‘We work with the sea. We are part of the sea. It is in our DNA,' explains Tani Gurra. The beverage director of the Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten, Gurra is also the brains behind Havets Bobler: the sea-aged sparkling wine served in the fine dining restaurants on board Hurtigruten’s ships. The wine encapsulates the company’s historic approach towards Norway, and toward ensuring their passengers' connection with this remarkable country runs as deep as those bottles, aged 30m below sea level. Hurtigruten know that the best medium through which to understand a country’s culture, landscape and people is through its drink and food. 

They don’t stockpile ingredients before setting off, like most cruise companies, and their culinary offering is not ‘international’. For over 130 years, Hurtigruten – which translates as ‘fast route’ – has transported people, mail, goods and food along the Norwegian coastline, and its sourcing pays homage to that history. They still follow the old postal route, and each port stop still brings both post, new passengers (the ships are still beloved by locals as a means of visiting friends and family), and fresh produce from that specific area. There's blue cheese from a 722-year old dairy in Torjulvågen, cider from a family-run ciderhouse in Balestrand, shellfish from Trondheimsfjord, Norway’s oldest mussel farmer. In an era where cruise food often means produce sourced from all over the world, with more regard to shelf life than season, Hurtigruten is a breath of fresh air.

They see the Norwegian coast as their kitchen, the ocean floor as their wine cellar, and their restaurants and bars as a means of showcasing the country’s cuisine and produce as it changes from port to port. Havet’s Bobler hails from the north of Norway, where it ages beneath the waves at around 5°C (41°F). The wine itself is a classic cuvée made in the traditional method in Sussex, England – but the Arctic conditions in which it ages are unique. The consistent darkness of the sea floor, the constant gentle movement of the waves and the steady temperature are ideal for maturation and may even enhance the wine, creating softer bubbles and more rounded tannins. This area, just north of the Lofoten Islands, is also famed for its seafood. There are prawns and shrimp crisp and fresh from the cold waters of Lyngenfjord, Bottarga Borealis, the cod’s roe beloved by the world’s Michelin-starred restaurants and Arctic char from Kirkenes, home of the Northern Lights and the famous fresh snow hotel. 

Of the 34 coastal communities at which Hurtigruten’s Coastal Express stops on its route from Bergen to the Arctic Circle and back, food and drink is picked up at 15 of them. Condiments made from berries and herbs endemic to the island of Molta, golden aquavit made from local flora near Trondheim, sausages and cured hams crafted from wild game. There’s even Norwegian mozzarella: the on-board bistro, Brygga, is not above serving food as crowd-pleasing as pizza, but the mozzarella is made in the village of Vuku, the salami from famed meat producers, Grilstad.  A few years ago I cycled the length of France, eating, drinking and pedalling my way from Brittany to the Basque coast, and the Hurtigruten reminds me of this visceral experience. Being confined (delightfully so) to eating the food you encounter en route means you cannot help but marry the changing landscape with what is being fished, farmed, baked, brewed and distilled.   

Lofoten Seaweed is a case in point. Founded on Flakstadøya island by a local fisherman’s daughter and a New Zealander of Japanese heritage, who grew up eating seaweed, it reflects both the history and geography of Flakstadøya and the way in which it’s evolving. For centuries, this has been a fishing community, and skrei (Arctic cod) is still integral to the economy. But, the sustainability of seaweed and its growing popularity as an ingredient means there is money to be made in harvesting a plant that has long been seen as a nuisance. Eight years after setting out to hand-harvest the island’s sugar kelp, dulse and nori, Angelita Eriksen and Tamara Singer are making waves, selling their ‘blue food’ all over Norway. On Hurtigruten’s ships, their dried and fresh seaweed as well as their seaweed salt, soap and shampoo feature in the menu, in the bathrooms, and the onboard shop. They employ eight people and work side by side with the fishermen in old fishery rooms. In an industry dominated by men and machismo, they are proudly female-run. 

This culinary connection to the coast and its communities progresses over the course of the trip, as it does over the course of the restaurants’ menus. At Toget, the ship’s signature restaurant, the menu changes with each day of the voyage. On day one, Bergen brings a terrine of sheep’s head – a regional specialty, produced solely by Ivar Lonbe in Voss – and a traditional fish soup bobbing with fish dumplings made in a small cellar in Rørvik for almost a century. Day six, Kirkenes, brings the rich food culture of the Sami community, whose cuisine revolves around reindeer and the tundra’s surprising bounty of berries and herbs. There is also herring, the historic salvation of Norwegians during times of war and famine due to the size and resilience of its three-billion strong schools, and the fact the fish lends itself so well to being preserved. 

By day eleven, the ship's chefs are drawing their inspiration and produce from Trondheim, Norway’s spiritual capital and home of the iconic brown cheese and the Ringeriksert: the country’s oldest variety of pea, which is undergoing a revival as we search for sustainable protein sources that can weather all weathers. 

This is the other hallmark of Hurtigruten, the one which places it over and above all other cruises: its commitment to the sustainability of community and tradition as well as the environment. For generations, their ships have sustained communities and supported livelihoods. Their dedication to of local artisans, age old processes, small family businesses and minimal food miles supports a circular economy that is more sustainable in sprit than that of any conventional cruise line. With the help of their culinary ambassadors – local chefs who work and live along the coastline – they support 50 producers in all, from one-man bands to ancient fishing communities, and they do in a way that keeps their environmental impact down to a bare minimum.

They are the exception to an otherwise depressing rule. The environmental impact of cruises has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, and rightly so: even the most efficient cruise ships emit more CO2 per passenger kilometre than a plane, according to recent analysis. Yet Norway is committed to becoming the world’s most sustainable travel destination, and Hurtigruten is entirely on board. This applies to their commitment to zero emission ships by 2030, their ban on single use plastics and, their kitchens’ commitment to zero food waste as well as sustainable sourcing. Portion sizes are no bigger than they need be, leftover ingredients are reused where possible and food waste is saved until the Stamsund port, where it is transformed into fertiliser. That goes to Myklevik farm, where owners Åshild and Gisle grow the herbs and vegetables that – eventually – come back to the ship’s kitchens. The plan is to expand this model to other farms along the coast. 

It's a virtuous circle for them – and for those on board, it is another means of connecting their food to the fjords, farms and fishing villages they are visiting. In this day and age, there is something distasteful about consuming the food and culture of a place without consideration for your environmental impact – but that is something many people associate with cruise ships. Hurtigruten has countered that by recognising that true connection is not a linear formula, but flows from mutual respect between the land, the local people and the passengers experiencing them.  And so, just as the Coastal Express begins and ends in Bergen, so a passenger’s understanding of Norway comes full circle from place to plate.