Icelandic chef brings Nordic cuisine to Boston

The Blue Lagoon’s LAVA RestaurantHead Chef Thrainn Freyr Vigfusson will travel to Boston in March to deliver thetastepart of a “Taste of Iceland” weekend. The weekend will offer Bostonians a glimpse into Icelandic cuisine, music, film and literature through several events from March 4-7.

Vigfússon will be partnering with The Merchant’s executive chef, Matt Foley, to offer a four-course meal that shows off the best of Icelandic cuisine.

Guests can expect to start with two fish courses, an Icelandic arctic char served with horseradish sauce, char roe and Icelandic seaweed, followed by a wild-caught Icelandic cod, served with sunchokes and langoustine – also known as “Norway lobster” – sauce. Icelandic free-range lamb will follow, and then a dessert of skyr lemon ice cream with caramel chocolate mousse will finish out the meal.

Cocktails featuring Reyka vodka and Brennivín will also be available. Reyka is made with extremely pure water from a lava field, while Brennivín is unsweetened schnapps and is thought to be the signature drink of Iceland.

The special menu will be available at The Merchant throughout the weekend. Vigfusson hopes that Bostonians will want to visit Iceland after experiencing its culture and cuisine.

“The main thing for us is introducing our production, how we do it and be proud of what we’re doing in Iceland, and that’s luring people to come to Iceland and try it in Iceland, not only in Boston,” Vigfusson says.

The weekend will continue at the Prudential Center Barnes and Noble on March 5, which will host Icelandic writer and editor Eliza Reid for a discussion about the literary scene at home.

Then Taste of Iceland’s Reykjavik Calling will show off Icelandic musicians at the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub on March 5. Artists include Axel Flóvent and Ceasetone from Iceland, and Adam Ezra Group and Nemes from Boston.

The weekend will finish with a screening of Rokk í Reykjavik, a documentary about rock music in Iceland, at the Brattle Theatre on March 6.

The dinner at The Merchant is $65 per person. All other events are free.