From There to Here: Gladmat - Stavanger's Food Festival

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

May and June were extremely busy full of travel and although we returned to Norway July first, we only had a week to recover from jet lag and prepare the house for my parent's arrival. After their visit, we were quite literally exhausted and so ready for some quiet time around the house but we also couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Gladmat, Scandinavia's largest food festival, taking place in Stavanger Sentrum.

I missed the festival last year as I was spending time in Canada and while Joe made an appearance, he only found his way to the Lervig beer tent and his memories are hazy at best. Apparently, Gladmat attracts some 250 000 people each year and celebrity chefs are known to make an appearance. (In 2010, Gordon Ramsay was a guest of honour.)

The food festival features many stalls where one can sample local restaurants' signature dishes; there are large stands similar to what one would find at a farmer's market selling cheese, produce, and homemade goods including typical Norwegian dishes like lefse; there are also cooking courses and competitions. It's near impossible not to find a little something for everyone.

Just before this picture was taken, I dropped 50 kr and a nice man let me know the bill was laying

beside my foot. I love living in a place where people are honest!

We made our way to the harbour around noon in hopes of sampling a few foods in lieu of lunch. The atmosphere was jovial and the crowds were large. We started by taking a preliminary walk around the entire area to view our options but as time went on, the crowds grew and so did the lines. We managed to taste a few dishes from some Asian stations but soon our patience wore out and our feet were tired. When we couldn't find a table to enjoy a beer, we picked up a few batches of berries and jumped the train back home. Next year I'll be determined to arrive a bit earlier.

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I'm honoured to be featured on Flight Network's Top 100 Canadian Travel Bloggers list. Thank you for all of your support and recognition!

13 comments:

Andi of My Beautiful Adventures21 August 2013 at 17:18
Looks like so much fun! I love food. :)
Alex, Speaking Denglish21 August 2013 at 17:20
This event sounds top notch!
http://inspiringtravellers.com21 August 2013 at 18:37
We really enjoyed this last year - seems like the weather always fines up for it too!
Jenna21 August 2013 at 19:53
Looks like so much fun!... albeit crowded. We were also at a market two weekends ago and arrived to late... despite all of the delicious smells I could only stand about 5 minutes. It seems that arriving early is a universal market tip :)

xxx
Jenna
Sarah22 August 2013 at 02:36
Yum, food festivals are so fun! It does require some planning, though, and those lines are not so enjoyable. Early arrivals are the way to go.
Unknown22 August 2013 at 11:26
Looks like fun! Congrats on being featured as a Top 100 Canadian Travel Blogger! I have loved reading all about your expat and travel adventure. Thrilled to go through the list and read about other fellow Canadian travel bloggers journeys ~ it is feeding my blog reading addiction. lol!
Nicole Marie22 August 2013 at 19:59
i LOVe food festivals in any city or country
Anonymous22 August 2013 at 20:18
Oh dear, it does look so pretty. I love how cold climates (and yes I'm thinking Canada as well as Europe), come alive in summer. Bummer about the crowds. Just dreaming of food festivals here...you know what I mean.
Shannon at One Tea, One Coffee23 August 2013 at 17:08
Hi from the Blog Hop! We're taking a trip to Norway next week and I've loved looking at your blog for inspiration! I love your story.