Fun and feasting in the Atlantic
While some of Iceland’s traditional delicacies may not be to everyone’s taste (the infamous rotten shark for starters), its culinary credentials are top-notch. In this remote land, where fishermen cast their nets in pure waters and lambs roam the greenest mountain valleys, organic, locally sourced produce has always been the norm. Nowhere does it get a better showcase than Reykjavík, and the aptly named Food & Fun Festival that’s held here every year. The week-long event pairs top chefs from Europe and the USA with their counterparts at the capital’s best restaurants and asks them to create a menu made entirely from Icelandic ingredients. The results are always inventive: last year’s included snow crab with squid ink brioche at the lakeside restaurant Tjörnin, and skyr (a yoghurty Icelandic staple) with meringue and white chocolate at Fiskfélagið. Don’t miss the final day, when the chefs compete to whip their island produce into the ultimate three-course feast.
1 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A dessert from the 2014 festival; Iceland’s Grótta lighthouse; fishy taster spoons; 2014 runner-up chef Jesper Tøt Stjernholm Krabbe