An Epicurean Extravaganza in Iceland

Nick Valentine discovers a seafood mecca in Iceland…

The MATEY Seafood Festival in Vestmannaeyjar, also known as The Westman Islands, a short 35-minute ferry hop from Landeyjahöfn on Iceland’s mainland, is a gastronomic treat for this avid pescatarian. Now in its third year, (Mat translates as food and Ey is island) this September event is the brainchild of restaurateur/chef Gísli Matthías Auðunsson, the tourist association’s Berglind Sigmarsdóttir and entrepreneur Frosti Gislason, who is also our charismatic host for this 3-day culinary extravaganza.

Restaurants, fish factories, food producers and other food industry service partners have collaborated to highlight the food of Vestmannaeyjar, to a worldwide market and showcase the harmonious synergy between suppliers and food outlets. This proud, coastal community aim to exalt the importance of the blue economy of the islands, whilst celebrating its family run restaurants and cultural heritage.

Vestmannaeyjar has become one of the best culinary destinations in Iceland and was nominated to the Embla food awards as the best Nordic Food Destination in 2021. For this visit, we are joined by three international, female chefs. Adriana Solis Cavita from Mexico is taking over the kitchen at GOTT restaurant, Rosie May Maguire from the UK, Slippurinn restaurant and Renata Zalles from Bolivia, Einsi Kaldi restaurant. Their mission, to give a global, experimental twist to Icelandic food offerings and revitalise local palates, while showcasing the finest ingredients this ‘land of fire and ice’ has to offer.

Our accommodation, Ocean Villas in Búhamar, on the west side of Heimaey, which is the only populated island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, with 4,600 inhabitants, sits right on the North Atlantic coast, with stunning sea views and an adjacent, weather permitting golf course. It’s both stylish and comfortable, boasts an outdoor hot tub for the seriously hardy and on this, first night, facilitates one of the best night sleeps I have ever had. 

Our day starts with an informative trip to the VSV fish factory and then a visit to Sea Life Trust’s Puffin Rescue Centre and Beluga Whale Sanctuary, where we encounter Little White and Little Grey, two stunningly, majestic female Beluga whales, who interact with us in a joyful, almost humanlike way. You will regularly see locals and tourists rescuing baby puffins, who have mistaken the town’s streetlights for moonlight, by placing them in into cardboard boxes and returning them to the sea the following morning.

A guided coach tour of the island with Odin Travel follows, before we are dropped off at the Eldheimar Volcano Museum. In the early hours on January 23, 1973 a catastrophic eruption occurred, which devastated Heimaey, but miraculously only resulted in one death as the total population was hastily evacuated by sea. Within the confines of the museum is an eerily preserved dwelling, dug out from beneath tons of pumice rock and a constant reminder of the island’s fragile positioning in the Southern Icelandic Volcanic Zone. 

Tonight’s dinner at Gott with Chef Adriana at the helm kicks off with grilled Monkfish skewers marinated in Mexican herbs and macha sauce. It’s an underrated fish, which to me always delivers. A spicy, sweet Halibut, then a street food staple, Mexican corn stew, takes us to Lemon Sole, butterfly Sinaloa style. Wow! Each dish is exquisitely flavoured and beautifully presented and just about allows room for a desert of sweet crispy fritter, hibiscus flower, cream and crowberries, a first for me. The restaurant has a Soho vibe, quirky works of art, vibrant colours and a very cool, deep/tribal house playlist, which seduces me into downing yet another ‘one-for-the-road’ Isafold gin cocktail.

A light breakfast at Vigtin bakery, before heading out to sea on a guided, rib boat safari of the surrounding cliffs and caves where we discover basking seals, guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars and the skipper’s passion for very loud, summery RnB tunes, which in this bitterly cold setting, seems extremely surreal.

A stop for lunch at the Herjolfstown, Viking Wax Museum, a meticulous recreation of a Viking turf house, complete with an assorted bunch of wax characters from Nordic folklore. Here we are served the winning entries from Southern Europe and in turn meet the three Spanish, Italian and Portuguese victorious, culinary students from the Concurso Escuelas de Cocina de Bacalao de Islandia competition. This initiative was set up to encourage young overseas chefs to reimagine and discover the origin of Icelandic salted cod (Bacalao).

As you can imagine, the delicacies consumed have given me a raging thirst, so the next stop at Brothers Brewery, a bar with an on-site, boutique, beer factory, and a purveyor of a few exceptionally fine lagers and ales, is most welcomed.

A villa stop for a change of clothes, a biting wind has swept in, and it’s time for our second festival dinner, presented by Chef Rosie May at Slippurinn Restaurant, housed in a former machine workshop, with a high-class, hipster vibe. A delicious starter of Bacalao and English pea fritter with aged Feykir cheese opens up the tastebuds to accommodate Perch cured in Artic thyme with salted Yorkshire rhubarb, sorrel and oyster leaf emulsion. Hearty, Monkfish cheeks, roasted cauliflower puree with red wine and brown butter follows. It’s a simple, but heavenly course and actually nudges Monkfish into my top five favourite fishes. Steamed Cod with cod skin crumble and roe, pea stew, potato salad, carrots, lovage and seaweed completes this fish feast. It’s the perfect comfort dish and super filling, so a strategic, bar break is necessary before I tuck into the Omnom chocolate ganache with brewer’s malt crumble, blueberry granita and roasted sugar kelp. As I waddle to our taxi point in my black goose down puffer jacket, I’m worried someone’s going to box me up and throw me back in the sea tomorrow.

Our last day. I skip breakfast, which turns out to be a blessing, as when we arrive for a tour of Grimur Kokkur frozen fish food factory, an assortment of native products has been laid out for us to try. The quality is as you would expect, with the source being literally metres away.

An all-terrain vehicle trip to the epicentre of the 1973 volcanic eruption with Volcano ATV is a fitting end to our exploration of this remarkable island. This speeding quad bike ride across lava created moonscapes, both exhilarates one, with its spectacular vistas, yet harshly reminds you of the remoteness of this European outpost, that was only permanently settled as late as 874 AD.

And so, to our final festival dinner at Einsi Kaldi restaurant on the ground floor of Hotel Vestmannaeyja, presided over by Chef Renata. It’s become very apparent, that most of Heimaey’s eateries look fairly industrial on the outside, but then surprise and captivate you with their chic and stylish interiors. Here is no exception. Bomba de Bacalao with tomato chutney, a fish and potato tapas, sets the tone for the evening. Cod ceviche, Peruvian style, follows. It’s delicate, it’s spicy, it’s fabulous. Shrimp with sticky rice, pointed cabbage and herb salad leads us to a Wolffish Moilee, coconut curry with broccoli and bok choy. It continues the theme of loud and lively flavours and necessitates a couple more ‘heavy on the ice’ cocktails in quick succession. I wonder out loud, how such an ugly, menacingly looking fish can taste so insanely good. A classic Tres Leches Cake with coriander seed ice cream and foraged berries concludes our evening’s Epicurean adventure and indeed our trip. It has been an eye-opening experience, in both culinary and sight-seeing terms and my lasting memory will be the warmth, black humour, stoicism and extreme generosity of the Westman islanders.

Westman Islands Tourism Association

Frosti Gíslason –  MATEY Seafood Festival

A special thank you to Íslandsstofa/Business Iceland