As I'm in the midst of planning my mini getaway to Iceland in the new year, I got the opportunity to get a taste of what Iceland has to offer in the best way possible (see what I did there?).
Coincidence? I think not!
I know, that dish looks stunning. This is Icelandic Lamb, for all those wondering, and it is only available this weekend during Taste of Iceland!
Taste of Iceland is happening right now, and besides having many free events such as the Reykjavik Calling concert at Adelaide Hall and the Icelandic Film Festival at The Royal Cinema, I'm obviously more focused on the food events.
Yesterday, I spent my evening tasting an Icelandic menu that is only available this weekend.
Acclaimed Icelandic Chef Ylfa Helgadóttir, Chef de Cuisine and Owner of Kopar, has specifically flown into Toronto to collaborate with local chefs Michael Wilson and Anthony Walsh. They created a four-course menu to showcase fine, authentic Icelandic delicacies. I've never had Icelandic cuisine before, so I was really looking forward to trying it out!
We all started off with one of their signature cocktails.
Out of the four, I went with the Violet Mojito. Besides looking pretty, it was just another mojito (which I love) so no complains here!
And then...the food started to arrive.
They started us off with the Icelandic Cod, which came on a bed of seaweed salad. It was topped with salmon roe and dill mayo. What a refreshing start to this tasting! This dish was paired with a glass of white from Flat Rock.
The second dish was the Langoustine Risotto. I've never had langoustine before, but I quickly learned it was like a baby lobster that was a little sweeter. Each dish came with two langoustines in the risotto, as well as a couple shrimps - talk about wowing the guests. Chef Helgadóttir definitely knows how to! The risotto was made with shellfish sauce and topped with a fennel salad.
This dish was paired with a Chardonnay from Sonoma County.
The main dish (I'm pretty sure the risotto can also be considered a main course from the size of it!) was the Icelandic Lamb. Oh, my, goodness. I just drooled looking at the photo while typing this up. I mean, look at that. Besides being amazed by the presentation and the large portion of lamb, this dish came with small potatoes, creamed mushrooms with port and garlic confit.
Literally every little item on this dish was delicious, and worked well with each other. AHH, just so good. I can't stop thinking about it.
This dish paired very well with a glass of Penfolds Bin 2 from South Australia.
For dessert, I got to try Icelandic Skyr. And no, it is not pronounced as "sky-er" lol! Skyr is a low fat Icelandic milk product similar to cheese. I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese, but it was good when you had a spoon of the mousse and a spoon of the sorbet. Yum!
The dessert was obviouslyy paired with a sweet wine, like a Riesling from Cave Spring.
The dessert was obviouslyy paired with a sweet wine, like a Riesling from Cave Spring.
This entire meal was fantastic. I kept telling people this yesterday about how I don't think I've ever enjoyed every single course of a prefix menu before. So head on over to Luma to try this delicious Icelandic tasting while it's still available. Trust meee :)
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For more information on this one-of-a-kind event, visit Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Don’t forget to hashtag your Taste of Iceland experience: #TasteofIceland, & enjoy!
*This was a complimentary meal; however, please note that all opinions expressed are solely my own.
Thank you Rock-it Promotions!*
Thank you Rock-it Promotions!*
