Summer in Norway is campervan season. All around the country bulky white campervans converge in convoys, frustrating Norwegian drivers with their 30km per hour speed around bends, until they find themselves a lush patch of grass in a valley nestled by snow-capped mountains and overlooking a lake or fjord (this is not hard in Norway)

Having settled in, the campers quickly join in with one of the great Norwegian culinary traditions: grilling (or BBQing).

Grilling holds a central place in Norwegian life. You can buy single use grills from the local supermarket and even a brand of grilling beer (called Grills Pils). Grilling was also at the centre of a political debate, when a Member of Parliament from the worker’s party tried to insult someone by accusing them of being like the lazy grillers who sit around in campsites and drink beer. Outcry followed, with the politician being branded out of touch, and conservative politicians staging photo opportunities of themselves grilling and advertising the grillers were welcome in their party.

After four hours of sea-kayaking along the beautiful Geiranger Ford we decided to do some grilling for ourselves (although being all vegetarian it was not an average Norwegian grilling menu).

We bought ourselves a mini-grill, and Tim sizzled some sheets of zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, corn, and aspargus spears with olive oil, and seasoned them with pepper and sweet chilli sauce. I don’t know if was the grill, the chef, the view, or my enormous appetite whipped up by my newfound love of adventure sports, but the food tasted great. Not a bad effort for a little grill!

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