Many people have visited Iceland for its spectacular nature, but now visitors have the opportunity to explore its delicious secrets. On this new seven-day escorted tour of southwest Iceland, visitors take in the extraordinary nature and geology of Iceland while experiencing the traditional culinary heritage of the country. Catching a fish from the pollution-free waters to be prepared and served back to you in a gourmet restaurant, baking bread underground using heat from hot springs and imbibing on a specialty cocktail served while bathing in the unique Blue Lagoon are just some of the culinary morsels on offer. For more information or to book: www.icelandtotal.com/sensational-iceland
Posts Tagged ‘cuisine’
TASTE-SATIONAL ICELAND - A NEW CULINARY JOURNEY
Friday, June 11th, 2010TASTE OF ICELAND COMES TO TORONTO
March 17-20
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Can’t get to Boston or Iceland anytime soon? Toronto will be the next best thing later this month. After one thousand years and counting, Icelandic culture is still very much alive, and now it’s coming to Canada. Torontonians can once again experience the Icelandic lifestyle during A Taste of Iceland, the country’s captivating cultural festival, from March 17 to 20.
Hosted by Iceland Naturally and in collaboration with Toronto’s Drake Hotel, this four-day event provides a chance to learn more about this beautiful country and its people with a variety of events including free live performances, film screenings, Icelandic food offerings and art.
For instance: Chef Thorarinn Eggertsson, also known as Chef Thor, owner and head chef of Orange in downtown Reykjavík, will design the menu at the Drake and cook on-site to inspire Toronto-area foodies with his unique Icelandic dishes and exquisite cuisine.
Icelandic musician Mugison and his band will play at Drake Underground on March 19 and 20 at 10 p.m. (Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West). Admission is free. Country Wedding will have a public screening on March 18, at 6:30 p.m. at Cumberland Four Theatre (159 Cumberland Avenue). Reykjavik Rotterdam will be shown at 8:10. Admission for both screenings is free.
Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardottir’s latest installation, Haunted, will be on display at the Drake from March 17 to 20. (http://www.shoplifter.us/haunted.php) Her work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where she currently resides, along with other major cities across the United States and worldwide. Icelanders enjoy a sophisticated European lifestyle based on age-old traditions. They make their own food from fresh ingredients, design their own clothes, write their own books, make their own music and perform their own plays. View the complete schedule and see what it’s all about. (For more information: http://www.icelandnaturally.com/news/archive/nr/126).
BOSTON HOSTS TASTE OF ICELAND
March 11-17
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Our Boston friends surely are tired of baked beans and clam chowder by now. To liven things up this month, and to celebrate Icelandair’s nonstop service between Boston and Reykjavík, comes a Taste of Iceland. The event features the best of Icelandic music, cuisine and films through a series of ongoing special promotions in and around Boston from March 11-17, 2010.
A Taste of Iceland, a multi-day cultural program, will include a variety of public events, such as live musical performances, Icelandic culinary tastings and a film festival.
On March 11, for instance, are free screenings of two recent Icelandic hit films. Country Wedding (6:15 pm) is a comedy of errors set in the beautiful Icelandic countryside. This will be followed by Reykjavik Rotterdam, (7:45 pm) an award winning crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Location: Kendall Square Cinema (1 Kendall Square, Cambridge).
A Taste of Iceland is presented by Iceland Naturally, in cooperation with Icelandair, Icelandic USA, Inc., 66° North, The Blue Lagoon, Icelandic Glacial, Rustic Kitchen, British Beer Garden, Kendall Square Cinema, Middlesex Lounge, The Middle East and T.T. the Bear’s Place. With that many players in the game, there is guaranteed to be something for everyone. (For more information: http://www.icelandnaturally.com/taste-of-iceland-boston/nr/162)
TAKE A JEEPZILLA TOUR IN REMOTE HELLNAR
Monday, February 15th, 2010
Hellnar is a small town located at the far end of a Snaefellsnes peninsula, facing a large glacier called Snaefellsjokull and surrounded by a big ocean about 120 miles from Reykjavik. It is a town truly in the middle of nowhere and seems untouched by time, probably because of its remoteness. The town hasn’t changed much at all since the time that Iceland was settled, except for the Jeepzillas that prowl the nearby Snaefellsnes National Park offering visitors the chance to go snowmobiling, glacier walking, ice climbing, and ice caving. These are Jeeps on steroids with giant knobby tires and tricked-out navigation gear.
The 20-room Hotel Hellnar (www.hellnar.is) is a standout - the very first travel business in Iceland to be certified by Green Globe, in 2002, and a property that continually seeks annual re-certification. Their commitment to the environment and sustainable tourism is unsurpassed in Iceland.
The best restaurant in Hellnar is undeniably located at Hotel Budir (www.hotelbudir.is) which is known for saltfish brandade and cod confit with crispy skin and scallops.
WE’VE GOT YOUR FOOD, WE’VE GOT YOUR FUN February 24-28, 2010
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
The annual Iceland Food and Fun Festival will be held in Reykjavik, February 24-28, 2010. Chefs from the USA, Canada and Europe will be teamed up with the most prestigious Icelandic chefs and given the finest Icelandic ingredients to create their masterpieces. Each team will prepare 1 lamb dish, 1 fish dish and 1 dessert. These meals will be served at the finest participating restaurants across the city of Reykjavik until the grand judging. To close the weekend’s festivities, a gala awards event will be held on February 28 featuring a recap of Food and Fun 2010 and the top chefs of the year. Learn more at www.foodandfun.is
THORRABLOT IS NOT FOR THE MEEK
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Reality television just can’t get enough of strange foods. From shows like Man V. Food and Bizarre Foods, to Fear Factor challenges, if it crawls, slithers, or is the part of the animal usually tossed away, it’s fair game. The Vikings knew this 1,000 years before the first cathode ray tube ever flickered.
The ancient Viking midwinter tradition – named for Thorri, a month in the old Icelandic calendar – was originally the feast of sacrifice involving the blood of oxen and goats. Contemporary celebrations – which visitors can experience at many restaurants – involve dancing, singing, drinking, and eating traditional Norse specialties (so far, so good), but are combined with eating singed sheep’s head, pickled rams testicles, and putrefied shark that has been buried for three months or more (certainly not for the meek). There’s puffin on the menu as well – nothing like eating the national bird so long as it’s cooked in a good sauce. Just don’t expect it to taste like chicken. Celebrations begin January 22 through most of February.
CRAVE A BIG MAC ON VACATION? DON’T COME LOOKING AT US
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Iceland is set to lose all three of its McDonald’s locations, all in Reykjavik. Frankly, it always puzzled us why people would want a Big Mac anyway, what with world class gourmet restaurants on every block, the freshest seafood on the planet, and the water – don’t get us started on how crisp, clean and pure the water is.
The cratering of the Icelandic economy, paired with the expense of importing nearly every single ingredient on the menu – packaging, meat, vegetables, cheese – forced brothers Jon and Magnus Ogmundsson to close their franchises, despite a big run on Big Macs during the closing days. Don’t ask us why, but the media is fascinated with Iceland – this story made worldwide news.
Iceland already had the third priciest Big Mac on the planet, behind Norway and Sweden, and the need for a further price hike effectively swung a wrecking ball into the Golden Arches. They plan to re-open the locations under a new name – how’s this guys: McEinar’s? or McThor? They’ll use local ingredients, so keep an eye out for an Egg McPuffin on your next trip.
ORANGE IS A HOT TABLE
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Reykjavík’s Orange restaurant has made it to the prestigious Condé Nast Hot Tables list for 2009. According to the list, Orange is one of the most exciting restaurants in Europe, with its innovative menu and original service. The coverage reads, in part, “Despite the unremarkable concrete facade, Orange, in Reykjavík’s old harbor, is packed with playful surprises.
“A slushie machine dispenses potent neon cocktails named for Iceland’s glaciers; a mason jar holding a deer and goose terrine appears amid a cloud of dry ice; and the coconut-crusted prawns arrive via a helium-filled balloon. Presiding over this fun-through-dining experience is 29-year-old chef Thorarinn Eggertsson. He deftly incorporates aspects of molecular gastronomy into a menu heavy on locally sourced ingredients like gray duck, reindeer, and salted cod.”
Read the complete review here: http://www.concierge.com/tools/travelawards/hotlist/2009/restaurants/detail/orange
To learn more about Orange, log onto: http://www.orange.is
THEY SAID IT
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
“For anyone interested in sampling some intelligently cosmopolitan treatments of exotic ingredients, the time is now.”
– Raymond Sokolov, “Icelandic Dining After the Collapse,” The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 7 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123395793332358403.html
“If you have always wanted to go to this extraordinary destination of ice caps and volcanoes, hot springs and waterfalls, make 2009 the year. What was a scarily expensive country has suddenly become affordable – the currency has halved in value against the pound.”
– Nick Trend, London Daily Telegraph, “Ten Reasons to Travel in 2009,” Jan. 16. Read full story here.
