A NORDIC AWAKENING

MONIQUE CECCATO heads beyond Norway's capital to discover some of the country's finest culinary experiences.

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A SWIRLING MIST HANGS OVER THE WINDING road ahead, forcing me to slow to a crawl.

Just beyond the passenger window, the icy cold torrent of Furebergsfossen waterfall thunders down the fjordside. It's not the first waterfall I've crossed here in Norway's southwest. The scenic routes that connect Bergen and Stavanger are peppered with photo-worthy cascades, mountain-flanked fjords and tiny timber towns hosting hospitality heavyweights.

My culinary discovery road trip, curated by Up Norway, began in Stavanger, the country's oil and gas capital, just under an hour's flight from Oslo. Characterised by a quaint, pub-lined harbour and cobbled streets, it has an unusually high concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants. Re-Naa, the grandfather of fine-dining in Stavanger, is one of only two restaurants with three stars in all of Norway. "We're a very young country when it comes to Michelin stars," says Torill Renaa who, along with her chef husband Sven Erik, has worked tirelessly over the past 15 years to transform the culinary scene in regional Norway. "When it comes to Stavanger, the first liquor license outside of the local pub came in the '90s. This area was extremely religious, so the development that happened in that period of time is huge."