Five Minutes With… Heidi Bjerkan

Up next in Jenny Jefferies’ ‘Five Minutes With’ series is Norwegian chef Heidi Bjerkan. After developing a love for cooking from a young age, she opened her first restaurant back in 1998, Crudo, which now stands as one of Norway’s top restaurants. Heidi was a pioneer in farm-to-fork cuisine, always prioritising relationships with farmers and producers – hence Crudo’s green Michelin star, awarded in 2019. She also had an eight-year stint as the Norwegian royal family’s head chef. Nowadays, Heidi is focusing her attention on a new project: the cafe and staff cafeteria at the National Library in Oslo – with a restaurant on the cards for 2025. We hear more below.

Interview with Norwegian Chef Heidi Bjerkan

Your cooking has strong connections with the land and sea. How was this developed throughout your childhood and into the present day?

With a continuous curiosity for food traditions, and inspiration from the producers. Because of their knowledge, I have learned the importance of good soil and methods based on craftsmanship that benefits the Earth. There is so much to learn about food cycles as it’s connected to everything. I strongly believe we need to take care of and preserve our ancestors’ knowledge before it gets lost, and this keeps me going.

How did your career within the food industry begin?

It was a random coincidence. I wanted to be a pilot, but at 18, I started working in a cafe in Oslo. My grandfather also taught me much about fishing and seafood early on. I am a curious person and I found there was a lot to learn about food, and thrived well working in the kitchen. 

You will be opening a brand new concept in the National Library in Oslo later this year. What can you tell us about it?

Yes, we are very excited about it! We will continue the legacy of Credo, but the format will be a bit different. Our work in the library will be to share and take care of knowledge, cultural heritage, and Norwegian traditions. We will be operating a cafe and canteen, and developing a restaurant where we will host workshops. The guests will be able to integrate the knowledge not just by tasting, but by doing. We are still developing the concepts, but the most important for me now is to convey cultural heritage and knowledge that is slowly getting lost.  

Sustainability can feel like a futile word nowadays, but what does it mean to you?

Sustainability to me is knowing everything is connected and being conscious of everything we do, a way of living that doesn’t compromise with the planet’s natural ecosystems. And It’s not as hard as most people may think – just start composting to create soil and you’ve done a lot.

What is ‘better’ food and how do you promote that?

Local food that tells a story. For example, in Norway that would be herring, potato, and sour cream.

Who is your food hero?

No one in particular, but all our farmers and fishermen who produce our food and feed the soil.

What’s your ultimate goal?

To teach and inspire people to make healthy choices for themselves and the Earth.

Which is more important, the food, or the stories?

Both! You can’t have one without the other.

Favourite meal of all time?

I think it has to be potatoes with butter. I will never get tired of that taste!