Maaemo is old Norse for "Mother Earth" culinary

 

CNN - CULINARY

 

This story complements the Culinary Journeys TV series, airing monthly on CNN International.

See more of the show here: cnn.com/journeys.

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Norway's a land that lends itself to storytelling.

 

From the gods of Norse myth, to fairytale trolls roaming mountain and forest, to sailors' yarns swept in from the fjord-studded coast, there have always been tales to tell during Norway's long winter nights.

 

Danish chef Esben Holmboe Bang, co-owner of Maaemo, the world's most northerly Michelin-starred restaurant, is the country's latest storyteller extraordinare -- and this February he got a third Michelin star to prove it.

Maaemo is old Norse for "Mother Earth" or "all that is living," and the nightly set menu of 20+ dishes is a work of culinary theater: a re-telling of Norway's history and food culture, from soil to sea.

An emotional experience

"We try to give people an emotional experience," Holmboe Bang tells CNN.

"Coming to a restaurant is one of the single most beautiful things in the world.

"We get to hold people's hearts for three and a half hours and completely control their experience.

"It's all about reading the guest and trying to see what are their expectations."