-Funding for this series has been provided in part by the following.

[ Wind whistling ] -Seafood from Norway.

-Telemark -- a world of culture and history, where nature knows no bounds, with the flavors of local delicacies.

Adventure awaits in Telemark.

[ Jet engine roaring ] -Vesteralen is a beautiful archipelago just north of Lofoten, with coastal communities and great nature.

It's all about the ocean... and of course food.

A spectacular future of more food from the ocean is perhaps in the north of Norway.

-Welcome to Vesteralen.

[ Dramatic music plays ] ♪♪ [ Eagle cries ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -Join me on a journey where we will meet people who live, work, and enjoy life right here in the far north.

I'm Arne Hjeltnes, and I'm looking for exotic places and interesting people.

-I'm Stig Bareksten, and I'm looking for the good drinks and exciting flavors.

-I'm Frida Ronge, and I'm looking for the best local food.

♪♪ -Welcome to "People of the North."

Havfarm, the ocean farm, is anchored three miles out in the ocean and is one of the new constructions which represents the future of aquaculture.

Inge Berg is a true northern entrepreneur who has created life and values far beyond his home turf since he followed his dream of starting his own business in 1998.

We are out at sea at the Havfarm.

What is Havfarm?

-Well, this is a very huge offshore construction that we can produce the salmon in.

-It looks like a tanker, but it doesn't have an engine.

-No.

It's anchored in a turret.

So it's 11 anchors that are connected to a turret.

So this construction is moving around.

-Now, today, beautiful day, very calm.

It's not like this all the time.

-No, it's not like this.

We have had up to eight meters of significant waves here, which means that we can have single waves up to 15 meters.

So in the wintertime, when we have the stormy weather, it can be quite rough here, yes.

-But the salmon actually likes it to be a little bit movement in the sea.

-Yeah.

I think one of the success here is that we see the fish is happy when it's stormy weather, because, then, the water is very, very nice for them.

-Nice to use the muscles.

-Yes.

So this gives us a possibility to take new area in use and, also, have less problems, for instance, with sea lice.

-And this salmon from Nordlaks, it goes all over the world.

-Yeah.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] -At Havfarm, we naturally find Inge's daughter, Therese, who started at a young age in the family company.

She has invited Stig for a barbecue.

-It's lunchtime, and we're probably gonna have some salmon.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

From here?

-Yes.

From here.

-[ Laughs ] -Fantastic.

-Perfect.

-So, what are we doing?

-We are preparing each salmon packages with some frozen vegetables and oil and some garlic and pepper and salt.

-Yeah.

Fast food.

-Fast food.

-Fantastic.

Healthy fast food.

-And healthy fast food.

-Okay.

Let's go.

-Yeah.

[ Laughs ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -Yeah.

The only way for me to get my kids to eat fish was actually a salmon when they were small.

-Yeah.

My children also like salmon, very.

They have to like it.

-It's also -- It's also so easy to prepare it.

-Yes.

-I think this turned out well.

-Yeah.

It looks very nice.

-Ah.

This looks like salmon.

-Yes, it is salmon.

-Local salmon, Inge, from right there.

-Yes.

That's right.

-Can we taste?

-Yes, you can.

-Mmm!

Very good.

-And very easy to prepare.

-Very good.

Lovely.

[ Laughter ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ -They have their own railway -- actually, two of them.

So now we're gonna be on the Nordlaks train.

I've always been fond of trains, but this is really something new.

-Hey, hey!

-[ Laughs ] -So, it's a short railway, but it's the only railway on a boat I've been on.

It's a wonderful day for a railroad trip.

People are creative up north.

To operate this huge ocean farm, they have solved operational issues with two parallel trains on either side.

The Nordlaks trains are without doubt Norway's most unique railway.

♪♪ Vesteralen is at its most beautiful when we venture on to further adventures.

♪♪ Food is still on the agenda -- food that attracts gourmets from all over the world to Kvitnes Farm, where celebrity chef Halvar Ellingsen reigns.

Hi, Halvar!

-Come in.

[ Laughs ] -Halvar moved back home from the capital to create a unique culinary experience and a beautiful, small luxury hotel.

We are really looking forward to a night with him and his chefs.

But before the dinner, Stig would like to present his Vesteralen special.

-Yeah, Halvar.

So what do we have here?

-This is St. John's-wort, or Odin's blood.

-Ah.

Why Odin's blood?

-If you take, like, early flowers and, then, just squeeze them, it bleeds.

-Ah.

Super cool.

-So, using this, we made snaps or a bitter out of it.

-Uh-huh.

-So maybe we want to use that for your dry martini later.

-Absolutely.

Odin's blood.

That's a good name.

[ Chuckles ] -Yeah.

[ Both laugh ] -Okay.

Then we have a plan.

-Yeah.

-For more inspiration, visit our website.

peopleofthenorth.net.

-Now we are at the highlight of this day.

It's of course the martini.

So, today, I'm going to make a martini.

I'm going to use snaps or a bitter they make here at Kvitnes and some kind of local gin and some vermouth.

The snaps, or the bitter, is called Odin's blood.

I think this together will create a kind of intense and, also, bitter martini.

And I also will garnish it with some local flowers.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] We use this gin that's flavored with seaweed and salt.

Odin's blood.

♪♪ This wooden spoon -- tell me a little bit about this.

-I made it myself, actually, during corona.

I got a new hobby.

-Okay.

-[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Beautiful aroma.

[ Glasses clink ] -It's very good.

Herbal.

You get an orange twist from the flower, as well.

-This is perfect before dinner.

[ Both laugh ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ -We are far north, but here it still grows and flourishes.

Frida is really getting a lush surprise at Halvar's farm.

-This looks amazing.

Oh, my God.

I have goose bumps all over my body.

-It's like a chef's dream.

We're just letting the fields around the farm decide the menu, what's ready -- what's ready to harvest, what's ready to eat.

Now it's like prime time, so it's almost, like, overwhelming.

It's so -- -Yeah.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -I grew up half an hour from the farm.

The farm was built by my great, great granddad around 1850.

So when I got this possibility to open a restaurant on a farm with all animals, bees, vegetables, everything, it was almost like a dream come true.

-Yeah.

I understand that.

But you have been working in different places.

-Yeah.

I worked in Oslo for 10 years at top restaurants.

But this feels more like me.

-As you know, Halvar, I'm also a chef.

And I'm gonna do some cooking, as well.

So maybe I can get some vegetables from your farm.

-Of course.

-Thank you!

-Let's go grab some.

-Yes, please.

♪♪ This is my type of place.

[ Both laugh ] True flower power, this season of the year.

-Yes.

It's a lot of flowers.

-My God.

I'm gonna pick some flowers for my cooking... -Yes.

-...as well.

Halvar, I'm so curious about your vision about this place.

What is your vision with Kvitnes Gard?

-It's, like, trying to showcase Arctic cooking, what we have around us... -Yeah.

-...and trying to be as self-sufficient and sustainable as possible, like pushing the term "local food" to the limit, having livestock, using them, using the whole animal and being just creative with what we have around us.

-Okay.

I can definitely say that I'm looking forward to the dinner.

And I think it's actually starting soon, so maybe we should head in.

-Yeah.

-Nice.

-The rich vegetable garden has set Frida's mind on the meal she is going to make from Vesteralen.

But some lovely ingredients for tonight's dinner is also in the basket.

In a small village far from the gastronomy metropolis, Kvitnes Farm is presenting a world-class experience for everyone who loves wonderful cooking.

With Halvar, you can experience the best of what Vesteralen can offer.

[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ -Oh!

♪♪ -It's cooking art, but based on local ingredients and tradition and a little bit of madness, because Halvar is a fun guy who loves to surprise his guests.

-Mmm!

♪♪ Mmm.

It's delicious.

♪♪ Mmm.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Blues music plays ] ♪♪ -Adventures are lined up.

Stig and I are on our way to a museum which only has one exhibit.

And that is a boat on shore -- a boat with long tradition.

We're actually, then, inside the coastal voyage museum in Stokmarknes.

And this is one of the ships that used to go up and down the Norwegian coast.

-Ah.

It's amazing.

- Finnmarken -- it was built in Germany in 1956 and had almost 40 years of service for the people along our very long and rugged coast.

♪♪ It was stylish in the old days.

-Absolutely.

-Traveling along the coast in this kind of lounge.

♪♪ [ Whimsical music plays ] -Sten Magne, you have been a captain on this ship?

-Well, yes.

I have been very lucky.

I've been the captain here.

-Was it better in the old days in this boat than the new ones?

-For me as a captain, I think you had to follow the development in the society.

I like to see the new things and use the new boats.

But of course my heart is in this old boat, like this.

-[ Laughs ] -It's still an experience to go on the coastline, even though these ships are different from the ones today.

-Ah, the ships and, also, where they sail and all these islands and fjords and northern lights and the midnight sun and the culture and the fishermen and everything -- oh, so much to see here.

-After our historic meet with the proud vessel and the charming captain, both who are, by the way, on land, it's time for a coffee break in our hotel in Stokmarknes.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ The view is really something, in every way.

The distance between the cities Stokmarknes and Sortland is short.

Both has brand-new hotels for us travelers.

At Stokmarknes, it is Inge from the ocean farm who has built a long-awaited modern hotel.

At Sortland, it is the fishery family Holmoy who has provided a super-new hotel.

For more inspiration, visit our website, peopleofthenorth.net.

♪♪ [ Dramatic music plays ] ♪♪ And it's actually the family Holmoy we are going to get to know better.

They are not only building hotels, but have invested a lot in a modern fishery facility, with employment for many.

Holmoy has both traditional fisheries and aquaculture.

Food from the ocean is the reason why people live in Vesteralen.

The boss himself, Knut, is our guide.

We're gonna have a look at what people do for a living in Vesteralen, in this beautiful archipelago.

-And the capacity of this farm is?

-The capacity is 5,500 tons.

Now we're talking about 40 million dinners.

-That's amazing.

-Yeah.

-And that's more dinners than the people in Vesteralen can eat.

-Ah.

They could eat here every day, and they will not have the possibility to eat it up.

So [chuckles] I think this is a very sustainable production.

-What kind of fisheries are you into?

-We are in -- We have trawlers.

-Yeah.

-We fish whitefish in the Barents Sea, the North Sea.

-Cod?

-Cod, saithe, haddock, black halibut.

And, also, in the last 10 years, we have been involved in the shrimp fishery.

-Yeah.

♪♪ And it started with your grandfather came here.

Because you're not from this area.

-My father -- he come from the west coast of Norway.

-Yeah.

-In the area around Alesund.

The activity here was fishery, and he was involved in this very young.

-So he saw the opportunities that lie in the ocean.

-He saw the opportunities in the ocean, and he saw, also, that the thing was developing.

We get quotas.

It was not useful before, but now they have quotas and the possibility to having his own vessel and yeah, to make a company of this.

-Ola Helge Holmoy is a legend on the coast.

4 years old, he came to Vesteralen from the south of Norway.

His father was a teacher, but Ola Helge wanted to be a fisherman.

He worked hard and mortgaged everything he and his wife, Helene, owned.

Their efforts made this to a cornerstone investor own.

They actually started with the salmon farming in Norway around 40-something years ago.

And your father was also quick to grab the opportunity there.

-[ Laughs ] I think he was searching for the possibility to develop the company has.

And I think he also said that it seems to be that the salmon industry will grow a lot and this will be the future here in this area.

-How important is it for you to maintain this as a family business?

-I grew up with this, so... -You didn't have a choice.

-I didn't have a choice.

And I haven't learned anything else.

So, now, for us, when you are working with the biology and in the fish farm and, also, out in the Barents Sea and what we're fishing, we need to have long terms.

And my intention is to do the same as my father, to have the possibility to develop the company and maybe our family, our family members, to still work here.

-So your view is eternal?

-Yeah.

-Generation after generation?

-Absolutely.

[ Laughs ] -If you're a family company, you can do whatever you want, like getting the world-famous, renowned architects Snohetta to design your fish facility.

Can you tell me a little bit of everything that you have invested in here in little Sortland?

-[ Laughs ] No.

We built our own location here with a main office.

We have some small hotel room for our employees when they are here.

We have this storage for the frozen fish, storage for the equipment we need to the fish farms and to the trawlers.

And we have the control center for the production of salmon.

For us, it was important to build something that was modern and interesting, especially to find the young people who want to work here.

-But you have not only invested in your own business here, you have also been invested in the community.

-I think this is a symbol of the local ownership along the coast that we also need activity around our activity.

It's necessary so people want to live here, they want to stay here.

So therefore, we have invested in different kind of other business that is -- -Not fish.

-Not fish.

[ Both laugh ] -The Holmoy family has an eternity perspective for their engagement in Vesteralen.

Our chef Frida is also engaged in her meal based on the local goodies from this area.

She has ordered a fish from a young lady from a local family.

-Have you ordered a salmon?

-Yes?

-Yes, I have.

Thank you so much.

It's gonna be perfect.

for the sushi I'm gonna make, with you, actually.

I'm gonna teach you how to cook maki rolls of salmon from Vesteralen.

-I can't wait to learn that.

[ Laughs ] -Yeah.

Let's go in.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ -So, here is the mackerel with salmon, spring onion, cucumber, and avocado.

-Looks perfect.

-[ Laughs ] Now it's your turn.

-[ Sighs ] Okay.

Right.

Okay.

I start with this one.

-Exactly.

-Yes.

And then rice.

-Yes.

Exactly.

And then water and then rice.

What is your connection between salmon and sushi?

-I think sushi is a very interesting dish, actually, because, you know, normally, you think of Japan when you think of sushi.

-Yeah.

-And that's normal, because it's a big tradition there.

-Yeah.

-But adding salmon in sushi is actually a Norwegian invention.

And I think that is very interesting.

It has had a huge impact on the Norwegian salmon industry, I think so.

-Of course.

Because it's so many people in Japan and in Asia.

-Yeah.

And I don't think that it's too many Norwegian people who actually knows this.

-Knows that.

No, exactly.

-Yeah.

It's very interesting.

-That's a funny story.

-Yeah.

Something like this?

-Perfect.

-Right?

-And then it's just to do the closing process.

-Just to do the closing process.

-[ Laughs ] Exactly.

-I'm definitely not a sushi chef.

-But it looks perfect.

So yeah, you can do it with your hands without the mat.

It's perfect.

-[ Chuckles ] I hope it tastes better than it looks.

-Yeah!

I think this looks perfect.

-[ Laughs ] -She's the next sushi chef here in Vesteralen, maybe.

[ Laughs ] Today, I'm gonna cook Nordic Japanese sushi and sashimi -- or, actually, it's called tataki.

So, when you have torched the salmon, you just cut it up into half-centimeter slices.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] Then I have made some nice toppings -- fennel, pickled shallots, turnip, spring onion, some cilantro, and roasted garlic.

♪♪ -Okay.

This looks like a lunch.

-Yes.

-And this is your creation?

-Yeah.

So good.

Right?

-Mm-hmm.

Very good.

-Yeah.

And it's kind of easy.

-Yeah.

Kind of.

[ Laughs ] -So you get a really international cuisine if you come here from faraway places.

-Hmm.

-Watch the nature, enjoy everything that's up here.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then you can get a meal like this.

-Exactly.

-I had to break up a fantastic lunch, but -- [ Ship horn blows ] There's our ship.

We have to go.

Bye-bye, Vesteralen.

Come on.

It's only here for one hour.

-[ Laughs ] -We are going southward with a coastal voyage from lovely Vesteralen to another coastal paradise, Lofoten.

One of the main attractions on this coastal voyage is of course a trip into Trollfjord.

And it's quite narrow and not so long.

-109 yards and 1 1/2 miles.

-So it's only 109 yards?

-Yeah.

-How big is the vessel?

-Probably the same.

-[ Laughs ] More or less.

So we're going into the bottom of the Trollfjord.

Where there's fish, there are birds.

Our keen birdwatcher, Frida, is on an excursion to get close to one of the majestic air masters of the coast.

-Hey!

Frida!

-[ Laughs ] [ Ship horn blows ] -For more inspiration, visit our website, peopleofthenorth.net.

-Just after 30 seconds, when we went off Havila to this smaller boat, we saw eagles.

And they are feeding it with herring and some bread.

I think we saw around, like, seven or eight eagles, or -- I don't know -- maybe it was the same that came a couple of times.

But anyway, it was truly amazing.

[ Dramatic music plays ] ♪♪ -The coast up north invites you to great adventure in the air, in the sea, or on a plate.

A trip to Vesteralen has all of this.

Our recommendation?

Go north.

♪♪ ♪♪ -For more inspiration, visit our website... -Funding for this series has been provided in part by the following -- [ Wind whistling ] -Seafood from Norway.

-Telemark -- a world of culture and history, where nature knows no bounds, with the flavors of local delicacies.

Adventure awaits in Telemark.

[ Jet engine roaring ]