Credo is back – in Oslo

A cultural expression

“We believe that food is not just nourishment for the body, but also a cultural expression. What we eat is shaped by the nature around us, the resources available to us, inherited traditions, and encounters with other cultures,” says Heidi Bjerkan, the unrivalled queen of Norwegian cuisine.

Bjerkan is not just an ordinary master chef, she is also considered a visionary when it comes to advocating for healthy, sustainable food, and animal welfare, and a guardian of Norway’s rich food culture and traditions.

From Trondheim to Oslo

Credo restaurant in her hometown Trondheim was a fixture on the Norwegian culinary scene for almost 25 years and was widely regarded as one of Norway's best restaurants. In 2019 it was awarded a MICHELIN star and became the first restaurant in the world to receive a Green Michelin Star for sustainable gastronomy.

In November 2025, she reopened Credo in Oslo, after several years of hard work, in close collaboration with the National Library.

The new Credo will run according to the same core principles as its previous home.

“We have a kitchen founded on quality ingredients and work with both new and established producers. We want to show how all of us can eat simply, sensibly,and, not least, deliciously, while also taking care of the planet,” says Bjerkan.

But there's an even stronger Norwegian twist to the dishes this time.

“Our food concept is national in that we use local produce from all over Norway. I wish to showcase Norwegian food culture, both its past, present and future,” she says.

Norwegian culinary heritage

The innovative collaboration between the National Library and Credo aims to create a meeting place for everyone, with knowledge of Norwegian food and traditions at its core.

"Food is an important part of our cultural heritage. Credo and Heidi Bjerkan not only want to serve food, but also actively contribute to showcasing our cultural history," former National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre, who worked on the project, told Norwegian news agency NTB.

For all tastes and wallets

The National Library is full of students and researchers. While heavenly fine dining at Credo might stretch their budget a bit too much, everyone can taste Bjerkan’s culinary magic in the bakery, cafeteria, or in the beautiful, continental library bar on the second floor, which also serves lunch and light set menus at a very reasonable price.

"The most important thing to me is to continue to make great food, and to honour the craftsmanship behind our food culture. The food traditions are one thing, the ingredients are another, but we also have the people who dedicate themselves to producing these ingredients. Their craft is truly unique," says Bjerkan.

Norwegian food culture

"It feels truly nice to be here. I hope it becomes a lively, bustling place, and that we manage to represent Norway as it is today,” says Bjerkan.

Because Norwegian culinary culture is much more than plain fish, meat and potatoes.

"The multicultural aspect is important – because that is also a part of the Norwegian food culture. The way I see it, when we talk about Norwegian cuisine, we often refer to food from 50 or even 100 years back, but eating a kebab is just as Norwegian today," says Bjerkan with a smile.

What we eat, and how we eat it, also changes with time.

She carefully adds garnish on a delicate scallop, while elaborating further on her point.

"These scallops are growing along the Norwegian coast, but not further north than Tromsø. We also ate a lot of oysters 2,000 years ago too, but the oysters were usually pickled. My grandfather lived off the coast, but he didn't eat scallops, they used them only as bait to catch fish. Times have changed," says Bjerkan, who now serves scallops as an exquisite delicacy in one of Norway' s most unique restaurants.

A multicultural food history

By diving into history, we can learn a lot about the food we eat today.

"Today’s food culture is the result of a multicultural society. Back in the Viking age, Norway was also multicultural as they had spices and ingredients from other parts of the world. The exotic spices that we don’t grow in Norway that we use in our cooking, for instance at Christmas, come from abroad. They were transported along the Silk Road a very long time ago," she says.

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting East Asia with Europe, exchanging silk, spices and ideas int he same era that the Vikings ruled in Scandinavia.

"It reminds us that we were well-travelled in the past too, and brought exotic ingredients back home to Norway, which became part of our food culture," she says.