Kjartan Skjelde

Kjartan was born and raised in Stavanger, Norway, and still lives and works there today as the founder and owner of two restaurants: Tango and Fish & Cow brasserie. He is a high-profile chef locally, having appeared as a judge on TV series MasterChef Norway and Camp Kulinaris and has penned four cook books. He places his focus on produce and provenance, good ingredients and cooking from scratch. He uses seasonal produce, making the most of the wilds of Norway and he is keen to bring Nordic fine dining to the world-stage. He is creating a bespoke six-course taster menu exclusively for The Epicurean.

“What is most important for me is to build a strong Nordic cuisine that comes across in every dish I create. Working with P&O Cruises, I want guests to be able to smell, taste and see that each dish of my six-course taster menu for The Epicurean is truly Norwegian. I use local, seasonal ingredients in all of my dishes along with traditional Norwegian cooking methods. Our cuisine is built on the produce of our land and the methods used to preserve through the long winters." – Kjartan Skjelde

"Traditionally we eat a lot of dried fish but with a long coastline and fish so readily available, today’s Nordic chefs are looking at new ways of cooking fresh fish. Using fish that swim in our cold mountain water, lambs that graze on our salt marshes, beetroots picked from a small local island and cooking these ingredients with traditional Norwegian methods – guests will be able to taste Norway through every bite.” – Kjartan Skjelde

Nordic chef Kjartan shares his love for the exciting flavours of his homeland with a six-course tasting menu in The Epicurean. Dedicated to using wild and traditional ingredients as fresh and natural as the Norwegian fjords, our Local Food Hero brings the best on board exclusively for you.

Award-winning chef, TV presenter and author, Kjartan is a famous face in his native Norway. He is the founder of two famous restaurants, Tango and the Fish & Cow, in his birthplace town of Stavanger - one of the calls on your Norway cruise. Happy to take questions and let you in on his influences and inspirations, Kjartan joins Iona exploring Norway to champion the place he calls home.