Vigdís Finnbogadóttir at the table

The 20th-century Icelandic table is not divided into starter-main-dessert. One distinguishes morgunmatur (morning), hádegismatur (light midday), kvöldmatur (hot evening meal, often fish), and above all kaffitími, the sacred afternoon coffee break where pastries are served. Provisions for the road (nesti) and snacks (millimál) hold a special place in a country of fishermen and shepherds. Finally, in the depths of winter, the Þorrablót feast brings together preserved foods (smoked, dried, fermented, salted) inherited from a land without grain or orchards.

On a windswept island with no wheat or fruit, all Icelandic culinary art arises from the need to keep food: fish is dried in the salty wind, lamb is smoked, milk is turned into skyr. This ingenuity born of scarcity is the true signature of Vigdís's cuisine.