It's that time of year again, I thought with a smile when Nils-Henning at Nesje-Mat med hjerte called a while ago to invite me to dinner.
Not just any dinner I tell you!!
For the last two years, I have been involved in the kitchen during this year's big event.
You can imagine that I have absorbed the lessons of experienced chefs. I have stood side by side with three of the most skilled chefs in their field and had them as my mentors.
What looks so spectacular when you get it served is exactly that.
It takes years to possess such knowledge as they have!
And I, "little" me, have been allowed to learn, have been allowed to watch, have been allowed to be part of it!! I felt like one of them, if only for one evening every now and then, I am incredibly grateful !!
But, not this year, this year I didn't get to be in the kitchen.
This year I got to sit quietly, converse with interesting people, and have my food served.
This year I got to be a guest, enjoy, and take in the impressions.
And I am again eternally grateful !
Eternally grateful for these three fantastic chefs, who work magic with food, inspire, are creative and, not least, use the ingredients our local area gives us, the ingredients we don't always understand or know how to use, the ingredients we have right outside our living room door!
I showed up early, just in case they needed a helping hand, because then I could step in, I thought. And I had to, almost immediately. Or what should I say, lighting a grill is no big deal. So I had a job to do. I lit the grill and made sure it was hot, important work I tell you!!
Especially, when the first course was to be served straight from the grill.
It went well and you will get the recipe for whole grilled clipfish later!
There were eight dishes on the menu, but sometimes there are always some dishes that come up.
One more spectacular than the next.
Some simple little ones, some bigger ones and some more advanced than the others. A wonderful mix of flavors, some pure flavors and some flavors that are more like explosions when they hit the gap.
All clipfish supplied by Dybvik , as the only clipfish supplier that holds the specialty label on its Gran Reserva clipfish .
The annual Norwegian Clipfish Evening is not just a dinner, it's an evening and you get stories about the food, suppliers, and the farmer who proudly tells about his ingredients.
The chefs give of themselves both when they proudly tell us the secrets behind the dishes, where it comes from. Traceable local food!
Every now and then a surprise or two pops up...
Perhaps the most important thing is that a new clipfish ambassador is appointed.
Last year, it was the eminent Frode Kristensen of Matmerk who received the honorable assignment.
This year, it was Sverre Olav Sebjørnsen who was accepted into the ambassadorial corps.
Raised in Madeira and introduced to clipfish almost with his mother's milk, he is also someone who knows his clipfish.
In fact, his shop is the shop that sells the most clipfish in all of Norway, you just have to bow in admiration!!
I would like to wish Sverre good luck with the important task he has been given, but I am absolutely certain that the job will be done with flying colors!!
Finally, I would like to thank Nils-Henning, Gunnar and Ole Christian so much for the food, it was fantastic!!
All the suppliers with Dybvik's three musketeers at the forefront for standing up and producing fabulous raw materials!!
And last but not least, I have to thank all of you dear readers who find my blog and use it for what it's worth!!
You are all gold!!