Food and Saga in Reykjavik – the Food

Menu from Icelandic chef Tyffi´s house 29. June 2016

The Bar:

Brenninvin

Icelandic Beer Tasting

Starters:
Blood pudding, liver sausage, sheep head pate, onion and vinegar pickled, five spice pickled and smoked herring on brown bread and boiled eggs, Dried cod jerky with free and happy cow´s butter, Whey sour whale blubber, Smoked lamb on flatbread, Lumpfish roe/Icelandic caviar on a toast, dung smoked trout and dill gravlax on a toast with mustard sauce, Dried seaweed and Sheep roast with pickled mayo and crunchy fried onion, infamous Greenland “urinated” shark

Did you know: Hákarl (Fermented Shark) is a national dish of Iceland consisting mainly of Greenland shark, who lives farther north than any other shark species and has the most toxic meat of all. Greenland shark has no kidneys, leading the body to store large amount of urea, which acts as natural antifreeze. With an ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, hákarl is somewhat of an acquired taste, and is often eaten with a shot of Brenninvin.

On my first try, fermented shark really wasn’t so bad. A little fishy but no more than pickled herring. And the smell wasn’t as pungent as I thought it would be. I’ve had worse things.

Chef at work:

Fish:
Pan fried wolfish, ling, sole in bread crumbs, and champagne steamed Arctic Char and oven baked Langoustine, with mousse of parsnip, cauliflower and potatoes, white cabbage-fennel Kimchee. And Lobster foam

Meat:
Roasted leg of Lamb with mixed mostly Icelandic vegetables and wild mushrooms of course served with gravy

Desert:
Icelandic skyr cake on a French chocolate cake with crowberry liqueur

And ONE HAPPY EATER!

Food and Sage Gourmet Tour by Season Tours
Booking URL: http://www.seasontours.is/#!food-and-saga/c1hy
Email: bookings@seasontours.is
Note: To get more out of this unique opportunity, come with questions. Chef Tyffi is knowledgeable and will be glad to answer them for you. This is not the usual big bus tour, you really get a lot of one on one time with the chef/guide. So make it count 🙂

Last but not least, if you are like me, who get deeply attached with the place I visit, don’t do this tour on the last day of your stay in Iceland. You will find it really hard to say goodbye to this beautiful country.