Is Norway’s Cuisine Really So Bad?

Despite the popularity of Norwegian salmon around the world, a new survey has ranked Norwegian food as the world’s worst cuisine. The result has caused quite a stir in the country’s media.

Readers of online food encyclopedia TasteAtlas ranked Norway’s cuisine as the world’s worst cuisine among the 95 countries included in the survey. The rankings take into account audience votes for ingredients, dishes and beverages, with Italian, Greek, Spanish, Japanese and Indian cuisines coming out on top.

The cuisines of Nordic neighbors Sweden (62nd), Finland (72nd) and Iceland (91st) also fared badly in the rankings. Denmark in 35th was the only Nordic nation to emerge with my credit. So, is Norwegian—and Nordic—cuisine as bad as the survey suggests?

Traditional Norwegian food

It is fair to say that some of Norway’s most traditional foods are hardly inspiring. Meats and fish were salted or air-dried in the days before refrigeration to preserve them for the winter months.

Dishes such as lufefisk—aged stockfish cured in lye—and salted meats still feature on traditional menus today with plain, boiled potatoes a common accompaniment.

Modern home cooking prioritises convenience, so much so that a frozen pizza brand is often considered by many to be Norway’s unofficial national dish. The actual national dish, a mutton, cabbage and boiled potato dish known as fårikål, is mostly loved for its ease of preparation.

Those wanting to prioritise home cooking are not helped by the lack of competition in the grocery store market, often leading to a lack of choice on supermarket shelves.

Snacks too are uninspiring. The simple pølse—a hot dog eaten in a bun or a potato wrap known as a lompe—is the ‘street food’ of choice for many Norwegians, while a waffle topped with brown cheese and jam is a popular treat for weekend hikers.

The ‘new Nordic’ revolution

But since the early 2000s, things have slowly begun to change. The New Nordic movement founded in Copenhagen has rubbed off on Norway, with the country’s best chefs embracing the focus on local, seasonal ingredients.

Renowned Norwegian chef Filip August Bendi told newspaper Dagbladet that “in no way” is Norway “a bad food country”.

His view is not a surprise, as he picked up a bronze medal in the European Bocuse d’Or awards last year. In fact, Norway is the country with the most Bocuse d’Or awards.

The 2022 edition of the Michelin Guide Nordic featured a total of 255 restaurants, including 74 Starred restaurants and 32 Bib Gourmand awards. Oslo’s Maaemo is one of the region’s few three-star establishments, while Trondheim and Trøndelag held the title of European region of Gastronomy in 2022.

Two-tier Norwegian cuisine

There is also a lot to be said for the quality of Norwegian ingredients, notably fresh seafood. So with so many world-class chefs, quality seafood and award-winning restaurants, why is the reputation of Norwegian food so poor?

There remains a clear gap between the blossoming fine dining scene and the everyday food eaten by most Norwegians and visitors to the country.

While the cost of fine dining is on a par with similar establishments in the likes of London and Paris, the cost of eating out at more affordable restaurants is relatively high in Norway.

The lack of choice in Norwegian supermarkets impacts the foods eaten at home and to a certain extent in restaurants. For visitors, the Norwegian preference for simple seasoning with salt and pepper is likely a turn-off.

This suggestion is backed up in the survey results, where many of the leading cuisines from countries like Spain, Japan, India and Mexico are known for their spices and strong flavors.

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