Editor’s Note: In Pursuit of Rare is a new series telling the stories of the master makers who deal in the most precious things on earth.
This is a fine dining experience that requires dedication. Koks, the Faroe Islands’ first Michelin-starred restaurant, is well off the beaten path, and sits in a remote location of the tiny North Atlantic archipelago, midway between Iceland and Norway.
“Restaurant Koks is located in a valley, far from the main road. it’s very harsh and wild nature around us,” said chef Poul Andrias Ziska.
The local climate is also famously windy, and parts of the restaurant have been literally blown into the sea before.
“That’s the whole experience. I mean you start down by the lake together with the other guests and then you’re being driven up here away from everything. You don’t see any lights you don’t see any cars. You don’t see the people you just here in the little house. And then I think that really sets the mood. You have to trust us even more than just the food,” he said.
Because the Faroe Island are 99% ocean, Ziska says, the majority of the menu comes from the sea, and almost all the rest is made from locale ingredients. Some are particularly interesting, like the mahogany clam.
“It is one of the oldest creatures you can find in the sea. You can get over 500 years old. So it’s only us and the scientists that are using them, that I know at least.”
Next to the restaurant, a smaller house is used to ferment the meat, which is simply hanged without adding anything and starts to naturally break down.
The restaurant offers a 17-course tasting menu which includes sea urchin, wild sorrel and wind-dried mutton.
“I feel that we can be a little bit more daring than if we only had three dishes. So for some guests we really challenged them. We have dishes that almost are alive,” said Ziska.
Watch the video above to find out more.