We were told to drive to the beach of Leynavatn and meet at the “Skerpi”, a fermenting shed commonly found on the Faroe Islands. Inside was a table where we were served our first dish, fried cod chips, and a choice of kombucha or Faroese beer. A Land Rover then drove us off-road for ten minutes to the restaurant, which is housed in a former farmhouse. We were served a tasting menu made of local ingredients and Faroese cooking techniques. Most of the dishes consisted of seafood and lamb, both fresh and fermented. The fermentation method, ræst, is unique and culturally significant to the Faroe Islands. With few trees and no salt production, the alternative for preserving food was to hang the fish and meat in sheds to dry in the salty sea air. Although no longer necessary, this process is still widely used on the islands and gives the food a distinctive flavour.
THE GETAWAY EDIT
