Meet your hosts at their home and then drive to the nearby market. They will introduce you to some of their favorite Icelandic products and teach you about local agriculture. As you browse you might pick up a few ingredients for your meal. When your visit is complete you'll drive back to their home to begin cooking.
Join Iris and Nonni in the kitchen for a hands-on Reykjavik cooking experience. They will teach you how to prepare 2-3 dishes that are easy to replicate at home. Their kitchen is large and open, and you’ll have the opportunity to try your hand at preparing foods like salmon salad, fresh greens, or dessert. Iris is excited to share her culture through food, in this traditional cooking class in Reykjavik.
A typical meal at Iris and Nonni’s table includes slow-roasted meat, often Icelandic lamb which is organic and exclusively pasture-raised, local fish like Atlantic salmon that is served, raw, smoked or baked, potato dishes, and bright, fresh vegetables. Your Icelandic meal might begin with appetizer like a raw salmon salad and then continue with a hearty main dish such as leg of lamb with roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables from their greenhouse, and a fresh salad. For dessert Iris offers sweets like berries with traditional Icelandic skyr (a local cultured dairy product like yogurt) or a seasonal fruit tart.
Iris can accommodate a vegetarian diet in her Icelandic cooking class. If you select transportation (at an additional cost) Iris can pick you up from your Reykjavik hotel or the cruise port, and will drop you off after your experience.
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
Berry mousseSalmon tartare saladRoasted leg of lambRoasted potatoesSeasonal vegetablesMeet Iris and Nonni, two hospitable Icelanders with a passion for travel, food, and music. They run a travel company and lead trips all over their country and are a wealth of knowledge about history, geology, culture and of course, the local food! Iris is a skilled home-cook who says good cooking is in her veins. Her mother was an excellent cook and her daughter has inherited the skill, too. Iris says that the food Icelanders eat at home is completely different from what is found in local restaurants. At home, many meat dishes are slow cooked in the oven and are served simply with potatoes and fresh vegetables that are grown in their greenhouses using geothermal energy. The greenhouses afford them fresh produce year-round, even in the cold, dark winter.
Iris and Nonni are musicians who love to sing. She is learning opera and he sings with two choirs, so don't be surprised if they treat you to a song or two!
"The Very BEST Experience to have while in Iceland! This is a MUST experience to have while in Iceland. Iris and Nonnie greeted us so warmly and were perfect hosts from beginning to end of our time together. They have a beautiful home and they prepared an absolutely gorgeous meal for our group. We were delighted when they acquiesced to our request to sing for us. All in all, a perfect evening."
"When you travel to Iris and Nonnie’s home you will be greeted with such warm smiles from two very interesting people who will offer you a drink and some appetizers. We enjoyed a nice getting to know you discussion about the neighborhood and how they became Icelanders. We then moved to dinner where Iris served an amazing salmon salad, Icelandic lamb, potatoes, and these curious green vegetables that looked like peas. We enjoyed truly being treated as guests, our conversation was lively, and the experience was a true joy. We tried some Icelandic after-dinner liquors with our dessert that was similar to custard with berries (very tasty). We finished our evening with some Grand Marnier and my husband wanted to try the electric bicycle for a spin so he and Nonnie went for a quick ride while Iris and I chatted. It was a very treasured experience, the generosity of the hosts was sincere, and it is an experience I will never forget.
Our dinner the previous night with one bottle of wine in a nice restaurant was $250 USD. This dinner surpassed that one measurably, and you cannot put a price on the experience to learn about the local culture and economy while enjoying an amazing dinner."
"Iris and Nonni are excellent hosts! My wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary in Reykjavik and this was the best anniversary meal we could have asked for. Being locals, they are obviously knowledgeable of the city and country, as well as great conversation about family, music, and culture. If you get this rare opportunity to be hosted by Iris and Nonni, you will not be disappointed. They may even perform a song or two for you!"
"Iris and Nonni are great, very warm and welcoming!We are new to Travelling Spoon, but Iris and Nonni are the perfect hosts. Their home is beautiful and we were lucky enough to be there when they had it decorated for Christmas and it was stunning. They instantly made us feel like old friends and we enjoyed an evening of great conversation, fantastic food that ended with some musical fun! Dinner started with appetizers of salmon two ways served with traditional breads and flatbreads. The main course was lamb two ways, a delicious slow roasted lamb in gravy and Nonni’s traditional family recipe of breaded lamb chops (both were fabulous!). We had sides of roasted potatoes, potato salad, green salad, peas and picked red cabbage. Dessert was a stuffed crepe served with fresh cream and fruit. Everything was delicious! Iris and Nonni are very musical and had a piano and a couple of guitars. Iris is a diva in training. She has been taking operatic singing lessons and has a wonderful voice, so Nonni played piano, my husband played guitar and Iris and I sang along. What fun! This night was definitely a highlight for us on our trip to Iceland and we can’t thank Iris and Nonni enough for their hospitality!"
