Kvitnes Gård is located halfway between Lofoten and Vesterålen. It's an old farm, it was actually one of the largest farms in the area for a long, long time, and there have probably been people living on the farm at "all times". We opened in February 2020 and have since then developed into one of Norway's best restaurants. We've even been named the Nordic region's best food destination!

In addition to the restaurant, we are a fully operational farm. We have lots of wild sheep, Nordic cows, wool pigs, chickens, goats, bees and a significant vegetable production. In fact, we're self-sufficient in herbs and vegetables all year round. We are immediately certified organic and we take pride in leaving as small a footprint as possible. Our goal is for the farm, the people and the environment to feel a little better every day.

We have 15 double rooms, all with private bathrooms. They are refurbished in the same style as the rest of the farm. You won't find a TV in our rooms, and we also hope that our guests manage to limit their mobile phone use while they're with us, as there are plenty of nice things to rest their eyes on.

If you'd like, you're welcome to join the morning animal care before breakfast. The farm is located well outside Sortland (40 km), which is the nearest town. The village we belong to has a population of about 400. You won't be bothered by noise from cars, or trains so to speak.

Day 1

You arrive at the farm in the afternoon, check in and get a tour of the farm. We get to know each other and we talk about what we will do together in the next few days. Before dinner, we get an introduction to how we produce kombucha, raw juices, kefir and other non-alcoholic drinks that we serve on the farm. You get starter cultures home with you so you can try it yourself.

This evening you will be served a three-course menu prepared by our chefs. And if the weather permits, we'll end the evening outside around the fire in the courtyard, hopefully under a starry and northern light-filled winter sky.

Day 2

If you wish, you can start the day with a sea bath and sauna, followed by breakfast. After breakfast, there will be morning stretching and stress management with Liv in the yellow barn. Afterwards, Cathrine will hold a small cultivation course where we sow some seeds together and Cathrine gives some tips and tricks and an introduction to organic vegetable growing. There will be some theory, but most of it will take place around the bench while we work. After the course, you'll receive a seed pack to take home with you.

After having our fingers in the soil for a while, it's time for lunch and a little break. The twilight light in early February is often quite a light! So after lunch, we'd like to take you out on one of the easy but scenic hikes behind the farm. If there's a lot of fresh snow, we can grab our snowshoes, otherwise it's often easy to get up just on your feet too.

When we get back to the farm, we'll have a little warming broth around the fire. For those who want to get a little extra warm, the sauna is ready for use. There will be some time for rest and alone time until dinner, which this evening will consist of five courses.

Day 3

We start this day like the last. A sea bath and sauna for the morning birds, breakfast from 08.30 and another round of stretching and breathing with Liv after breakfast. Afterwards, it will be a good round with herbs and wild plants. Cathrine will share her knowledge about the properties and uses of the various herbs. You'll be able to taste and smell different dried herbs and also mix your own herbal tea. Of course, you'll also get to taste some of the different herbal teas we've made here on the farm, as well as some of our herb frames (or maybe it's best to just smell so early in the day?) With the herbal teas, you'll also get some fresh pastries from our French baker Tom.

You'll also get a little course in sausage making! Together with Halvar, you'll make both fresh and cured sausages. You'll take the fresh sausages home with you when you leave, while we'll send you the cured sausages when they're ready. Of course, we use meat and raw materials from the farm during production.

If the weather is good, we eat our lunch outside today, around the fire either in the forest or down by the shore on the farm. We have a fairly large peninsula on the farm, Kvitnesklubben, where it's really nice to stroll around alone or together. And where there are lots of nice rocks and stumps you can sit down to just take in and just be a little.

After lunch and some fresh air, the day continues with a small fermentation course. We'll be fermenting vegetables and tasting things we've previously fermented and preserved. What we make together will be sent to you in the post when it's finished fermenting. We'll explain lacto-fermentation and make it harmless, so you'll have enough in your backpack to do this when you get home.

After a day with lots of flavors and lots of food talk, there will be a little afternoon stretch with Liv before it's time for a sauna, a little cuddle with the animals or a nice little afternoon nap.

This evening you will be served our tasting menu. Here we will sit at the dinner table for a few hours and you will really get to know how the farm and the area around us can taste.

Day 4

After the big dinner the day before, we have breakfast a little later and it is followed by a real compost talk. Cathrine will explain a little about the actual composting process and what's so great about compost. There are many different ways to convert organic waste into something nutritious and "new" and it's really nice to be able to exchange some experiences about this.

After the compost talk, Liv will take us on a final "stretch", shake us loose a little and share some exercises that are nice to take home to the often stressful everyday life.

Then we round off these days with a sausage party! If the weather is nice, we grill the sausages we made the day before outside on the fire, if the weather is nasty, we move into the Stabburet and grill them over an open flame inside instead.

Halvar Ellingsen

Halvar is a chef and co-owner of Kvitnes Gård. He lived in Oslo for a long time and worked in some of Norway's best restaurants before moving home and starting Kvitnes Gård. Nobody knows what he actually does at Kvitnes Gård, but he now hangs around here and comes up with things, sometimes it's smart and feasible, but most often it's something completely different from exactly that. Halvar will be teaching the fermentation course and the sausage course together with some of our other chefs.

Liv Skrudland

Liv is a firework of a person. She has a multifaceted background as a concert singer and choir conductor, music teacher and cultural bureaucrat. In recent years, she has changed the direction of her wanderings and runs her own company, Livsliv, where she runs courses in breathing and movement, stress management and presence. She prefers to be out in nature and uses it actively to meet the people she encounters in her work. Creating experiences where people can co-create and share good experiences is an important pillar of Liv's work. Together with Liv, you will be able to settle into your body and breath with the Morning Stretch, get some good stress management techniques and shake things up a bit before your days are filled with the experiences Kvitnes gives you on all levels. www.livsliv.no

Cathrine Thoresen

Cathrine has worked on the farm since we opened. She has a hand in everything that happens on the farm. She started out as a restaurant manager, but lucky for us she's also a trained gardener and beekeeper and has always had a great passion for herbs and wild plants. She is co-owner of the farm and knows everything there is to know about cultivation, wine and what it's like to run a restaurant on a farm in Vesterålen. Together with Cathrine you will sow seeds, get an introduction to compost and taste and learn more about herbs.

Tatiana

"We're lucky that Tatiana has worked with us for a couple of years now. She's dating our farmer Jølle and the two of them, along with their young daughter, have bought a house not far from the farm. She's usually a waitress, but she's also responsible for all our non-alcoholic drinks. She presses, juices, ferments and conjures up fantastic drinks. She will give you an introduction to how you can do this at home. In addition, we will taste things she has made in the past.

Mark

He has worked at Gården since May 2024. He came to us after working with Northern Lights guiding, hiking and snowshoeing in Alta and Tromsø. He will be taking you on a tour of the area around the farm. He is calm, humorous and adapts the tours according to your shape, daily form, weather and wind. Markus is German, understands some Norwegian but speaks English.

Mattias

It's Mattias you want to get in touch with before you come to us. He answers emails and makes sure you get the information you need before you come to us. You will probably also meet him when you arrive at the farm. If you have any questions, you can reach him at booking@kvitnes.com.

What's included and price:

-Daily morning stretching and stress management sessions with Liv Skrudland

-3 nights accommodation on the farm - from Sunday 2.2 to Wednesday 5.2

- Breakfast every day

- Lunch every day

- Dinners every day (3-course, 5-course and our 17-course tasting menu)

- Guided hiking tours

- Free access to our sauna

- Cultivation course and seed package to take home

- Sausage course - you get to take home what we make

- Introduction to the use of herbs and wild plants. Make your own herbal tea to take home.

- Introduction to composting

- Fermentation course - we will send you what we make on the course

- Introduction to non-alcoholic and fermented drinks such as kefir and kombucha

- Tour the farm and learn how we work

Price in single room: 15900,- (inc VAT)

Price in a double room for two people: 23900,- (inc VAT)

We recommend that you take SK 4086, which departs from Gardermoen at 11:05 and lands at Harstad/Narvik Evenes at 12:55. If there are many people taking this flight, we can organize joint transport all the way from the airport to the farm. On the return SK4095 - 16:40 or with Norwegian 15:40 are also nice departures for carpooling and joint transportation. Other options are flights to Stokmarknes/Skagen via Bodø. Or you can drive to the farm - unfortunately, public transportation is limited and difficult.

You only need to pack indoor clothes and outdoor clothes. We don't have a dress code, so bring clothes you feel comfortable in. Indoors we have a "no shoe policy", but we do have wool vests to borrow. Bring warm, windproof and waterproof clothing. As well as good outdoor footwear.

Yes, we feel we can safely say that. We make individual adjustments here and there as needed.

Any other questions

If you have any other questions, don't wait any longer - just send us an email to booking@kvitnes.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

How do I book and pay for my stay?

Send us an email to booking@kvitnes.com with the name of the person you are booking for, whether you have any allergies, whether you want a double or single room and who you want to stay with. We also need an email address and preferably the itinerary you are planning - this is so that we can coordinate with other participants in the best possible way.

Shortly after booking, you will receive an invoice for a 25% deposit, which must be paid within 7 days or we will consider the stay canceled. A month before the actual gathering, you will receive a new invoice with the remaining amount. If you are booking on behalf of more than one person, please provide the names of everyone, email, any allergies, telephone number and an email address to which we can send an invoice.

All bookings are binding and deposits are non-refundable after payment has been made. If canceled later than 1 month before the gathering, the total amount will have to be paid in full.
If you have to cancel due to health reasons, you need to contact your insurance company to seek a refund from there. Kvitnes gård is not responsible for refunds related to health issues.

Weather conditions

Vesterålen is a weather-prone place in the world and you can experience very varied weather all year round. If the trip is canceled due to weather conditions, no refund will be given. However, to date, we have not experienced having to close the restaurant or events.

Cancellation of stay

Kvitnes drift as reserves the right to cancel if there are too few registrations or due to other circumstances beyond our control. In such cases, you will be refunded 100% of payments made to us. Kvitnes drift as does not cover any additional costs you may have, such as non-refundable airline tickets, equipment, accommodation or other travel-related expenses. In order to avoid financial losses, we recommend that you have a good travel insurance before departure.