Skaslien Gjestgiveri
The good old-fashioned flavours
At Skaslien Gjestgiveri in Solør guests can look forward to flavoursome food. The produce is provided by local farmers, and every week the kitchen creates a new menu based on the very best ingredients the season and suppliers have to offer.
Text: Edda Espeland / Translation: Linda Vikaune / Photo: Marianne Ramstad Malone
The chefs at Skaslien are passionate about good food and serve home cooked dishes at every meal. The guest house has been renowned for their cooking from traditional and new recipes since 1952. Their philosophy is that food should be local, regional, Norwegian, with natural ingredients. You can tell by the flavour, especially when the vegetables have been picked out of the ground on the same day as the chef prepares the daily menu in the kitchen.
The animals lead a good life outside all year round. The chefs utilise the entire animal, making stock from the bones and sausages, soups and stews from the meat, and everything prepared to make the dishes wholesome and tasty. The hosts care about where their produce comes from, they like to know their suppliers, how they cultivate their land and treat their livestock. They cooperate closely with specialist and ecological suppliers to source unusual and top quality meat, poultry and vegetables, including Hereford beef, game and the very special Mangalitsa-pig. The guest house is surrounded by large forests with lots of lovely berries and mushrooms, and there is pike in the lake – when they are in season, these are also included in the menu.
The chefs and waiters will of course recommend good drinks to compliment the menu, from locally produced raspberry drinks or sweet apple cider to good wines or their own beer brewed on the premises. Pål Snapa has established his own microbrewery in the cellar where he researches local produce which can be used in the brewing process.
Just like home
Skaslien Gjestgiveri is owned by siblings Elin, Ottar and Morten Skaslien, who are all trained chefs. Their grandmother Kirsten bought the little smallholding which today is Skaslien Gjestgiveri early in the 1940s and started a small business renting out rooms and serving food to travellers and other visitors at Kirkenær. In those days there was a storehouse and barn with cows and pigs and a brewhouse in the yard. Since then the farm has added on a new kitchen, more rooms, function rooms and course facilities.
When her son Ollvar came home from whaling in 1952 and married Åse, they took over as hosts at the guest house until 1983, when the third generation came home to take over. Brothers Ottar and Morten Skaslien turned their attention to the good food which the place was already known for. Today Ottar runs the kitchen while Elin manages the guest house. They strive to give the guest house a homely atmosphere and provide a personal service to their guests. Inside there are several cosy lounges with open fireplaces, and in the summer guests can sit outside with a view to the splendid landscape – or in the beer garden. You’ll feel right at home at Skaslien, though maybe a bit more spoilt …