Arctic berries. Seaweed-infused bread. Rich, creamy brown-cheese ice cream. And reindeer meat. Lots and lots of reindeer meat.
These are just some of the Nordic ingredients baked into Hurtigruten’s new and upcoming Culinary Voyage itineraries launching this fall that aim to put a prime focus on the cultural cuisine of Norway’s Sami people. The Sami are the Indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic region of Sapmi, also known as Lapland, which spans the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula.
The new journeys are being helmed by Hurtigruten’s new Culinary Ambassador, Maret Rávdná Buljo, a Sami reindeer herder and staunch advocate of her people’s heritage and food traditions. Buljo will develop menus and dishes that combine traditional Sami ingredients with modern culinary techniques. Think slow-cooked cuts of reindeer, smoked salmon, berry soups, hearty potato stews, and other dishes prepared to reflect a cuisine that’s long helped the Sami to survive harsh Arctic winters.
Maret Rávdná Buljo, an Indigenous Sami reindeer herder and staunch advocate of her people’s heritage and food traditions, is Hurtigruten’s new Culinary Ambassador.
Photo by Nicole Edenedo
Palettes unfamiliar with Sami cooking not only will be introduced to this underrepresented cuisine, Buljo said, but also will get to know the stories, knowledge, and values that have shaped the Sami people’s relationship with nature and food for generations.
“I’m always missing Sami food in restaurants, especially up North, where we are in Norway,” said Buljo, who is based in Lødingen in the Nordland region, about 137 miles above the Arctic Circle. That’s where certain foods and plants like cloudberries and Arctic dandelions are native to the cooler climes of the region, but not as commonly found in Norwegian cooking elsewhere around the country, Buljo said.
“You don’t find Sami food on plates. That is a very big sorrow for us,” Buljo added. “We are in a modern time and [an inclusive] time. That’s why I do want to bring Sami food on plates, and to be more known.”
Hurtigruten’s MS Kong Harald, one of the four ships that will sail the new Culinary Voyages, cruises through Lofoten, Norway.
Photo by Stian Klo/Courtesy of Hurtigruten
The itinerary
Hurtigruten’s new seven-day Culinary Voyages will be a combination of cruise and land experiences sailing between Bergen and Tromsø along the company’s Coastal Express route, operating across four of the company’s ships. The Coastal Express is Hurtigruten’s original commercial shipping and public transportation route (intended for both locals and visitors alike), which includes 34 stops northbound and 33 stops southbound throughout Norway. Space is limited for this itinerary, which will accommodate a minimum of eight and a maximum of 18 guests, ensuring an intimate experience on and off the ship.
Highlights of the Culinary Voyages itineraries include visits to Ålesund, Brønnøysund, Ørnes, Bodø, Lofoten, and Lyngseidet, home of Aurora Spirit, the world’s northernmost whiskey distillery, where guests will spend a night in the property’s signature fjord cabins with panoramic views of the sea.
While the lion’s share of the new Sami-inspired culinary experiences and dishes will take place on the four ships operating the Culinary Voyages—the MS Nordnorge, MS Nordlys, MS Polarlys, and MS Midnatsol—guests who are sailing on Hurtigruten’s premium, all-inclusive Signature class ship, MS Trollfjord, will have opportunities to try Sami cuisine during a four-course dinner, exclusively at Brasserie Árran, the onboard Sami-inspired restaurant.
Culinary Voyage guests will be treated to this seaweed-infused flatbread during a lunch led by Lofoten Seaweed, a women-founded sustainable seaweed farm.
Photo by Eva Triffet/Courtesy of Hurtigruten
At Brasserie Árran, passengers can look out for the appetizer of toast with reindeer marrow dip and herbs, the entrée of grilled reindeer meat with rowanberry jelly and juniper butter, and the reindeer liver burger with pickled celery, lingonberry dressing, fried onions, and blue cheese.
Aboard MS Nordnorge, which I spent a night on during a recent media preview of the Culinary Voyages, guests can expect to participate in a Sami cooking demonstration before enjoying a four-course, beverage-paired Sami dinner prepared by Buljo. Our dinner, hosted at Kysten, the à la carte restaurant on the ship, opened with sliced gravlax, a smoked Nordic salmon that we helped cure during the cooking demo earlier in the day, served over a sweet flatbread with cloudberries and truffle seaweed.
Bidos, a traditional reindeer stew with thick cubes of meat, carrots, and potatoes, arrived next. It was hearty, much more so than the soup we had earlier for lunch, sodd, which was a similar but lighter version featuring little reindeer meatballs. Both reminded me of Italian wedding soup, and as our chef Eirik Larsen would later confirm, both are traditional soups often served at Sami weddings.
After that, we had tender slices of reindeer meat with crowberry sauce (crowberries are Arctic berries that look a bit like blueberries but are considered inedible when raw due to their bitterness), root vegetables, and mushrooms. This was my favorite dish of the evening.
Other specially curated Norwegian and locally sourced bites and sips for Culinary Voyage guests will include a seaweed-inspired lunch led by Lofoten Seaweed, a women-founded sustainable seaweed farm, and a tasting of regionally and sustainably sourced Norwegian, Arctic-distilled spirits.
Off-ship culinary adventures
One of the biggest highlights of this itinerary is the land component, which will have guests lodge in cozy, rustic homestay accommodations as they take in the sights and gastronomy of the region. Our first land stop was Myklevik Gård, a farm just outside Stamsund on the Lofoten Islands. Here we met husband-and-wife team Åshild Jacobsen and Gisle Melhus, who lead a natural farm operation powered by hand instead of machinery, as a way to feel closer to nature.
Central to the new Culinary Voyage itinerary, alongside amplifying Sami cuisine, is Hurtigruten’s efforts to continue prioritizing sustainability, particularly regarding food sourcing and waste.
Myklevik and Hurtigruten collaborate to achieve zero food waste on the Coastal Express ships, with the line providing food scraps to Jacobsen when the company docks in Stamsund. He composts the material and uses it as fertilizer at the farm. In turn, the herbs and vegetables grown at Myklevik Gård are sold to Hurtigruten, and those ingredients are used in the company’s Coastal Kitchen restaurants. The Coastal Kitchen, Hurtigruten’s food and beverage program that launched in 2014, locally sources 80 percent of all food aboard the ships from along the Norwegian coast, with 60 percent of the 154 drink products fleetwide made in Norway.
Myklevik Gård, a sustainable farm just outside Stamsund in the Lofoten Islands, where husband and wife team Åshild Jacobsen and Gisle Melhus host guests
Photo by Nicole Edenedo
At Myklevik, we were treated to a hearty farmhouse meal of homemade bread and pesto, cured meats, and a rich stew-like dish featuring lamb shank and giant root vegetables dressed in a creamy béchamel, courtesy of Melhus’ mother, who was on hand to whip up a batch. At once, I could taste the soul and the love in these dishes, and even the earth from the freshness of the vegetables harvested. After dinner, we stayed in two of the couple’s homestay properties down the road for a night under the midnight sun overlooking the still waters of the marina next door.
Another working farm visit is Kvitnes Gård, a truly memorable and delectable farm-to-table experience owned by another Hurtigruten culinary ambassador, Halvar Ellingsen. A 15-course, wine-paired tasting menu, featuring meat raised and produce grown on the farm,a s well as fresh seafood caught within the fjord, awaits guests. Afterward, enjoy a stay overnight in the rustic lodging spaces on-site—a new feature the farm has introduced for Hurtigruten guests.
A Nordic afternoon tea spread at fine-dining restaurant Røst onboard MS Trollfjord, featuring smoked reindeer and Pacific salmon sandwiches and an assortment of scones, jams, cakes, and macarons.
Photo by Nicole Edenedo
Additional indulgences
Hurtigruten has a robust itinerary and onboard experience planned for upcoming Culinary Voyage guests. Here are some additional highlights to look forward to:
- A sampling of award-winning Nordic cheeses, including Nidelven Blå, a sharp and creamy Norwegian blue cheese I tasted that was voted the World’s Best Cheese at the 2023 World Cheese Awards. It was part of Hurtigruten’s “short traveled cheese” concept, which is cheese locally sourced from Norwegian cheese producers who deliver their products to Hurtigruten ships when in port. These cheeses are available fleetwide to all guests and can be enjoyed throughout your cruise.
- The crown jewel of the beverages Hurtigruten has to offer is Havets Bobler, or Bubbles of the Sea, Hurtigruten’s own sparkling wine. This bubbly, available only aboard Hurtigruten ships, is uniquely aged at the bottom of the Arctic sea for eight months, 112 feet deep, in various secret locations, and guests on the Culinary Voyages can try ample amounts.
- A Nordic Afternoon Tea experience, featuring smoked reindeer and salmon salad sandwiches, scones, and an assortment of macarons served with Havets Bobler, on day three of the itinerary while sailing through Trøndelag.
- Brown cheese ice cream served at Multe, the bakery and café aboard Coastal Express ships, made from the popular sweet, caramelized soft cheese native to Norway. Be on the lookout across the ships for brown cheese cocktails and other dishes inspired by this cheese.
Departures for Hurtigruten’s new Culinary Voyages will run on September 21, October 5 and 19, and November 2. Culinary Voyage dates for 2026 are coming soon.
