Summary

Want to be more adventurous in the kitchen? Then take some tips from Chef Volli, a hot new talent on the culinary scene, as he travels around Iceland. Combining his passion for food and love of the outdoors, he uses the freshest ingredients, conjuring up simple yet mouth-watering dishes guaranteed to spice up anyone’s home cooking!

Chef Volli’s adventurous journey across his native Iceland focuses on the stunning landscapes of the country of fire and ice – and now – gourmet food. Along the journey, Volli meets up with farmers, chefs and food lovers who are approaching ingredients in a new and exciting way, testing their taste buds to the maximum and relishing the wonderful flavours of Delicious Iceland.

In this six-part series, Chef Volli shares some of Iceland’s best kept secrets, showing viewers how this fascinating island up in the north has defied the rules and how he, as a chef, is taking full advantage of everything the breathtakingly beautiful country has to offer.


Episode 1
In this episode the focus is on fish. Chef Volli travels with his friend Chef Siggi to Vestmannaeyjar, the Westmann Islands, a paradise at the end of the world where the molten lava runs close to the surface, and the puffins circle tirelessly above their precarious homes built on sheer cliff faces. They start their journey by gathering fresh trout from Reynisvatn, just a few miles from Reykjavik, and fresh seaweed from a place called Solva. What makes the seaweed from Solva so special it that it is partly located in a cave, so the seaweed is constantly bathed by fresh water as well as the sea. After that they travel to one of the smaller Westmann Islands that is unpopulated except for sheep during the summer. On their way they catch fresh cod and make sushi on the boat. On the island, Siggi makes fresh salad from the trout that they caught earlier that morning and the seaweed. Back in Reykjavik, the two chefs visit Siggi´s restaurant, located on the top floor of the tallest building in Iceland. There Chef Siggi shows viewers how to steam cod that has been marinated in fresh herbs and Chef Volli heads to his own kitchen where he cooks his version of the cod by making it both sweet and spicy.

Episode 2
In this episode the focus is on lobster and fresh vegetables. Chef Volli starts by travelling to a small village on the south coast of Iceland, called Stokkseyri, where the country’s most renowned lobster restaurant is located. There he meets up with the local chef who shows Chef Volli how to cook lobster in a simple yet rustic way. Next Chef Volli heads to the harbour in Þorlákshöfn were a lobster boat has just arrived and on his way back to the kitchen he stops at Flúðir, a geothermal area, where fresh vegetables are grown in greenhouses all year around. There, a friend of his, a farmer named Baddi, explains the process and shows him some of the vegetables he’s growing. Chef Volli leaves Baddi with an abundance of vegetables that he will be using in his kitchen later in the episode. His next stop is a local farmer at Mosfellssveit, which is just outside of Reykjavik. There the farmers are growing vegetables, flowers and in this case more importantly: strawberries. After picking a fair amount, Volli heads to his kitchen where he starts by making a delicious and surprisingly simple vegetable soup. Next he focuses on the lobster, making two separate dishes out of it, and at the very end he uses the delicious strawberries to make a rustic strawberry cobbler that is sure to melt in your mouth.

Episode 3
In this episode Chef Volli ventures to the northern part of Iceland, which is a breathtakingly beautiful area crowded with volcanoes and geothermal energy. He starts at Lake Myvatn where he meets up with a farmer smoking salmon, char and trout in the traditional way. He also shows the viewers how to bake rye bread by using geothermal energy – burying it in a hole in the ground for 24 hours. Next he goes to Hraunsrétt which is where sheep are gathered from the mountains in the fall. Since sheep from different farms roam together during the summer it is essential that the farmers collect their own sheep and not their neighbours’ sheep. Therefore all the farmers gather the sheep together, run them into what is called réttir and sort them out there, before taking them back home to the farm. The whole event is filled with traditions and ceremonies. Some are dressed in a special way, some are members of a choir, others enjoy a drink or two, but mostly it is about meeting your friends and neighbours. Volli then heads to Laxá in Adaldalur which is close by – a salmon river so spectacular that it is called the queen of Icelandic rivers. People travel from all over the world to fish in it and to enjoy the nature, tranquillity and above all, to try to catch the big one! Laxá is where Chef Volli grew up so he meets up with his family. He ends up in the family lodge where he cooks some delicious lamb meat and makes traditional pancakes.

Episode 4
Chef Volli starts this episode by going to the village of Höfn í Hornafirði, where local fishermen are fishing and smoking mackerel. He grabs a few fish and heads to the kitchen were he makes two original dishes out of them. Next Volli goes to the eastern part of Iceland where he first meets up with a mushroom expert who shows him a thing or two about mushrooms. He then goes bramble berry picking before heading to Hotel Hallormsstaður where his friend Þráinn is the manager. Þráinn is also a chef and likes to experiment with different recipes. He shows Volli his birch syrup and makes a risotto from the bramble berries and the mushrooms. He also shows Volli how to smoke reindeer meat and cooks an incredibly tasty dish from freshly smoked meat and other local ingredients. Volli’s next destination is a village called Hella. Apples are not commonly grown in Iceland, mostly due to the cold weather, but some farmers have managed to conquer this and Chef Volli goes to visit one of them. He picks a few apples to take to his kitchen where he makes a delicious dessert.

Episode 5
In this episode the focus is on meat. Chef Volli starts by going to a beef farm that has some of the best meat in Iceland. From there he heads to Mosfellsbakari, a bakery that is known for its bread and pastries. There Chef Volli picks up bread and heads to the kitchen where the plan is to make a gigantic beef and cheese sandwich using cheeses such as brie and camembert. The next destination is in east Iceland – a unique farm where some magic is happening. Not only do the farmers there make skyr and feta cheese to sell, but they also run the farm and recently decided to open up a restaurant as well. There you can buy their products as well as watch the process of them being made. The farmers, many of whom are expanding their businesses towards tourism, are a fantastic example of Icelandic innovation. Chef Volli gets some fresh skyr and feta cheese that he takes with him to his kitchen where he continues to cook up a storm with the beef. For dessert, Volli decides to make his own ice-cream at a farm called Erpsstaðir that has been experimenting with ice cream for quite a while now. Volli uses fresh mint and black currant berries. The ice cream turns out fabulously, so he heads back to the kitchen, makes some sugar baskets and serves the ice-cream in them.

Episode 6
When the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in the spring of 2010, an incredible amount of ash stopped air traffic all over Europe. It also affected the area closest to it and one of the farms located there is Thorvaldseyri. It was an enormous amount of ash that came down in this area and the remains are still visible. After the eruption stopped, the farmers did everything possible to minimise the damage, and a little bit of ash can actually help the grass grow. Thorvaldseyri farm is not the traditional Icelandic farm. There they grow and harvest their own flour as well as making their own rape-seed oil. Following his visit, Chef Volli heads to Hvalfjordur to collect some fresh wild mussels. He takes them to the family lodge where he bakes a thin crusted bread with the wheat he got from Thorvaldseyri farm and makes a unique soup with the mussels. Volli then heads to a town called Stykkisholmur where he meets up with a friend of his who runs a company specialising in sea tours. A journey through the Breiðafjörður bay is an incredible adventure where you can see countless birds, such as puffins, eider ducks, shags, kittiwakes and, if you are lucky, the majestic white tailed eagle. They cast overboard a small net-plough and catch some crabs, scallops and even a monkfish. Chef Volli decides to set up a kitchen outdoors where he cooks up some scallop crevice and grills the monkfish. At the end of the episode, he heads back to the lodge where he picks some fresh rhubarb and makes a mouth-watering dessert out of meringue, rhubarb and strawberries.