres is Norway's leading rakfisk producing region (between 12 and 15 tons of rakfisk are sold during the 3-day festival!) At the end of the festival, a professional jury selects the best fish of the year.