Enjoy the Spoils of Success – A North Atlantic Food Adventure at Koks, Faroe Islands

This article first appeared in The Q Review Winter 2019 Edition.  To receive your FREE copy – Subscribe here

Travel Destination – The Faroe Islands

For the team at YOLO Travel, a recent journey to Greenland and The Faroe Islands was designed around arctic adventuring – icebergs, glaciers, whale spotting and the midnight sun.

So to also find amazing culinary experiences in these far-flung corners of the world was an unexpected and delicious surprise.

Koks Restaurant, Torshavn

The Faroe Islands, while technically still a Danish territory, are a largely independent archipelago of windswept islands emerging from the North Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Iceland.

With some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet, it is surely only a matter of Instagram-inspired time before it becomes a tourist hotspot, but in the interim it is uncrowded and unspoilt.

The Faroese are passionate about their food, making the most of the sea’s bounty and utilising traditional techniques such as air-drying and fermentation.

But Michelin starred Koks takes this food culture to a whole new level, and is the pinnacle of experiential dining.

And even being in the company of Egede and the world renowned Noma, Koks completely took us by surprise and became the food highlight of our journey.

Koks is located in a remote corner of a country that is already remote, 30 minutes northwest of the diminutive capital of Torshavn.

Once inside, a gastronomic journey like no other commences

Turning off the single lane main road at the signpost, there is a short dirt road and a small wooden shack (known as a “hjallur”) at the edge of a stream.

There is nothing else in sight, besides the jawdropping scenery, and we fear our taxi driver has brought us to the wrong place.

But it is all part of the experience – we are welcomed into the hjallur for a starting snack of dried fish and fermented butter, minke whale and a locally brewed craft beer. It is an idyllic location, though hardly fine dining, and at this stage we remain slightly perplexed as to what comes next.

But we need not have worried, because once we have finished our nibbles, the journey truly begins – we pile into the back of a classical old Land Rover 4WD, ford the stream, and plough into the wilderness, eventually emerging at the restaurant in an even more stunning hillside location.

Once inside, a gastronomic journey like no other commences – 17 courses of unforgettable food, rooted in Faroese tradition but boldly experimental.

There is dried fish, fermented lamb tallow, air-dried mutton, crustaceans, sea urchins, seaweeds, foraged herbs and wild vegetables.

While some of the ingredients may sound dire, the meal is a masterpiece of flavour and adventure, sophisticated and surprising, and one that will never be forgotten.

Secure your table at koks.fo

The Faroe Islands have some of the most breathtaking, unique scenery we have ever experienced.

To learn more about visiting Denmark, Greenland, The Faroe Islands, and other “adventures for the discerning traveller” visit YOLO Travel at youonlyliveoncetravel.com.au