Dinner at Maaemo in Oslo, Norway
Although I’ve been back from my trip to Oslo and the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard for several days, I am still thinking about some of the wonderful places we visited and some of the exquisite restaurants in which we dined, including the acclaimed Maaemo.
Maaemo is a Norwegian restaurant located in Oslo. The establishment is run by Danish head chef and co-owner, Esben Holmboe Bang, and focuses on the fine flavors of this Scandinavian country. In 2012, just 15-months after opening, Maaemo received two Michelin stars. In 2016, Maaemo was awarded a third Michelin star, making it the first Norwegian restaurant ever to receive the coveted distinction. During our visit there last week, we sat for a nearly 20-course dinner, and each dish was personally presented by the chef who made it. It was a very special and most delicious and memorable meal.
Enjoy my photos. Over the next few days, I will be sharing many photos from this amazing journey.
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- Inside Maaemo,we sat at the Chef’s Table, which was actually in a private dining room overlooking the city of Oslo on one side, and the entire kitchen on the other side. Behind me is downtown Oslo – you can see the tops of the train cars in the railway station just over my shoulder.
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- Here is the view looking toward the kitchen. There are about 20 to 29 chefs in all that work at Maaemo – eight are full time and the rest are visiting apprentices. These chefs come from around the world – Italy, Ireland, Canada, England, and of course, Norway. The kitchen is open and modern – each chef and sous chef has a station, and there is always lots of conversation among them.
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- The Chef’s dining room is located one level above the main dining room. Maaemo first opened its doors in December 2010. Its name, Maaemo, is old Norse for “Mother Earth” or “all that is living,” There are only eight tables, holding up to 30-guests.
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- My friend, Terre Blair, also joined me on the trip to Oslo and on the expedition to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault – I will be sharing lots of amazing images from our expedition in the days ahead.
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- Maaemo served us a nearly 20-course dinner. Hot towels atop slabs of wood were offered in between several courses so we could freshen up and cleanse our hands.
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- I admired the wood so much I had to take a photo. These are hand hewn wooden boards – everything is made of clay or natural materials.
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- We started dinner with some champagne – Les Vines de Montgueux from the southern Champagne region. It was very delicious.
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- The first course included chicken feet cooked with grains, chicken liver and fermented lingonberry juice. Here you can see the oxalis leaves atop chicken liver atop lingonberry all on a deboned, fried chicken foot. All the food is made from seasonal, organic or biodynamic ingredients from Norwegian producers.
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- The second course was a “cornet with caramelized yeast and smoked vendace roe”. Vendace is a freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. This dish was served over dried flowers.
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- This offering is called “lompe” or potato cake. This one was made with spelt wheat and served with fermented trout and horseradish, baked egg yolks, creme fraiche and dill.
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- This dish includes queen scallops from Nordskott, in the Northern Barents Sea. The scallops are served on a bed of ice and seaweed.
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- Each course was personally served by the chef who created it. This allows chefs to meet guests, describe their dish and answer any questions. This chef also poured the sauce over our scallops – made with charred onion oil and aquavit.
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- We turned over the scallop shells, which were left natural from the sea and filled with barnacles. These scallops are at least eight or nine years old. I liked them so much, they wrapped one up and gave it to me.
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- The next course was fresh cheese made about 30-minutes to an hour before serving, using raw milk from a single Norwegian cow. The chef who chose the milk actually went to the farm and tried milk from 20-different cows before choosing this one. It was served with hazelnut oil and gold label caviar aged for 14-weeks – it was excellent. Caviar is among my favorite foods.
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- Course number-seven included a raw Bomlo oyster emulsion of oil, dill and cream of mussels. The gel disc is made of mussel stock and oyster water.
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- The chef topped it with the warm sauce of dill and mussels.
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- Here we see the king crab from Finnmark being grilled on a Hibachi. The king crab is one of the world’s largest crustaceans. After leaving the waters off Russia, these crabs continue to invade the Norwegian arctic coast. This one is being grilled in butter emulsion.
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- I got this quick snapshot of the saucier in the kitchen. A saucier or sauté chef is the sauce cook. In addition to preparing sauces, the saucier prepares stews, hot hors d’œuvres, and sautés food to order.
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- The crab is served with pickled elderflower, kelp and shredded crab shoulder. Each chef takes time to prepare and then present his or her dish so perfectly.
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- This is course 10 – arctic cod gently steamed with salted butter.
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- Here, the chef pours a sauce of smoked scallop roe and fermented celeriac over the cod.
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- This is called rømmegraut – a traditional Norwegian porridge and comfort food. “Rømme” is a Norwegian word meaning a heavy sour cream made from cream or blend of whole milk and cream which is acidified. “Graut” translates as porridge. Traditionally, rømmegraut is a delicacy prepared for special occasions, including holidays. This dish is made with smoked dried reindeer heart.
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- And then served with salted butter and plum vinegar.
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- And mixed with sour cream heated with wheat flour to make a custard – and then eaten with a wooden spoon.
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- Here is a trio of chefs working hard at the Hibachi station in the kitchen – an Italian chef, a Norwegian chef and another Italian chef.
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- This course was number-12. It included a broth, a quail egg and brioche.
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- The warm broth was made of strong caramelized onions and seaweed. It was so intensely flavorful – everyone loved it.
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- This quail egg was gently cooked in roasted bone marrow, cured mutton, and charred onions and then served with emulsified tapioca, onion jelly and parsley oil.
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- The brioche was cooked with lamb fat and onions and then wrapped in simple parchment paper and twine. This was so good.
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- This dish includes aged reindeer that was smoked with juniper and then grilled. The leaves are made from dried Jerusalem artichoke puree. I thought the leaves were so beautiful.
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- The dish is then served with sauce of pickled lingonberries and reindeer fat.
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- This course marked the begining of dessert. It was made from grated frozen blue cheese – it was icy cold. It was also served with with pickled black trumpet mushroom.
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- This is a gorgeous caramelized goat cheese sorbet with fermented blueberries and fragrant rhubarb root. The blueberries were picked during summer and then fermented with salt and made into a granita.
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- Underneath the sorbet, you can see the rhubarb root oil.
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- This was a popular dessert – brown butter ice cream with a brown butter molasses and crumbled roasted hazelnuts – it was definitely among my favorite desserts of the evening.
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- And the last dessert was warm Norwegian waffles cooked in beef fat and made using Koji grains – a cultured rice that has been around for centuries.
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- The waffles were served with a variety of toppings including preserved berries – black currants and gooseberries, whipped romme, and brown cheese. It was a most enjoyable dinner for us all.
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