It is a special declaration of love engraved in the right forearm of Tor-Emil Sivertsen. With dark ink, indelible. Sivertens tattoo does not honor his wife, his mother or a rock band. "Cod is great" is written in thick letters. "Cod is great."
The popular food fish, which enjoys swimming in the Barents Sea at a depth of around 200 meters, has been guaranteeing the survival of people in northern Norway for centuries. "For me, every meal is a piece of history," says Sivertsen, "because without the fish, most would not live in Vardø." He runs a restaurant here in the remote fishing nest in the far east of the country.
The 38-year-old cook, tall, bald, trimmed beard, stands in front of the fish factory at the harbor in the late morning and picks up the fresh goods. Wave after wave, the water splashes against the quay walls. Although the boats are firmly anchored, they still bob up and down like drunks. "On the choppy sea, I'm not so good," confesses the Norwegian. "But I immediately recognize the quality of the fish caught." Supposedly, there is this region with the best cod in Scandinavia.
Sivertsen points to the corrugated iron-clad former caviar factory, where the "Cod is great" message is written in huge letters - the model for his tattoo. The Lobhudelei is one of about 50 street-art objects, with the twelve internationally known artist Vardøs facades adorned four years ago during the so-called "Koma Fest".
In Vardø some shops are empty, the plaster crumbles from the walls. On the main road are a few cars, on foot no one is traveling. On a wall of a house a pink fish opens its mouth, about to eat a tiny boat. In a side street, a street art artist tapped the face of a former resident out of the plaster of a facade.
"Just a quick beer"
The most northerly street art festival in the world was curated by the Norwegian artist Pøbel. The idea: Creative people should deal with the loss of population in the region and especially in Vardø. After the artists transformed the deserted places into colorful focal points, the small town flourished. For the first time more people came here than away. With about 2100 inhabitants, it is still manageable, but in a community like this, every one counts.
With so few locals, it is all the more noticeable when visitors come - in Vardø especially cruise passengers. For almost one hour a day, the population increases by about 500 - and always at 15.45 clock, when the Hurtigruten passenger ship. It announces itself with a piercing sound.
However, passengers can miss the scattered Street Art Gallery as well as the local cuisine of Tor-Emil Sivertsen for a maximum of 45 minutes of shore leave. His restaurant, which belongs to the Vardø Hotel, is located near the pier. "Most passengers only drink a quick beer with us," says the chef, looking out at the sea through the large windows of his hotel. Until a few minutes ago, dark clouds hung over the sky. Now the wind has pushed her out to the Barents Sea. In the distance the fish factories glitter.
Factory hours and sausages made from king crab meat
"I used to work in a local factory - like everyone else here - after school, cutting codfish tongues, for example." He financed his first bike and later the driver's license. He learned to cook from his grandmother. His sons, five and six years old, already own their own professional knife set and cook privately on a regular basis.
Sivertsen has since made a name for itself in the restaurant business. He has already won prizes for the best cod preparation in northern Europe. He presented several times in Northern Norway at the Green Week, an internationally important agricultural and nutrition fair, which takes place annually in Berlin.
The cook ties his apron and rolls up his sleeves. Around 6 pm, the first guests arrive, who are fond of ordering "Cod is great" - because the street art slogan has also made it onto his menu. At the court, Sivertsen adds codfish to the cod this evening, making the meat into sausages and cooking them before frying them crisply.
The Norwegian stirs in four pots at the same time, tastes the stock seasoned with spices and vegetables. He only slightly salted the fish fillets, otherwise he adds nothing to them. In the end, the chef drapes everything on the plate. In the middle towers on a bed of vegetables for the Norwegians so great cod.
Alva Gehrmann
Recipe for "Cod is great" - cod with king crab
Ingredients for four: 600 g cod fillet, 500 g king crab with shell, 1 anise star, 1 lemongrass stick, 2 lime leaves, 2 tbsp green pepper, 1 carrot, 1/2 leek, 1/2 fennel, 1 can of tomatoes, red onions, Root vegetables, spinach leaves, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, rapeseed oil, white wine vinegar, butter and 0.5 dl cognac.
Preparation: Salt the cod fillet lightly and fry in rapeseed oil for about eight minutes. The meat of the king crab is pulled from the cut-up dishes. It is wrapped in plastic wrap and cooked for ten minutes at 56 degrees Celsius in a steam bath. Later take the crab sausages from the foil and fry them.
In parallel, fry the brown crab shells in another pan until they turn pink. The bowls are placed in the fond, in which the cube-shaped root vegetables and the spices are now simmering. Cognac is added and everything is flambéed. Then add the canned tomatoes and water. Simmer for about 30 minutes. At the end, sift through the amount and boil the rear strong. For the sauce, take 2-3 dl of the stock, add 1 dl of cream, some white wine vinegar and cream and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Also some butter. As a side dish there is fried red onion, root vegetables and spinach.
Alva Gehrmann works as a freelance journalist for SPIEGEL ONLINE. The trip was supported by Visit Norway and the Northern Norway Tourist Board.
