Enjoy a culinary experience as you savor the aromas and flavors of a Norwegian koldtbord (buffet table) of traditional foods including meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, breads, and the ever-popular dessert karamell pudding. The koldtbord knows no season or culinary boundaries but comes with plenty of customs and food traditions. Learn the proper order of eating the foods and serving them. Through demonstrations and hands-on preparation, students will prepare a beautiful koldtbord. There will be a taster’s fee. This class will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. March 9 and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. March 10.

The festive table decor from Phil Odden’s carving class will be used as the decorations for this class. Phil’s class Carving Festive Table Decor participants will have the opportunity to join the group for dinner. (Cost will be determined according to number of participants.)

Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 12-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.

Darlene Fossum-Martin of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. She has written articles on traditional Norwegian food and customs for various magazines. Darlene has also coordinated and led two Vesterheim folk-art study tours to Norway—one of which included a two-week traditional Norwegian cooking class at a folk high school in Voss.

Learn how to prepare a festive Norwegian meal with time to practice and prepare before the holidays. The main coarse will be baked salmon with a delicious butter sauce flavored with lemon and dill, accompanied by boiled potatoes and an assortment of baked root vegetables, which grow well in Norway and are very popular at all Scandinavian meals. There will be a dessert made with heavy cream and topped with fruit. To make the meal complete, there will be freshly baked flat bread, a must at all Scandinavian tables. There will be a taster’s fee.

Level of instruction: All levels.

Howard Amundson is a self taught cook. He received his first knowledge of cooking from his mother at a very early age and was cooking for the entire family by age ten. He later operated a small catering business. It was after he and his wife joined several Norwegian organizations that he became interested in Scandinavian food. Howard is now retired and cooks for his own pleasure.

Through demonstration and hands-on experience, we will prepare the ever popular potato lefse, using time-proven techniques. We will also prepare dessert lefse, which is often found on many coffee tables in Norway. This class will provide three variations of one of Norway’s most traditional foods—flatbrød. There will be a taster’s fee. In order for students to get the full experience of preparing lefse, class will be from 6:00-9:00 p.m. on Oct. 12 and 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Oct. 13.

Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 12-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.

Darlene Fossum-Martin of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. She has written articles on traditional Norwegian food and customs for various magazines. Darlene has also coordinated and led two Vesterheim folk-art study tours to Norway—one of which included a two-week traditional Norwegian cooking class at a folk high school in Voss.

Brewing beer and mead are very old traditions and have been a custom in Norway for many centuries. Ale, or øl, was once brewed year round in rural Norwegian communities, but is now mainly brewed for the Christmas season. Carry on an old holiday tradition, or start a new one, by brewing your own jul øl, Christmas beer. Lyle will demonstrate techniques that he learned from a Dutch immigrant 25 years ago and developed over the ensuing years. Beer (ale type) and mead will be demonstrated for the beginning brewer. Bottling the products will also be demonstrated and samples will be available.

Level of instruction: All levels.

Lyle Otte comes from Northfield, Minnesota, and has lived in Decorah 30 years. A retired high school social studies teacher, he now works part-time as the volunteer coordinator for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at the Decorah Public Library. He is an Open Air Division guide at Vesterheim and pursues his hobby of learning about and preserving local history in Decorah. Lyle and his wife Sue hike the hills of the Northeast Iowa region seeking recreation and fossils.