Alt for Norge Daily Journal: Day 29 - May 26, 2012 (Episode 5)

Today was Day 1 of Episode 5, which involved our first team competition and a very interesting sleeping arrangement.

We started out the day by doing an opening shot with Henriette. We stepped off a bus and onto the same pier that we swam from the day before. There, Henriette introduced us to the city of Stranda and informed us that we would spend this week learning what it’s like to be a “typical Norwegian.” Not sure what that means, but it sounds like we may be doing some more “regular” jobs. I guess we’ll find out.

Henriette getting ready to tell us more about our first challenge.
This is the view from Stranda! Wow!

After the introduction and an hour wait, they had us take a short walk through the city, ending our walk at a factory that was right on the edge of the fjord. It was here that Henriette told us about our first team competition. We were standing on the steps of the company that makes Grandiosa Pizzas, which is Norway’s number one frozen pizza (the equivalent of our Totinos). The challenge was to create and make four pizzas, all the same kind, and feed them to some local town’s people. We would be able to choose from a large variety of ingredients and would be judged on one of three categories: Creativity, Looks, and Taste. After some initial interviews, it was on.

Hanging out between shots after finishing making our pizzas.
Gotta love Alf's hair net!

Quickly, our team, the Blue Team (Alf, Barbara, Jessica and I), decided on a “Surf and Turf” pizza. It would consist of a light amount of marinara-like sauce, a mix of salmon and bruschutto (sp?), topped with a light amount of cheese, some arugula, mushrooms, peppers, onions and some seasoning. The plan would be to cook it, then top it with some fresh baby shrimp and some small dobs of sour cream. (This last part was Jessica and Barbara’s choice and one that I didn’t quite agree with, but they were so confident in it, I went with it.) From what we could tell, the Red Team (Johnathan, Austin, Tara, C.J. and Amy, who has the troll) was making some sort of pizza that seemed to have everything on it.

After seeing the look of their pizza, compared to ours, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we had the “Look” category won. Along with that, we were pretty confident on “Creativity” as well, but taste would be a toss-up. However, with 2 of the 3 categories pretty much in the bag, I was sure this one was ours!

The locals starting to gather and getting some instruction from Eli.

Both teams put their four pizzas in an oven that was brought out for the competition, and then broke for lunch. Quickly, the townspeople started arriving. What we thought would be a lot of factory workers, soon turned into about 40 high school/college girls, along with a sprinkling of other genders and ages. At the time, I didn’t think it had any effect on us, but it may have played a role later.

Then, the competition took an interesting turn. Although the portable oven placed on a hillside in front of a fjord was a picturesque scene for this shot, it wasn’t as functional as the crew was hoping. It turned out that the oven wasn’t quite level. Between the oven not being level and the vibrations from its heater, all of a sudden, 3 of the pizzas slid off their racks and to a heap at the bottom of the oven! Quickly, everyone moved to stop any other pizzas from falling. It was then that it was discovered that all three pizzas were our team’s pizzas! We only had one left! The scene was chaos for a little while, watching all of the crew scurrying around trying to figure out what to do.

Johnathan being Johnathan while waiting for the pizzas to cook.

After the producers and directors met, we were given an update. It was determined that we would feed 16 people, instead of the 60 that were originally intended to be fed, and each team would only use one pizza. As soon as the pizzas were ready, we would feed the locals!

16 people, probably a half local teenagers, made their way to the tables, with both of our teams standing beside our products. First, they took a good look at the pizzas and then each ate a 1/16^th slice from each team’s pizza. From the looks on the faces of those eating our pizzas, it looked as though we may sweep the competition and win the “Taste” category as well!

Austin getting interviewed before the results.

After interviewing the locals and a long wait, we gathered for the results. Amazingly, their team won the “Look” category with 68% of the vote! Then, we destroyed them by collecting 80% of the votes for “Creativity”. It would all come down to Taste. With 62% of the vote, the Red Team would win that category as well as the first competition! We just lost, which means that they will have a head start in tomorrow’s team competition. Dang it!

Immediately following the results, Alf and Jessica were telling people in a passive-aggressive means that they thought it was unfair that the judges were able to see who made which pizza. When there are only 16 judges, it only takes two of the several teenage girls who were seeking photos with Austin, to swing their votes towards his team, which would change everything. I agreed with them and really don’t think that it’s that hard to believe it could have happened. It may not have, but that should have been considered. (Okay, I may be reaching here, but as you know, I don’t handle defeat very well. AKA: I’m a sore loser!)

Shortly after, we were filmed learning that we would be spending the night with a Norwegian family! One team would stay with a younger family with two young kids. The other team, with a slightly older family with two teenage kids and a dog. I was really hoping for the younger kids, seeing that I needed some play time, but it was not meant to be.

Hanging out with our host family, the Skog family! A truly great
representation of the Norwegian people!

We headed to our designated homes and were filmed as we walked up to their door. It was there that we were greeted by a couple in their 40’s with a 13-year old girl named Hanne, and a 17-year old boy named Tore Andre. The parents, named Vebjorn and Merete, were very inviting and very nice. The home was very nice as well. It was pretty cool getting to see what the “typical” Norwegian home was like.

We spent the rest of the night having dinner and talking. It turned out to be a great time and we got a lot of information from them. (We were told by Henriette to pick their brains about “typical” Norwegian life, so we were all assuming that would be a part of the individual challenge.) Vebjorn even shared some local beer and aquavit with us! (That was nice, since we were told that the typical Norwegian family does not drink on a weekday, which it was.)

Alf and the Skog family dog, Cindy!

At about 11:00 p.m., Alf and I went to bed in their guest room. Tough to do when it’s still light out! (This Norwegian sun is crazy!) Anyways, time to rest up for tomorrow’s competition. I don’t want to go to the individual challenge. Positive thoughts!

Day 29 Over!