Beyond the renaissance of the traditional Voss sheep's-head meal: Tradition, culinary art, scariness and entrepreneurship

Tourism Management 31 (2010) 434–446

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Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

Case Study

Beyond the renaissance of the traditional Voss sheep’s-head meal: Tradition, culinary art, scariness and entrepreneurship Reidar J. Mykletun a, *, Szilvia Gyimo´thy b a b

Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway Service Management, Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, Box 882, 25108 Helsingborg, Sweden

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 9 August 2006 Accepted 17 April 2009

Attempts have been made to make traditional local foods a part of the tourists’ experiences, but few have caught great interest among the tourist and leisure consumers. An exception is the Norwegian traditional Sheep’s-head meal. This article focuses on driving factors behind this success. Sheep’s heads have been continuously available and used at private meals, albeit the status of the meals has changed from everyday food to party food, and a festival and commercial meals with unique ceremonies have developed. Participation in these may give a sense of symbolic proximity to traditions and historical ‘‘roots’’. The culinary qualities of the product are important especially for the experienced sheep’s-head meal participants. The scariness of the product itself and the measures taken to make the meal an enjoyable adventures trigger the feelings of courage, mastery and inclusion in the ‘‘in-group’’ of sheep’s-head eaters. Most important for the success were the individual entrepreneurships and entrepreneurial networks which were the number one drivers behind the rejuvenation of these unique meal experiences. This case illustrates the significance of the individual and network entrepreneurial processes in the branding and development of tourism destinations. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Food tourism Traditional food Scary food Food adventure Sheep’s-head meal Entrepreneurship Voss Norway

1. Introduction Food and meals have been recognised as a research topic by tourism scholars (e.g. Cohen & Avieli, 2004; Hall & Sharples, 2003; Hansen, Jensen, & Gustafsson, 2005; Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000; Hjalager & Richards, 2002). This new interest can be attributed to the fact that cooking and culinary consumption has gained a more prominent place in tourists’ experience and leisure consumption, and far beyond their nutritional importance. The functions added have been understood in terms of symbolic meanings like lifestyle and social identity creation and expression (Miele & Murdoch, 2002). This applies both to global gourmet and local traditional products becoming ‘‘sensory windows’’ (Telfer & Hashimoto, 2003) into the region’s context and culture. However, their roles may differ as only local traditional products may be claimed to position the visitor to get a glimpse into the culture and closer to the history and people of a place. Culinary practices and arts have subsequently changed by responding to these new trends. First, an increased focus on food * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ47 95 77 62 55; fax: þ47 51 83 37 50. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R.J. Mykletun), szilvia.gyimothy@ msm.lu.se (S. Gyimo´thy). 0261-5177/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2009.04.002

traditions and traditional food has been observed. However, traditions may be seen as constructions invented by the modernity looking back into the past (Hobsbawm & Ranger, 1983), and they are dynamic processes created over time. Traditions establish cultural meaning and identities and they communicate knowledge of the past when everyday living undergoes major changes. They were less useful in the Medieval Ages even though people in those times were surrounded by customs and ‘‘old ways’’ of living (Giddens, 1999). In Norway food traditions and traditional foods became topics of discussion among chefs and researchers within food cultures (Amilien, 2007) as recently as in the 1970s, as earlier traditional food had been conceived of mainly as just everyday meals, Sunday meals, or as meals for celebrations. From the 1970s, however, new dishes imported from abroad, new ways of cooking, and the disappearance of the traditional full-time housewife made the more time-consuming cooking of the past obsolete and also introduced fascinating developments of tastes and flavours (Amilien, 2007; Fossgard, 2007). A second and more recent change observable from the 1990s is the linking of the traditional dishes and meals to certain places (Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000). Being anchored in local traditions local food is supposed to be produced by simple technologies and remains a produce of handicraft implying high quality standards,

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often home-made, and related to celebrations and perceived as genuineness for the place (Cohen & Avieli, 2004). In this way local food has tended to express local cultures and signify regional and local identities and values (Hjalager & Richards, 2002; Rusher, 2003). Today, traditional food may be presented as a) regional or local of origin; b) authentic; c) having been commercially available for the public for at least 50 years, and d) containing a ‘‘culinary heritage’’ (Amilien, 2007, p. 142). The growing interest in culinary products and traditions implies that food is also becoming a more important factor in trying to influence tourists’ motivations for travelling to a particular destination. Today, food tourism has differentiated into several forms, ranging from gourmet tourism to rural tourism (Hall & Mitchell, 2002). The political, cultural and economic significance of these developments is indicated by EU-regulations on local food; the opening for protection of local food products; and their marketing with origin labels signifying quality and typicality (cf. European Union, 2002). Researchers have hitherto mainly focused on the role of local food as a fascinating attraction for additional consumption by tourists (Amilien, 2007; Fossgard, 2007; Gyimo´thy & Mykletun, 2009; Hjalager & Richards, 2002). Several studies of food tourism focus on the promotion of local food and local attempts to revitalise traditional food and food traditions. Authenticity is considered to be a central theme to such an extent that other symbolic interpretations of local meals may have been overlooked. We know little about alternative ways of creating meal experiences that balance the authenticity aspects against needs for modern production techniques and/or how consumers search for new dining experiences as well as a chance to meet with past culinary cultures. Nevertheless, this is an important issue for entrepreneurs embarking on an innovative process, i.e. when attempting to turn traditional food items into a commercially viable meal experiences. In many cases, the renaissance of culinary heritage is dependent on an entrepreneur or an entrepreneurial network carrying forward local product development. The increase in general welfare, the restructuring of the agricultural production, the social reconstruction and migration, and the access to modern food technologies along with changes in meal habits have led to the unfortunate abandoning of several traditional dishes in Norway. Contrary to the general trend, however, the sheep’s-head meal which is the subject of this study, never completely disappeared from everyday life in Voss. But, its actual use and the social status changed dramatically over the last 40 years, as did the ways of preparing, preserving and distributing the food. This article aims at exploring how this unique Norwegian culinary heritage from the Voss area – the traditional sheep’s-head meal – has become a successful tourism product. The success of this traditional and locally anchored meal will be analysed from the perspective of entrepreneurship, exploiting the commercial potential of a local and possibly adventurous culinary heritage. As claimed by Russel and Faulkner (1999), there is still paucity with regards to published studies on entrepreneurial processes in relation to tourism development. Ten years later, this is still true, in particular when it comes to the ways that food tradition, food adventures, culinary arts and entrepreneurial endeavours interact when creating business successes. Except for the anatomy of entrepreneurship presented by Russel and Faulkner (1999, 2004), the few articles that have appeared are generally lacking theoretical substance, especially with regards to understanding the roles of entrepreneurial networks (e.g. Johannisson & Mønsted, 1997; Johannisson, Ramirez-Pasillas, & Karlsson, 2002). The contribution of the present paper is, hopefully, to add to the closing of these gaps. However, while the focus is on entrepreneurship, attention will also be paid to the role of food traditions and the meal as a food adventure along with its culinary qualities.

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2. The sheep’s-head meal experience between food adventure and culinary arts Food away from home can be fabulous, fun and frightening at the same time (Rozin, 1999). Traditional meals fit well into this conception and may be an ambivalent attraction: not only fascinating, but also strangely unfamiliar and even repulsive or anxietyprovoking (Cohen & Avieli, 2004). Eating is an intimate act (Fishler, 1988), as something external is inserted into the organism through the mouth, indeed a sensitive organ. Meals are often social undertakings with strong implications of learning outcomes for its participants, and appreciation of a sheep’s-head meal is indeed an acquired taste. Aversive reactions to unknown food and strange meals may be seen as habitual and learned generalisations of risk awareness and dislikes, triggered at distances by sight and smell, and on tastes and tactile sensations when taking in the dish. As for the sheep’s-head meal, its bouquet reminds the guest of smoked lamb’s meat, but is ‘‘sharper’’ and stronger in intensity. The mere sight of it may be alarming for the first-time consumer while eliciting positive expectations on the culinary side among the experienced meal participant. The meal is served with a half of a sheep’s-head on the plate along with potatoes and ‘‘mashed swedes’’ as in olden days, and decorated with parsley. The brown skin is in place and the head still has an open eye with eyelids ‘‘glaring at the guest,’’ as well as an ear, the nose, lips, half a tongue and its teeth. It is obviously the head of a living creature that used to graze and eat hay. Anticipating consuming this part of the animal is an unfamiliar experience to most people, and may also elicit associations with food taboos.1 Eating animal heads reminds us of the fact that animals are killed in order to serve as human food (Beardsworth & Keil, 1997), about death and dying, and the fact that man is on the top of the nutrition chain, exploiting the rest of it for his enjoyment. On a rational note it must be acknowledged that the head is also the part of the animal that is most heavily contaminated with bacteria, and thus poses an objective health risk for the consumer if the production process is not well managed and the quality of the food not assured. Food or meals may thus for some people elicit emotional reactions like fear or disgust, while others experience thrill and enjoyment. The different reactions to unfamiliar meals have been dichotomised by the concepts of neophilia (appreciation of the unfamiliar as such) and neophobia (avoidance of the unfamiliar as such) (Fishler, 1988), depending upon factors like experience, personality, and especially motivation for travel (Bello & Etzel, 1985; Crompton, 1979; Lee & Crompton, 1992; Plog, 1974). The range of driving forces motivating the individual in food tourism may resemble those of adventure tourism in general, including novelty-seeking, enjoyment of moderate fear, thrill and playfulness (Cater, 2006; Gyimothy & Mykletun, 2004; Mykletun & Gyimo´thy, 2007), and travel involves food neophilia as an important motivator (Bell & Valentine, 1997). A meal that is ‘looking at you’ may appeal to the neophilic guest as a ‘‘.sportive and cultural challenge.an important feature of the process of establishing prestige for the dish. and as a way for modern man to establish meaning by active use of the past’’ (Fossgard & Notaker, 2007, p. 160, authors’ translation). In spite of it appearing as rather bizarre to many people, the

1 Another taboo in Western societies is the consumption of pets. The avoidance of eating cats and dogs is mostly dominated by emotional aspects as is the case of the sheep’s-head meal. The remoteness of Asian cultures is often illustrated by ‘‘exotic’’ scary meals like snakes or insects, which often feature as thrilling anecdotes in Western backpacker folklore (Lonely Planet Special). However, there also exist a number of scary and extreme dishes in Europe, such as ‘‘half-rotten’’ sharks in Iceland, Spanish squid and, French frogs, sea slugs and cucumbers, snails, beetles and cicadas.

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sheep’s-head meal is enjoying its renaissance as a commercial success and has greatly contributed to the image of Voss as a tourism destination. The evolution of this traditional fare into a modern consumer product is partly a result of entrepreneurial achievements. 3. Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial networks Entrepreneurship is seen as creation of new organisations (Gartner, 1989), independent ownership, active management and/ or intentions (Stewart & Roth, 2001), or the recognition and exploitation of opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Entrepreneurs are known for rapid decision-making under uncertainty and with constrained access to resources, hard work and a wide variety of skills and astuteness (Rauch & Frese, 2007; Sarasvathy, 2001; Shane, 2003). Moreover, entrepreneurship may be discussed as both business creation and its successful maintenance (Rauch & Frese, 2007). Entrepreneurs may use their talent to create innovative businesses and seize opportunities others might fail to see (Getz, 2007), also in social and other forms of entrepreneurship in the ‘‘not-for-profit sector’’ (Dees, 2001; Leadbeater, 1997). Furthermore, they frequently take risks in order to pursue their visions (Bass, 1990). The entrepreneur may be conceived of as: ‘‘. being the agent who creates, recognises and acts on opportunities. This includes using innovation to do new things, operating flexibly and adapting to a wider context, working in conditions of risk and uncertainty, achieving change and gaining reward through profit. If entrepreneurship is viewed as a process, it consists of the person, the search for market opportunities, innovative behaviour and bringing together the resources needed to exploit these opportunities’’ (Rae, 2007, p. 27). The phenomenon has been studied from several theoretical perspectives. Three ‘‘schools of thought’’ have been acknowledged, viz. 1) the ‘‘Austrian school’’ where the reactive entrepreneur was an agent adjusting to the market; 2) the ‘‘German school’’ seeing the entrepreneur as innovative and causing market changes; and 3) the ‘‘Chicago school’’ claiming that entrepreneurs cause incremental changes through enterprise management (Binks & Vale, 1990). Recent psychological research has explained entrepreneurial behaviour as a function of human processes either caused by certain personality characteristics (defined as propensities to act in predictable ways across varieties of situations (McCrae & Costa, 2000) or by social or cognitive learning processes, or even as a combination of the two (Rae, 2007)). Although criticised for measurement weaknesses, personality traits like showing initiative and strong persuasive powers, moderate risk-taking abilities, flexibility, creativity and autonomy have been empirically related to successful entrepreneurship. Likewise, problem-solving abilities, need for achievement, imagination, internal locus of control, leadership and hard work constitute personal bases for entrepreneurial achievements (Gibb, 1987). Meta-analyses validate the relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs differ from managers in personality traits like conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experiences and neuroticism (Zaho & Seibart, 2006), riskpropensity (Stewart & Roth, 2001, 2004) and need for achievement (Collins, Hanges, & Locke, 2004; Stewart & Roth, 2004). Need for achievement was also positively related to business success (Collins et al., 2004). In their meta-analysis Rauch and Frese (2007) showed that when matching personality traits on relevance to the behaviour needed in entrepreneurial endeavours the predictive power of the former was even higher than shown in other studies. The conclusions were valid for both business creation and successful business performances, and applied to traits like need for

achievement, generalized self-efficacy, innovativeness, stress tolerance, need for autonomy, and proactive personality. Some of these propensities to act can be learned. Entrepreneurial learning may occur in several ways including: trusting intuition, imagination, innovativeness and observation of entrepreneurial practices (Schumpeter, 1934), creative discovery learning rendering the person more alert to opportunities (Kirzner, 1973), entrepreneurial or rational knowledge as expert resources (Shepard & Krueger, 2002; Young & Sexton, 1997), dynamic learning processes (Cope, 2005) possibly encompassing career framework and transformation also involving emotional learning processes (Politis, 2005) and/or drawing connections between organisational learning, opportunity recognition, creativity and entrepreneurial learning processes (Dutta & Crossan, 2005). While skills and knowledge for rational analyses may be learned in school settings, the actual ‘‘art’’ of the entrepreneurial practices requires learning contexts in the sense of a business context and relying upon induction and practical and social learning processes to transform knowledge into functional learning outcomes (Gibb, 1993; Gorman, Hanlon, & King, 1997; Rae, 2007). Entrepreneurs create or use established networks including own family, friends and others to gain access to necessary recourses, competencies, opportunities and support (Greve & Salaff, 2003), and entrepreneurs that use information and social support from their networks become more successful than those lacking access to such resources (Witt, 2004). Especially in tourism, entrepreneurs involve their families into their business, and often the businesses are motivated by lifestyle and desires for social interaction with visitors as much as need for economic earnings (Getz & Carlsen, 2005). Moreover, the tourism businesses are often small and medium-sized enterprises providing the community underpinnings for entrepreneurship and job creation, and they contribute significantly to economic development of their region (Wanhill, 2000). Entrepreneurs participate actively in commerce, collaboration, competition and copying, all of which are social activities. Entrepreneurs also use social or business contacts from their personal network to gain resources, information, competencies, etc., faster or cheaper than when working on their own. Over time, entrepreneurs accumulate this ‘‘social capital’’ (Hansen, 1995). Through this ‘‘network approach to entrepreneurship’’ (Bru¨derl & Preisendo¨rfer, 1998) the stakeholders of the organization often become part of the entrepreneur’s personal network, and this private flavor of business networks has been regarded as typical of Scandinavian countries as the economic sphere is not easily separable from other spheres (Johannisson & Mønsted, 1997). Regardless of how the entrepreneurial network may have been developed, it needs to contain certain qualities in order to sustain business development, such as: mutual goals, common interests or passion, altruism, and mutual trust. One shared goal may be the motivation of the network members, thus the network becomes a tool for reaching these shared goals (Dennis, 2000). These goals may be economically motivated or a result of emotional involvements like similar interests in, or a passion for, for instance food, and shared experiences may facilitate social bonding. In order for the network to flourish, altruism or idealism are important factors, ensuring that the members are motivated and focused on helping others rather than on mere personal gain (Witt, 2004). Finally, mutual trust and loyalty must be present in order for the members to exchange resources comfortably (Dennis, 2000; Johannisson et al., 2002). Variations in culture, values and attitude towards entrepreneurship vary from region to region. In regions where businesses and community share common values and business interests, the quality of the network is enhanced. As networks are often characterised by exchanges beyond economy, like sharing of learning and

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knowledge, social networks may become ‘‘communities of practice’’ where participation, the creation of social identities and social learning are important processes. Such processes may thrive in clusters because of the improved availability to information through dense social connections (Lave & Wenger, 1991). As a result some regions become superior in competitions and are hard or impossible to imitate (Johannisson et al., 2002; Storper, 1995), and networks may become ‘‘.spawning-grounds or hatcheries for business opportunities’’ (Rae, 2007, p. 121). By employing the concept of embedment, Johannisson et al. (2002) argue that the targeted area of research should be the socio-economic context wherein the firm is embedded. ‘‘Embedment’’ means creating order and reducing uncertainty as well as providing variety and ambience needed to create space for individual and collective entrepreneurship. Firstorder embedment includes business-to-business relations of both commercial and personal character. Second-order embedment consists of firm-to-institutions relations where businesses acquire services and joint projects and business leaders are associated members. Third-order embedment encompasses links between firms through institutions with indirect exchanges of business through interacting institutions. The different levels supplement each other. However, the contributions of entrepreneurs may not always be smooth and lead to linear development of a tourism area. On the contrary, Russel and Faulkner (1999, 2004) showed that entrepreneurs ‘‘disturb’’ the equilibrium of a social system with their enterprise installments and contribute more to chaos than to the type of linear development depicted by Butler’s (1980) Tourism Area Lifecycle Model. Moreover, they found different types of entrepreneurial manifestations during the evolution of a destination and argued that entrepreneurial activities vary from one stage to the next in the lifecycle model. 4. Research design and methods The research questions driving this investigation address possible explanations for the renaissance of a traditional meal and its way into tourism and tourists’ consumption. The relative contribution and possible interaction of four different explanations are studied: 1) to what extent is the renaissance a function of traditional food in its own right; 2) to what extent may the success be explained by the adventurous features of the meal as ‘‘scary food’’; 3) to which extent may the culinary aspects of the meal contribute to its success; and 4) what is the role of individual entrepreneurs and their interaction in entrepreneurial networks? Success is conceived of as increasing the number of produced meals and the spread of the meal across geographical and social strata. As historic data have become available and the research has leaned on a case study approach it has been possible to research also how the sheep’s-head renaissance has been interacting with other local and traditional food promotions of the area. The study was designed as a case study (Yin, 1994) employing a mixed method approach (Creswell, 2003) combining document analyses, open interviews and ethnographic fieldwork. A snow-balling approach was applied (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003), in the sense that new sources of information were traced during the process. The document studies started with researching the archives of the local newspaper Hordaland for entries presenting news or other information on the sheep’s-head and other unique dishes, constituting the local traditional meal and food environment of the sheep’s-head dish, as well as persons central to steps in the meal productions. First, notes were made on significant information regarding the production and consumption of the product as well as of the sheep’s-head meal, and lists were made of central

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informants on the topic. Interviews were conducted with the chef most knowledgeable about traditional food at The Norwegian Culinary Arts Institute in Stavanger. Next, the process continued with extensive open interviews with the sole commercial producer of sheep’s-head for both private and commercial meals consumption, Ivar Løne, at Voss, including also guided trips at his production site, and unique sheep’s-head meals in his special restaurant, located in a-four-hundred-year-old farm storehouse at Løne in Voss. A third significant source of information was the Chef at Fleischer’s Hotel in Voss, Nils Overå, who for a generation has been in charge of a special commercial sheep’s-head tradition created and carried out at this unique old hotel. Fourth, the project manager of the Voss Menu, a local traditional food project, Torunn LøneVinje, was included, along with an interview with Eldbjørg Fossgard, the Head of The Cultural Academy of Western Norway, and also Chief of Studies of the Food Culture study program at the University of Bergen. Rather than just asking a question, recording a simple answer, and moving on, the interviewees were encouraged to talk freely of their background and explain their knowledge of the topic and other relevant issues. Therefore, the different interviews were not standardized, but an unstructured interview approach was in use. A narrative approach was conducted, which allow the researcher to approach the interviewee’s experiential world in a more comprehensive way: ‘‘First the initial situation is outlined (‘‘how everything started’’), then the events relevant to the narrative are selected from the whole host of experiences and presented as a coherent progression of events (‘‘how things developed’’), and finally the situation at the end of the development is presented (‘‘what became’’)’’ (Hermanns, 1995, p. 183). Supplementary questions were asked so as to make sure one had a proper understanding of their explanations. The important task during the interviews was to ensure that all relevant topics were covered, even though they might be covered in different orders and ways in the various interviews (Ticehurst & Veal, 2000). Personal and acquired knowledge within the subject and relevant theories were of good use when seeking relevant information from the interviewees. The basic principle when using a narrative interview was seen to be: ‘‘In the narrative interview, the informant is asked to present the history of an area of interest, in which the interviewee participated, in an extempore narrative.The interviewer’s task is to make the informant tell the story of the area of interest in question as a consistent story of all relevant events from its beginning to its end’’ (Hermanns, 1995, p. 183). Thus, the interviews were structured more like guided conversations, where the length of the interviews varied from 1 h to 4 h. The cooperation with the informants was excellent, and all were interested in contributing to the research project. All interviews were tape-recorded and fully transcribed. Fieldwork was undertaken by the first author as participant observation, with him taking part in the traditional ways of preparing the sheep’s-head, from the slaughtering of the sheep to cooking and enjoying the meal. Another series of fieldwork exercise were participation in sheep’s-head meals with international tourists at Ivar Løne’s restaurant, commercial sheep’s-head meals at restaurants in Voss and Stavanger, and private sheep’s-head meals, often called ‘‘Smalahovelag,’’ in private homes. The process went on in intervals from the autumn of 2003 through the autumn of 2007, and was documented by notes and photographs. The transcriptions made and notes taken were used as the central medium for presenting the findings of this research. In

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analysing the primary data collected, a thematic coding was applied, characterised by a multi-step procedure (Flick, 2002). The first step addressed the different cases involved by sorting and classifying the data, which in this study relate to important elements in the development of the sheep’s-head meal. The data were organised into categories on the basis of themes, concepts, and similar features. The different cases were continuously rechecked and modified during the further interpretation through open coding, which included notes, transcripts, and other data sources. In this way, critical terms, key events, and themes were made sure to be included (Neuman, 2003). Thirdly, axial coding was applied, in which questions related to causes and consequences, conditions and interactions were asked, while looking for concepts clustering together. Moreover, the different categories and thematic domains were cross-checked, thereby increasing their comparability. The final step was to interpret and elaborate the processed data, thus forming the basis of a theory subject to discussion, and comparing the data to concepts identified in relevant previous research. Objectivity in the sense of simultaneous realisation of reliability and validity is hard to achieve in this type of research, but attempts have been made to maximise the reliability as independent of accidental circumstances of the research. Similarly, attempts have been made to enhance the validity by reassuring that the findings were interpreted in a correct way (Kirk & Miller, 1986). Qualitative researchers often discuss authenticity instead of validity (Neuman, 2003), referring to research giving ‘‘. a fair, honest and balanced account of social life from the viewpoint of someone who lives it everyday .. A candid portrayal of social life that is true to the experiences of people being studied.. a detailed account of how those being studied feel about and understand events’’ (Neuman, 2003, p. 185). Being ‘‘plausible’’ findings means that the results may not be the only claims possible, but that they are powerful descriptions of realities; and especially so when established by means of several different data from various sources (Fine, 1999). The process may also be conceived of as identifying and increasing connections between diverse sources of data to finally ‘‘. form a dynamic and coherent ensemble’’ (Molotch, Freudenburg, & Paulsen, 2000, p. 816). The interview part of this research has attempted to give exact portraits of the social world of the actors interviewed, thus not only plausible explanations, but dynamic and coherent pictures that are sought to be well grounded in empirical realities. 5. Results 5.1. The Voss region The municipality of Voss (13 500 inhabitants) is located 10 miles east of Bergen, in a back-country, with mountains rising 1600 m above sea levels, highlands and deep valleys. Voss prides itself on close to 200 years of experience as a tourism destination, claiming to offer a ‘.marvellous cultural and scenic mixture: urban modernity and rural tradition. There are few places you can get so many experiences springing from nature and culture as here in Voss. For nearly two hundred years we have taken pleasure in welcoming tourists who seek experiences that are out of the ordinary. Voss is situated between Norway’s most famous fjords, the majestic and breathtaking Hardanger and Sogn fjords, and is a natural starting point for exploring Fjord Norway.’(www.visitvoss.no) Today the place hosts national and international tourists including also cruise ship passengers to Bergen, Hardanger or Sogn, and is a main nexus in the prestigious ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ tour. It

has a good market position as both a summer and a winter destination, with nature based and extreme sports as part of its image. Extreme-sport activities follow naturally from life as it is lived in these harsh and rough conditions, and the area is known today for great winter-sport champions, recruiting at its best 9 medal winners at the Olympic Winter Games in 1990, among them five women. The most known is Free-Style Olympic Gold Medal Winner Kari Traa, also known as a cloth designer and sheep’s-head meal enthusiast. Voss hosts the Extreme-Sport Week (www. extremsportveko.no; see also Mykletun, in press) every June, and Voss aims to be the extreme-sport capital of Norway. The place is known for good white water rafting provided by Voss Rafting, (guided) mountain hiking, and excellent conditions for paragliding allowing escalations to 3500 m altitudes, and it presented itself as ‘The Parachute Valley’ in 2002. New adventure companies appear, the most recent is Extreme Experiences, established June 2008. Voss’ farming traditions are based on milk and meat production from sheep and cattle. Lamb has always been most central to the Voss staple menu, and ‘‘.every family in Voss has at least one lamb in their freezer in the autumn’’ (interview with the Chef at Fleischer’s Hotel). A special breed of sheep (Vossasau) was developed in Voss from 1860 to 1920, renamed into Dalasauen (Valley Sheep) in 1923, and, due to its bigger size that provides more meat and also high quality wool. A lamb of 17 kg slaughtered has a head weight of 1.7 kg, which is regarded as high in relation to the size of the body, and the ideal size for the sheep’s-head meal production and consequently it is the preferred breed for the sheep’s-head meal in Voss. 5.2. Preparing and consuming the sheep’s-head meal in the traditional way2 Owing to the extreme weather conditions, and the limited resources, every eatable part of the animal was used for human food. Lamb’s testicles were traditionally eaten by men, while lamb’s legs were a delicacy for everybody. Inhabitants in Voss have developed a unique way of preparing the sheep’s-head, resulting in a tasty meal. The head of young animals was preferred for food and male lambs were preferred due to the bigger size of their scalps. The head was washed, but not skinned. The wool was removed by burning it carefully using a glow-warm iron stick that was rolled over the skin, leaving the head with a light brown colour on its surface (this procedure is different from the preparation techniques in other parts of Norway, where the skin was removed, resulting in a greyish, pale and less tasty product). Usually the process was carried out in an ‘eldhus’or‘årestove’, the former being a small house on the farm or in the back garden, containing an open fireplace, no chimney but an opening in the roof to let the smoke out, and it could thus also function as a smoke house. The ‘årestove’ was the main building for the farmer and in the olden days it had no stove but an open fireplace like the ‘eldhus’. Introductory to the carrying out of the process of preparing the sheep’s head, the coal and ashes from the wool burning had to be brushed away from the hearth. The head was split into two halves

2 Traditional sheep-head meals may also be found in other parts of the world. Thorrablot is a culinary highlight of the Icelandic calendar. This is a Nordic midwinter festival celebrating the Vikings and traditional Thorri food, dates from the middle age. Half boiled lamb’s head, called Svid, which is salted but note smoked and dried, is part of the menu and is based on the principle that no part of the animal should go to waste. The heads have also been mashed up to make a kind of pate or jelly (Planet Food, 2006; and also appearing in Norwegian cookbooks for private urban households from early 1900s). Sheep-head can also be traced to other countries such as being a national cuisine of Kazakhstan and sheep’s-head broth, known as Powsoudie, is among Traditional Scottish Recipes.

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by means of an axe and inner organs and often the brain were removed. It was carefully cleaned and then salted for some days before drying and smoking it for several days in cold smoke, preferably from the slow burning of fresh juniper mixed with alder smouldering and with low heat only. Then it was preserved and could be consumed or kept in a ventilated place for some months. The preparation of the dish was simple. The half head was first watered for some hours, then steamed for 3 h, and served with potatoes and ‘‘mashed swedes’’. Sheep’s-head was everyday food for farmers and others, but no way considered food for the poor. As it is a fat food, most people could not eat it more than once or twice a week, and especially children were bored by it if served too often. It was consumed with sour milk, fruit juice or water. ‘‘Eating a sheep’s-head in the old way is as complex as compiling a bike wheel hub after a repair’’ (Tveit, 1994, p. 7, authors’ translation). Cutlery was not used, eating could be facilitated only by a sharp shaft-knife held with a special grip and the fingers, and the potato skin was removed by means of the nail of the thumb. On finishing the meal nothing but the pupil of the eye, bones and the teeth should be left; and the fingers would often be glued together due to chemicals in the animal’s skin. All sheep’s-heads ought to be consumed within the last Sunday of Advent, as this type of food would most likely turn harsh after a while, but probably also because of the need to clean up the house before Christmas. In Voss that Sunday was named ‘Skoltasondag’ (Sheep’s-Head Sunday), but also ‘Skitnesondag’ (Dirty Sunday). People wore their everyday dirty clothing until that day, and then had their major bath, as everything was supposed to be cleaned and prepared for Christmas at that time. Also, the last sheep’s-heads were eaten from the kitchen table, which also was the very last place to be cleaned and covered with a new tablecloth before Christmas. 5.3. Contemporary sheep’s-head production The traditional ways of preparing sheep’s-heads are still practiced by some farmers and enthusiasts, and often as part of the socialising with friends and family, and perhaps as a great ceremonial build-up to the consumption that follows, accompanied by socialising and beer drinking. However, most private consumers and almost all professionals now buy the product ready for cooking. The main producer is the entrepreneur, restaurateur and farmer, Ivar Løne, operating a family-owned enterprise named Smalahovetunet (literally Sheep’s-Head Courtyard). At the age of 65, Ivar Løne explained his passion for his work like this: ‘I have burned sheep’s-heads for 60 years, the last 40 for sale, starting with 50 heads for friends and relatives. The demand increased and after a while we sold 25 000 heads per year. My family made good money per day, but not per hour. My sons argued that we either had to invest in better production facilities or close down. We thought about it for a while, the problem was that you could not go to a German sales exhibition and buy one, because they had never been produced. It takes an expert on mechanics and sheep’s-head preparation to construct a machine for this purpose. However, Leif Gjerme, a local inventor and artist passed by one evening to buy some sheep’s-heads, and I convinced him that he was competent to invent and construct the machine, and he thought about it for a year, then he showed up one day telling me that he had not slept for several days, but that now he had the idea, not a detailed drawing or model, just a mental plan. He built the machine, it worked on water, propane, electricity, oil and air, and we produced 24 heads that first evening and everything has worked since then. It is the only one of its kind worldwide, but I

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have no detailed drawing so I cannot have it patented’ (Interview with Ivar Løne). The machine solved the main bottleneck problem in the production line, and the production could now increase to more than 60 000 sheep’s-heads a year, which means 120 000 meals. It handles the task of the burning-off of the wool by means of a propane flame directed at the revolving heads, and then the brushing off of ashes and dust after the burning. Slaughterers in Southern Norway provide the heads in frozen conditions. Indeed, strict control systems have to be in place, and at the outset the quality of the sheep’s-heads delivered to the Løne plant from the slaughterers was the problem, as few parts of the animal are more vulnerable to bacteria than the head. Washing machines are used for cleaning, as is a highly effective salting, drying and smoking system. Løne has faced some competition from the big meat producers, and also from small-scale producers, but these could not compete on price and quality, and terminated their production shortly after. The demand for sheep’s-heads is steadily increasing by about five percent per year. The customers are both private people buying for their private parties, hotels and restaurants, and other meat production and distribution companies. Approximately 90% are ordered for commercial meals and functions, the rest for private parties and functions. Løne is certified to sell food at his cellar door as Gardsmat (‘Farm food’, a concept developed by a national initiative to involve more farmers in the tourism business), and he is licensed for export to the US, European Union market and elsewhere abroad. [.] the sheep’s-head is also exported to our Norwegian UN-forces in Gaza, to Canada and even imported to the US where a huge pile of paper is requested stating that the product is not poisonous or dangerous in any way, it is just meat (Interview with Ivar Løne).

5.4. Production of additional merchandise Quite a few accessories and other merchandise have been developed as a consequence of the sheep’s-head meals’ increasing popularity and changed status. A silver pin shaped as the sheep’shead, and also a sheep’s-head tie-pin and sleeve-links for a gentleman’s full shirt, and silver ear-rings for women are produced by the local silversmith, who also provides cutlery and beer glasses on a silver stem and aquavit glasses with silver handles, all decorated by sheep’s-heads. Likewise a unique oval shaped plate is designed and especially decorated with a ‘‘sheep’s-head map’’ and eating instructions made by the local artist Tharald and produced by the Norwegian Porsgrund Porcelain Factory. The cutlery and glass stemware are also produced in a pewter version. The full collection can be bought in wooden boxes containing equipment for one guest. A special Sheep’s-head Beer was developed for the first Sheep’s-head Release in 1998 (see below) for microbrewery production in series of 3000 L, but became too expensive and has later been produced by the Mack Brewery in Tromsø. Likewise, for the first Sheep’s-head Release in 1998, they initiated the development of a unique Sheep’shead Aquavit (a classic Norwegian liquor traditionally produced from potatoes and flavoured with various herbs) with enthusiastic assistance of the expert Halvor Heuch at Arcus Produkter A/S. New series presenting slightly different blends have been produced annually since then and are sold in numbered bottles from the off licence only at Voss from the Sheep’s-head Release to the end of April the year after. It has been a medal winner every year at aquavit competitions, and the bottles are popular among aquavit collectors. Songs and poems honouring the lamb for contributing to the meal by its high quality scalp are made (see below).

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5.5. Sheep’s-head meals in the private and semi-private hospitality domain Gradually the sheep’s-head meal became recognised as something unique to the Voss region, representing the past and allowing a moment of nostalgic absorption into the apparently simpler ways of life in rural areas and a culinary ‘‘handshake’’ with food traditions of one region. In Voss private sheep’s-head meal traditions had continued and during the 1970s they evolved in style and status from everyday meals to meals served on special occasions and with friends and family. Thus this cultural heritage has remained an unbroken tradition for ages and constitutes one part of the platform needed for the renaissance of the meal and the transformations it needed to match the needs of modernity. The accompanying beverage changed from sour milk into beer and fine aquavit. Still most families in Voss will have a sheep’s-head meal or more in their own home during the autumn, or at least be invited to a sheep’s-head party with friends and families. Often sheep’s-heads are served for celebrations of events and anniversaries, and as official meals for instance by the Mayor of Voss when hosting important visitors (Tveit, 1994). The taste is first and foremost that of salted and smoked lamb, strong but juicy, and rich in bouquet, as the natural ingredients in the meat are kept in place by the skin and the thin layer of fat underneath it; the latter also adds a unique taste to the dish. Then the salt, the smoking and the drying processes add their genuine aroma. The soft skin and layers of fat add unique textures, aroma, and a strong visual impression to this part of the meal. After consuming the outside of the ‘‘face’’, the half head is turned, the nether jaw removed and the rest of the aromatic, tender chewing muscles taken out. Different parts have different textures and tastes. The tongue was traditionally given to the smaller kids due to its mild taste and corned textures, while the fat around the eye and ear is especially tasty and much sought after by the grownups. It holds unique culinary qualities, the bouquets and textures of which are not matched by those of any other dish. Unique tastes are found in the tongue, and the ear and eye are rich, with fat bringing quite different tastes to the experience. Each part has its individual texture, making the enjoyment of the intake varied and offering some great surprises. When served with ‘‘mashed swedes,’’ beer and aquavit the basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, salt and ‘‘umami’’ are present and rich in variability. The specially brewed sheep’s-head beer, the ‘‘Smalahoveøl,’’ which according to the back-label of the bottle ‘‘.was developed by people having enjoyed heaps of sheep’s-head meals at Ivar Lønes restaurant’’, has a thick and sweet character, being in harmony with the tastes and bouquet of the food. The unique Sheep’s-head Aquavit is flavoured with herbs that make it comply with the salted and smoked meat taste. In addition, the aquavit opens for special ploys by the table, like: ‘‘I marinade the eye in the aquavit glass for a minute and drink it as a shot. The blend of the herbs, alcohol, salt and smoked fat surrounding the eye and the tactile sensation of the well-rounded eye in the mouth and throat are just stunning. Everybody around the table observes me and I receive roaring applause’’ (guest at private sheep’s-head meal). The aquavit has other important functions, too: ‘‘When I see those lips, teeth and the cheek on the plate, and not to mention the eye, I look away and drink a couple of aquavit shots, then I get the strength to cut a piece of meat from the cheek, and I look away and start eating it’’ (guest at private sheep’s-head meal).

Friends sometimes gather in loosely coupled groups called ‘‘Smalahovelag’’ (Association of Sheep’s-head Eaters) with the purpose of setting up one sheep’s-head dinner annually. Such ‘‘Smalahovelag’’ have existed since the 1960s and were often organised by a migrated individual with ancestors from Voss, or by people who had come across the meal by accident and discovered its values and potential for forming the basis of a unique party. They may also have become a kind of social institution initiated by organisations serving regional and rural interests like Hordalaget in Oslo, and guests are often charged for the net costs of the food and beverages. At these, more often than at the family parties, guests are typically singing obscene songs about the sheep’s sound and peaceful lives in the mountains abruptly ending in order to please the culinary needs of the guests around the table. Today, these ‘‘Smalahovelag’’ are found all over Norway and abroad, moving mainly with migrating people from Voss who have shown the courage of serving this old-fashioned dish to their new-found friends at their new place of living. Booklets (Aske, 1998) and also a complete book have been published containing sheep’s-head songs, cartoons and ‘rules and rites’ for the correct mastering of these parties (Tveit & Kvåle, 1991), and new songs, pictures and stories are presented on the web page www.smalahove.no. It lends considerable prestige for a person to have been to a party like that, and good stories are circulated after the event as people enjoying the dish for their first time tend to find it rather scaring. As a journalist explains: ‘‘The cheek is just fine but what is repulsive about it is the look. By just lifting some meat, the row of teeth ‘‘shines’’ towards me.’’ (Hordaland, October 2, 2001). Often the members of these ‘‘Smalahovelag’’ travel to Voss to enjoy their annual sheep’s-head meal at Løne’s restaurant or Fleischer’s Hotel, thus crossing the border into the area of the commercial sheep’s-head meals. 5.6. The commercial sheep’s-head meals Sheep’s-heads entered the arena of commercial meals during the 1960s. Today, three actors may be seen as drivers of this development, viz. Fleischer’s Hotel, the entrepreneur Ivar Løne and the Sheep’s-head Release Festival (Smalahovesleppet). 5.6.1. Fleischer’s Sheep’s-head dinners Fleischer’s is the oldest hotel at Voss, owned by the same family since it was established in 1889. Its guest records include royalties, aristocracy and, more recently, statesmen, artists and athletes of various sports. For some visitors, the sheep’s-head meal has become iconic to Fleischer’s Hotel: ‘‘In the dusk people arrive at the bar at Fleischer’s, waiting to hear the star Lizz Wright. Some are looking for Kari Traa, and the guitar artist Petter Vågan from Eyewaterlillies is thrilled by the thought of consuming the evening sheep’s-head meal. This is Vossa Jazz [annual Jazz Festival at Voss]’’ (http://www.aftenposten.no/kul_ und/musikk/article1273075.ece). The first ‘‘Smalahovelag’’ in a commercial setting was initiated by travelling salesmen in the 1960s at Fleischer’s Hotel. Thus, the longest commercial sheep’s-head meal tradition was consumer based. Around 1960s, ten commercial travellers who used to stay at the hotel from Mondays to Fridays began to request a sheep’s-head dinner to celebrate the closing of their autumn season. No publicity was made; however, after a while these meals became known to a great number of people and count 120 participants today. Invitations are now sent from the hotel for a special dinner on the first

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Wednesday in December, and even though the work and travel pattern of commercial travellers have changed over the years, this big group still set aside some days for Voss to be able to participate at this special meal and meet with friends and colleagues: ‘We have a core group of the old travelling salesmen who have been participating from the start. Not too many left of those now. Everybody gets the invitation from the hotel and sets aside some days for going to Voss. Their colleagues will be coming as well. It is all internal to the group, they know when and where it happens, in a way it is a network, and always on the first Wednesday of December’ (Chef at Fleischer’s Hotel). About 1970 and may be inspired by the institutionalisation of the salesmen’s meals, the hotel owner became aware of this opportunity to invite friends and business relations for their own special meal. A second Fleischer’s sheep’s-head meal tradition was slowly developed, today counting more than 300 participants divided among three different parties, all of which include a diversity of rituals and celebrations. Beer and aquavit are served along with the sheep’s-head dish. Male guests are invited to appear in dinner jacket. Every year some guests are knighted in a special ceremony, formal speeches are made, and a special collection of sheep’s-head meal songs are in use on these occasions only. After the meal the nether jaw of the sheep’s-head is washed and the name of the guest is burned into it, serving afterwards as a sign for its owner’s place at the table and a souvenir, and the guest receives a special Diploma of Courage stating that he has shown the strength and tenacity needed to take part in this special meal. A souvenir pack would be included; and depending on the price paid, containing some or all items like the sheep’s-head silver pin, sheep’s-head tie-pin and sleeve-links for a gentleman’s full shirt, sheep’s-head ear-rings, and the unique oval shaped sheep’s-head decorated plate. The parties take place in October, which is the ‘‘shoulder season’’ before the Christmas table season starts. The invitation to this party is mailed out in May to give the participants sufficient time to adjust their calendars. The guests are families and groups of friends, from all over Norway; most of them are repeat visitors. Adding to these successes, the hotel also offers parties to smaller groups, including the Voss Free-style Club. Many business and production companies, like those in the oil industries, book these meals as adventurous incentive travels for their co-workers, as part of a week-end stay (marketed as ‘Sheep’s-head Weekends’), or as part of a business conference, or to mark the end of a successful year. They often include the special sheep’s-head plate in the packet. ` -la-carte-menu, constiThe sheep’s-head is also part of the a tuting a volume of more than 1600 servings during the autumn. The core product, the half head, is prepared when cooking for the great parties, they are then preserved in an excellent way using the modern sous-vide technique and can keep for 2–3 weeks on the ´ -la-carte-menu the cost of this dinner will shelf. As a meal on the a exceed NOK 600 including beverages, and as participants of the big festivities the guests may be charged from NOK 1000 to 2000 each. Thus a sheep’s-head meal has become a valuable product and has grown through word of mouth and media attention: ‘We have not marketed this product; it has just grown by itself. We got good support from Ivar Løne, many love to write about him, he really knows how to get publicity. For instance, some of our hotel staff visited Iceland some years ago and invited our Icelandic hosts back for a ‘sheep’s-head weekend’ at Fleischer’s. They got ‘completely converted’ and we brought them to Ivar Løne’s place. They immediately developed a good rapport; he has lots of stories to tell. It is really very simple, no big culinary art at all. . We had the hotel filled with media during the Free Style World Cup. When

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they identified the sheep’s-head on the menu among the steak and fish dishes, they just zoomed in their cameras. Many tourists pass through this hotel, too, and of course they spread the tales about the dish. It is popular, I don’t really know why; maybe it is just the fact that it is simple.’ (Chef at Fleischer’s Hotel). Up front, guests that have never enjoyed the sheep’s-head meal often express high levels of tension and expectations. Not unexpectedly, the meal provokes a wide range of emotions, and some guests find the dish unpleasant and too scary: ‘We offer the meal to groups of English tour operators. it is not for soft souls, some leave the table, cannot cope with the bouquet or the sight of the eye. it is attractive to others, though, who feel great pride in having mastered something extraordinary and dangerous, it is kind of extraordinary, and people dress up for it . some come for a weekend just to enjoy this meal. Some of the guests need instructions on how to eat it, and we are 5–6 people present just to help them out. With some beer and aquavit it works well, the conviviality rises to great heights and the dancing starts immediately after the meal’ (Chef at Fleischer’s Hotel). The current Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Terje Riis-Johansen, uses Fleischer’s Hotel as a role model for entrepreneurial use of local food in tourism development, benefiting both the tourist, the hotel and the preferred development of Norwegian farming (Økonomisk Rapport, 2/2006). 5.6.2. Løne’s farm restaurant In 1994, and almost by accident, Ivar Løne, the only industrial producer of sheep’s-heads ready for cooking, extended his enterprise with a restaurant at his farm 8 km outside Vossevangen, the village centre of Voss. The innovation constituted another example of a consumer driven development. A General Manager in a well-known retail company asked him to prepare a traditional sheep’s-head meal for 15 of his important business relations from Germany and from Hansa Brewery in Bergen. The meal was to be served in Løne’s 400year-old storehouse built on pillars as, according to the manager ‘.that is the ideal setting for a meal like that’. At first Ivar Løne regretted having involved himself in the project as the cost of cleaning and tidying up the dusty building was far beyond the revenue from the party. However, this was the start of his restaurant that has proved very successful since then, being busy 50 weeks a year, and especially during the autumn when serving 10–20 guests at the old storehouse and much bigger parties in other farm buildings. Orders are already in place for 10 years into the future, and based on the growth of his business he has created his personal motto: ‘You should never say ‘‘no’’ to a request, because then you’ll never know what you will be missing’ (Ivar Løne, interview). Explaining the popularity of the sheep’s head meal served at his own restaurant he states that: ‘.it just tastes so eminent, it is a taste that is quite unusual. and isn’t it also about the time we live in, we are trying to relate back to the past and sheep’s-head meals are part of the old traditions. Here they [sheep’s-head meals] are served in this old storehouse, and guests are coming back year after year, some have been her 15 times over the past eight years, and every time is a great event they say. Have seen even some inexperienced guests consuming two half heads, even women have done that. People travel to Voss to enjoy this meal either at the hotel or at my place, the bus is supposed to leave by eleven but the guests usually ask the driver to stay an hour longer and we give him some good treatment, too. They call me from the hotels to have me provide this special meal here, it is a clear demonstration of the attractiveness of my concept, and hotel guests leave tips for me at the hotel reception. We receive guests on coaches all the way from Bergen as well’ (Interview with Ivar Løne).

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The cooperation between the restaurant and the hotels is good and the farm restaurant experience may also include a direct access ticket to the nightclubs at the hotels. Ivar Løne also organises meals for kindergarten kids and residents at homes for the elderly, who appreciate visiting his farm, thus presenting his enterprise with a touch of corporate Social Responsibility (Crook, 2005; Friedman, 1970). ‘‘Sheep’s-heads taste delicious’’ is the claim from the children (Hordaland, Oct. 19, 2006, p. 13). On arrival, the guests are served home-brewed traditional beer from an ‘ølkjengje’, a traditional rose-painted wooden bowl shaped like a Viking-ship, and passed around to everybody in the party according to old traditions of home hospitality. A visit to the restaurant also includes lots of storytelling, singing, and a guided tour around the farm, which contains a production facility for sheep’s-heads. Placed in the old storehouse overlooking the Løne Lake, often mirroring the farms and forests and mountains of the opposite side of the lake, the restaurant serves the meal in the traditional way, using also another unique local product, the ‘Vossapoto’ (Voss potato, a recent local development) as part of the attraction. The menu includes Sheep’s-head Aquavit and traditional strong home-brewed beer, the production of the latter requiring special licences, and the brewing of which takes place on the farm: ‘‘Three restaurants in Voss applied for this type of licence and I was the only one accepted because of the relationship between my concept and the cultural heritage it relates to. It is not alcohol, but culture’’ (Interview with Ivar Løne). Included in the network of the restaurateur are also eminent artists like Leif Rygg, five times Norwegian Champion of the Hardingfele (a traditional eight-string fiddle for folk music), who owns a farm next to Ivar Løne’s, and who often entertains sophisticated guests with his interpretations of local traditional folk music. The emphasis on cultural heritage is featured strongly, and was also emphasised in the regional newspaper Hordaland (12.02.2005, p. 6) when reporting from a sheep’s-head meal enjoyed by Mr. Hagen, Member of Parliament and leader of the Framskrittspartiet (right-wing populist party), and his wife. According to the newspaper, Mr. Hagen, otherwise famous for being critical to Norwegian agriculture, had stated that the restaurateur ‘‘Ivar Løne is the prototype of what we want to achieve with our Norwegian farming. the food is delicious, and it is a product perfectly holistic with the building as well as with the host.’’ The Norwegian Heritage Foundation has awarded Ivar Løne the ‘‘Olavsrosa’’ (‘‘St.Olav’s Rose’’), a prize given for providing experiences of outstanding standards with respect to their historical and cultural values and the quality of their presentations under the motto: ‘‘preservation through utilisation’’ (www. kulturarv.no). He was honoured with the ‘‘Bygdeutviklingsprisen’’ (a rural district development award) when the prize was awarded for the first time in 1997 for his entrepreneurial achievements in the field of restaurant development and operation, as well as for sheep’s-head meal and traditional beer production based on cultural values (www.innovasjonnorge.no). His family business Smalahovetunet has recently extended its enterprise by starting farm stays and bed-and-breakfast facilities for tourists, and also by buying a neighbouring old farm, which is undergoing a development into a conference and experience centre.

festival featured in the first week of October, and based on local customs and also drawing on the Bavarian Oktoberfest tradition. In Voss it has developed from a previous Smalaauksjon (Sheep Auction), an old market place where sheep and lots of other rural items were sold, and sheep exhibitions were a central ingredient. In 2007 the festival offered varied day programs including games like ‘‘Lambadilten’’ (Lambs small jog) for children, knitting competitions for women mainly, or contests in wool cutting of live sheep. The Thursday evening program included an entertainment and fashion show where local clothing design of Kari Traa was the main attraction. Friday offered music and storytelling especially addressing children and the hero of the program was a sheep. On Saturday a wide range of food produce was promoted, and the fair has been a good place to promote the new concept of the ‘‘Vossamenyen’’ (Voss Menu), consisting of high-quality, short-travelled food, and raw materials from 29 small-scale producers in the area. When one includes fish, cheese and fruit from the neighbouring regions of Hardanger and Sogn the area can display a unique and rich variety of food based on some of the best-quality raw material to be found anywhere. As an illustration, the quality reputation was exploited in an advertisement for an oven from Miele (the German manufacturer of high quality domestic appliances with the motto ‘‘Forever Better’’) in a national business newspaper: ‘‘The best lamb does not come from Voss but from a Miele Oven’’ (Dagens Næringsliv, August 26/27, 2007, p. 23). Also displayed were items of various handicrafts. The Sunday festival program contained an ‘‘Open Farm Day’’ at the Voss Agricultural College, which was highly valued by families as it allows children to come into contact with animals and many items and activities typically included in farming life. The festival opening sets the date for the first sheep’s-head of the year to be offered for sale; however this rule is not too strictly adhered to. Also important, it is the release day of the new Edition of the Year of the Sheep’s-head Aquavit, and also the first day of the new Sheep’s-head Beer. The high point of the festival is the great public sheep’s-head meal for 850 guests, served in a festival tent on the Saturday evening, accompanied by beer and aquavit. Ivar Løne and his staff provide the meals and manage the cooking and service at the tables. Artists entertain and there is music by orchestras for entertainment and dancing. A unique attraction is the sheep’s-head eating-contest. Here the behaviour and eating skills of as many as ten competitors are evaluated by a jury consisting of ‘‘experienced sheep’s-head eaters.’’ Points are awarded first for style (the old way of using a knife and the fingers, and without messing up the table). Also, everything except the pupil of the eye should be eaten, and finally the speed and amount of food consumed count towards the total number of points awarded. This public meal is subject to some debate, though, as some traditionalists object to the use of paper plates and plastic cutlery. Others are concerned about the alcohol consumption and general disorder in the village and guests from outside sometimes complain about the heavy drinking and unpolished manners of certain meal participants. Another discussion has started regarding the content of the festival. This has led to a new ‘‘Food Culture Festival’’ having been launched in the autumn of 2007 by the Voss Menu, The Culture Academy of Western Norway, and some smaller organisations, calling for a better mix of traditional food and food innovations, offering no evening programs and abandoning the playful style of the present Sheep’s-Head Release Festival (Hordaland, October 11, 2007, p. 11).

5.7. The ‘Sheep’s-head Release’ – an autumn traditional food festival

5.8. The spread of commercial sheep’s-head meals

Voss Centrum Business Association has since 1998 launched its Sheep’s-head Release, clearly inspired by the famous Beaujolais Nouveau Release in Lyon in France. It is a three-to-four-day food

The sheep’s-head meals are also on the menus at some other hotels and restaurants around Norway, like at Engebret – the oldest restaurant in Oslo; Det Blå Kjøkken Restaurant in Oslo, run by Hroar

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Dege, who was knighted for his work on traditional food; at Restaurant Lapsetorget in Oslo; by Lote Food and Wine in Haugesund; and Madlaveien Bistro in Stavanger to mention a few. Hotels at Geilo, the main ski resort in Hallingdal, have copied the idea of ‘sheep’s-head weekends’. Moreover, the meal is served at the Extreme-Sport Week – the annual festival in Voss mentioned above – as one of ten ‘‘extreme activities’’ included in a ‘‘Try-it’’ package sold to brave visitors. It is often placed in pictures from high mountains and base-jumpers’ exit points in the Extreme-Sport Week context. However, the meal may be controversial within the fine – dining restaurant segment, as illustrated by the reaction of the owner of the Michelin-star awarded Bagatelle Restaurant in Oslo when asked to organise a sheep’s-head meal for 50 guests on request from Arne Hjeltnes, an important and famous business contact from Voss, working as the Norwegian Food Attache´ in China: ‘‘Arne was trapped. He was in Hong Kong and had promised to arrange a Smalahovelag for his friends from Voss. The sheep’sheads were at Voss and had been ordered from Ivar Løne. We had no choice. I thought of Michelin. What would they say if they suddenly arrived on that ice cold evening in January and noticed the smell of boiled sheep’s-skulls? So many years we had been fighting to keep those stars! It was too bad to lose them due to this nonsense, to lose one star for a crazy party of drunken fellows from Voss. And God knows that it really smells of smoked sheep-heads when you boil fifty skulls in a small kitchen. .And the farmers from Voss drank beer from the aquavit glasses and aquavit from beer glasses’’ (Helstrøm, 2006, p. 102, authors translation). Competence is an issue, even though the dish is easy to prepare when the heads are bought ready for cooking. The party as such also takes some skills to manage in order to be a great success. Advice is available as the cooking and presentation of the meal are presented in slightly different versions by the most outstanding chefs of Norway in their prestigious cookbooks. Prominent examples include: Frode Agas Gjestemat (Frode Aga’s Food for Guests; see Aga, Aga, & Knott, 2000), and ‘‘Lutefisk, pinnekjøtt og andre bagateller’’ (Helstrøm, 2006). Likewise, the Chefs’ Guild of Hordaland County has issued Matgleder fra Hordaland (Enjoyable Meals From Hordaland; see Schønfelder, Danielsen, & Nagell Dahl, 1998), and the Norwegian Chefs’ Guild has provided the edition of Vårt Norske Kjøkken (Our Norwegian Cuisine; see Innli, Eide, & Wilson, 1993), both of which with the purpose of promoting outstanding traditional dishes, and among them the sheep’s-head meal. Webpages from the Sheep’s-Head Festival (www.smalahoveportalen. no) and others present the art of cooking in ways understandable for both lay and professional chefs, ‘‘dining guides’’ are provided on the web, and the meal experience and ways of providing it have been portrayed vividly by magazines for male and female alike. 6. Discussion and conclusion The sheep’s-head meal has seen its renaissance, especially from the 1990s and onwards. Rooted in the food and meal traditions of Voss in Western Norway where it still has its home base it has been re-vitalised and has spread geographically and across age groups and social classes, and exists today as private, commercial and official (political) meals. The fact that it is observed further and further afield is partly caused by migrants with family background from Voss, who, due to their self-confidence and knowledge about their own traditions, wanted to organise special events for their friends. Moreover, it is spread by accident as people taste the food and wish to organise Smalahovelag for their friends, or by Smalahovelag arranged by ideal organisations promoting rural districts’ interests in urban areas. It is enjoyed by kindergarten children,

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elderly at old-age homes, homeless people assisted by the Salvation Army, risk-seeking athletes at the Extreme-Sports Week, travelling salesmen and senior managers in the petroleum industries alike. It is available in some restaurants and hotels, and in a wide variety of shops. The variety of the ways of its consumption ranges from a quiet family evening meal to the burlesque and playful festival dinners at the Sheep’s-head Release Festival, and styles will vary from the old restaurant at Løne’s farm to the black-tie gala dinners at Fleischer’s Hotel. Thus the core product may be adapted in quite flexible ways across scenes and settings. This observed renaissance is different from the sad fate of other food traditions that since the 1970s have more or less vanished from active use both as private and commercial meals. Having been commercially available for a long time, local to Voss and a distinct piece of culinary heritage, the sheep’s-head meal meets three of four criteria required for it to be defined as traditional food (Amilien, 2007). Regarding the fourth criterion, that of authenticity, both its production and consumption have radically changed from its origin. The production techniques have been partly mechanised and, although still existing, the old ways of preparing the food contribute less to the total number of consumed meals. Even more radical is the fact that its modern form of consumption has replaced the old ones. This applies particularly to beverages: beer and aquavit especially produced to comply with the taste of this food have been introduced, and the simple ‘‘sheathknife style’’ of dining has been replaced with fine cutlery and special plates and other utensils. Moreover, in status and style it has graduated from being everyday food to food for partying and celebrations in private dining rooms, at Løne’s farm restaurant and hotel dinner jacket settings, and even gained its own annual festival celebration. Paradoxically, these transitions from the old ways of production and consumption have been significantly conducive to the renaissance of the meal. The sheep’s-head meal renaissance is contributing to cultural preservation through active utilisation, including also the creation of trade value from cultural values as a means of maintaining them for the present and the future; it is preserving food history by means of historical meal vitality. ‘‘The meal must have a story to tell, a unique tradition. The sheep’s-head has become such a product. A ‘‘sheep’s-head cult’’ has developed in Voss’’ (N. Geitle, GM of Historic Hotels and Restaurants, in Økonomisk Rapport, 2/2006). This was also the reason for awarding the main entrepreneur behind the renaissance the distinction of the ‘‘Olavsrosa’’ (www.kulturarv.no/index.aspx?article¼24853&mid¼ 24853). The cradle of the modernised sheep’s-head meal is found at the same place as where the tradition originated from, viz. in Voss. Its consumption is facilitated in this area by production, cellar-door and grocery-shop sale, and with easy access to commercial meals. The sheep’s-head meal attracts visitors to the area, and it becomes integrated in the ‘‘experiencescapes’’ (O’Dell, 2005) and in some cases also ‘‘nostalgiascapes’’ (Gyimothy, 2005) of visitors to Voss (Gyimo´thy & Mykletun, 2009). Tourists to Norway complain about difficulties in finding access to local and traditional food (http:// www.vg.no/reise/artikkel.php?artid¼3048880), but Voss has managed better than most other places by its sheep’s-head meal, at least for the brave visitors. As a successful local dish, unique to Voss and depending on its market spread, sheep’s-head may serve an important function in the place marketing of its area (Hall, Mitchell, & Sharples, 2003). More than most dishes, this may apply as the food itself may be looked upon as scary, yet still have a strong renaissance as a restaurant meal, as an official meal, and a meal at private functions. When consumers make brand choices about products, including destinations, they are making lifestyle statements since they are buying not only into an image but also an

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emotional relationship. Brand winners are rich in emotional meaning, have great conversational value and hold high anticipation for potential tourists (Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride, 2002), and the sheep’s-head meal qualifies in all these respects. Thus the successful renaissance of the sheep’s-head meal depends to some extent on its historical roots, traditions and values of the farming nostalgic past, and embeddedness in a place with which people can identify. It qualifies as a way by which the modern man can establish meaning in his life by active use of the past (Fossgard & Notaker, 2007; Hjalager & Richards, 2002; Rusher, 2003), like a ‘‘sensory window’’ (Miele & Murdoch, 2002; Telfer & Hashimoto, 2003) through which the individual can get in touch with the culture of both the past and present Voss. This feature is especially strong when participating in the meal at Løne’s farm restaurant. For the novice an additional and unique feature of this meal is it ‘‘scariness’’, which on the one hand provokes associations of death and dying and the fact of the human being on top of the nutrition chain (Beardsworth & Keil, 1997), making the participation in the meal a challenge, while on the other hand establishing prestige for the meal and the courageous guests participating in it (Fossgard & Notaker, 2007). The head is also a risk factor due to bacteria accumulation, which may cause diseases if the food is not properly cleaned and processed. A strong bouquet is another distance marker of something unusual to those unfamiliar with salted and smoked lamb meat. The generous offers of alcoholic beverages facilitates the consumption by refocusing attention from fear to playful consumption modes, diplomas signify the guests’ great courage and acts of knighting following the successful consumption strengthen the trophy-like character of this meal. In this respect the meal resembles other adventure products sought out by visitor for the enjoyment of fear, thrill and playful consumptions (Cater, 2006; Gyimothy & Mykletun, 2004; Mykletun & Gyimo´thy, 2007). Being an extreme, this trophy food matches well Voss’ extreme destination image (www.utforskhordaland.no). A most striking difference is, however, that this is an inner adventure as opposed to sportive adventures like BASE-Jumping or white water kayaking. A third argument for the growth of this dish remains within its culinary qualities. The meal conveys unique experiences with regard to varieties of tastes, a special bouquet and ranges of textures, related to different parts of the meal. Among the established eaters one finds also the ‘‘feinschmecker’’ enjoying it for gourmet reasons – indeed an acquired taste that it takes time to develop unless brought up with the salted and smoked sheep meat. These qualities have been appreciated by the best of Norwegian chefs and the sheep’s-head may be purchased at delicatessen shops like Fenaknoken in Oslo; however, cooking it is no culinary art achievement as such and for a Michelin-star restaurant the meal is regarded as the very antithesis to the Michelin restaurant style (Helstrøm, 2006). Entrepreneurial endeavours constitute the fourth reason contributing to the sheep-head meal renaissance. First and foremost Ivar Løne has an almost monopolistic position supplying the majority of the market demands. The Smalahovetunet is a familyowned company and their investments in production facilities and cellar-door sale were followed up by the creation of a unique farm restaurant: The restaurant experience includes storytelling, full transparency regarding the modern production facilities and traditional home-brewed beer and Sheep’s-head aquavit as part of the sheep’s-head meal. The second main entrepreneurial efforts have been achieved by the Fleischer’s Hotel organising the varieties of Sheep’s-head dinners and allocating room for the sheep’shead meal on their a`-la-carte-menus. The entrepreneurial achievements encompass the competence of ‘‘herding’’ their various groups of guest through the meals by a skilful toastmaster

to make them memorable enjoyments of the meeting with this scary food, rewarding their courage, and distracting their focus form the scariness and towards the thrill and fun and bravery of the entire experience. Supportive of these processes have been the achievements of the silversmith providing sheep’s-head cutlery and sheep’s-head trinkets, the painting artist creating the sheep’shead dinner plate, and lots of poets creating the sheep’s-head songs. Finally, the men behind the Sheep’s-head Release Festival, among whom Ivar Løne has been a central driving force, have established the Festival as a continuation of an autumn sheep auction tradition, and initiated the production of special Sheep’shead Aquavit and micro-brewed Sheep’s-head Beer. Each of these endeavours reflects abilities to either grasp opportunities and react to market changes (‘‘the Austrian school’’), innovating and making market changes (‘‘the German school’’) and/or causing incremental changes through enterprise management (‘‘the Chicago school’’; see Binks & Vale, 1990). However, the majority of developments are customer-driven, constituting examples of the ‘‘Austrian school’’ of entrepreneurship. Even though entrepreneurial achievements may contribute to chaos at destination level (Russel & Faulkner, 2004), this has so far not been a great problem for the sheep’s-head meal renaissance, mainly because of the absence of firm tourism development planning and coordination in this region. The exception is the Sheep’shead Release Festival, which seems to be at variance with the perceptions of some groups holding a more purist view of food traditions, and because the Festival disturbs the general street order. Personal features typical of the entrepreneurs, like the need for achievements, self-efficacy, innovativeness and stress tolerance (Rauch & Frese, 2007) may be observed on the individual level among those who have moved the sheep’s-head meal into its renaissance. Moreover, the individual entrepreneurs observed have developed firm networks in which the sheep’s-heads develop and thrive as the core of a variety of commercial meals and celebrations in festival format. Related to these networks are the producers of sheep’s-head merchandise, beer and aquavit. Apart from being the result of individual endeavours, the renaissance is embedded in business networks in two ways. (Johannisson et al., 2002): Firstorder embedment is present with the business-to-business relationships observed, for instance between the production of Ivar Løne and all the companies buying the products from his company. Second-order embedment (business-to-institution) is present in the relationship between Løne’s production facility and the Sheep’s-head Release Festival as an institution and to a smaller extent in the Extreme-Sport Week. With reference to the sheep’shead meal, Voss has become a ‘‘community of practice’’ with the creation of identities and social learning to an extent that makes the region difficult to compete with or imitate (Johannisson et al., 2002; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Moreover, it is likely that the entrepreneurial success of Ivar Løne has accelerated other entrepreneurial activities through social learning of entrepreneurial practice. Examples include the Voss Menu and the Voss Meat Industries. Several farmers are now changing their productions to make more room for tourism and leisure-related approaches in their pursuit of business, ranging from such radical transitions as turning barns into restaurants and theatres to tour guiding and traditional farm stays. In conclusion, the sheep’s-head meal renaissance is a creation achieved by individual entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial networks which has contributed to growth and distinctiveness of the area and its branding as a tourist destination. Moreover, they have inspired and accelerated other entrepreneurs within farming, supply of side products and services. Although the conclusion is based on a case study, it is reasonable to believe that the energising

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of the ‘‘social bricolage’’ observed here would also lead to developments in other tourism regions, provided a good product to sell.

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