FORAGING ICELAND’S WILD LARDER WITH GÍSLI MATT OF VESTMANNAEYJAR

Foraging Iceland’s wild larder with Gísli Matt of Vestmannaeyjar. Fish Focus’ latest feature follows our trip to the Icelandic archipelago, Vestmannaeyjar.

It was a great pleasure to meet Gísli Matthías Auðunsson, better known as Gísli Matt, an Icelandic chef, restaurateur and writer, born in Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar.

Gísli comes from a family steeped in fishing and cooking and his upbringing was influenced by these traditions and by an upbringing living in an island community with direct access to nature and the sea.

He represents a generation of Icelandic chefs bringing together tradition and innovation, respecting heritage (wild herbs and plants infused with traditional fish and lamb based dishes), while expressing these in ways that feel contemporary and are aligned with global expectations of fine dining and sustainability.

Gísli was the executive chef and one of the driving forces behind Slippurinn, a restaurant opened in 2012 with his family on Heimaey and a smaller restaurant called Næs. He has played a major role in raising the profile of Icelandic cuisine abroad through writing, media presence and participation in chef alliances and helping locals and tourists alike to see Icelandic ingredients and recipes in a new light.

He is passionate about Vestmannaeyjar, culinary excellence and the combination of nature and natures’ larder that Iceland has to offer and he invited us to go along with him on a foraging trip to one of his favourite spots.

En-route to our destination, we stopped at a nearby cliff on the outskirts of Heimaey, where our little puffling was to be freed and returned to nature. With some expert advice from Gisli, our first task was soon complete.

After a short drive, we arrived at our destination, a beautiful bay called Klaufin set in a rugged landscape and a popular destination for hikers and bird watchers.

However, our sights were set on the flora and seaweed that the bay has to offer!

Foraging for wild plants should only be done if you have a good understanding of plants, however our local expert, Gísli immediately started to point out an array of wild plants growing near the shoreline that were ideal for his culinary requirements.

Gísli explained that while there are many plants in the world that you cannot eat, nature’s larder in Vestmannaeyjar provides a vast array of edible plants, herbs and berries and can pretty much all be eaten.

Once Gísli had picked a selection of these delightful land plants, his attention moved to the plants of the sea …. or are seaweeds plants?

Seaweed grows in the sea, but it’s not a plant – seaweed and plants can photosynthesise using chlorophyll, but that is where the similarities end. Found in the sea, seaweeds are algae, made up of thousands of species that can be divided into three main groups – red, brown and green. Instead of roots, seaweeds have holdfasts that anchor them to the rock to stop them getting washed away by the waves or current. As it has no roots seaweed takes the nutrients it needs from the sea.

Because light diminishes rapidly with increasing water depth, seaweeds typically inhabit shallow waters. However, various seaweed groups possess additional pigments enabling them to utilise different wavelengths of light. Consequently, they can thrive at varying depths, showcasing a diverse array of colours.

They also possess a slippery coating that allows them to move freely in the water without suffering too much damage and some species are calcified and can encrust rocks giving them a pretty pink, purple or dark red colour.

Gísli was now filling up his buckets with a selection of seaweeds, harvesting these wonders of the sea and giving us the opportunity of tasting some, freshly plucked out of the pristine water.

Mission accomplished, we headed back to town to drop Gísli off at his renowned restaurant, Slippurinn – unfortunately closed now as Gisli takes on new challenges. He very kindly invited us to dine there later that evening to sample some of the foraged bounty in action, blended in with some traditional local specialities.

Arctic thyme cured halibut

When we arrived later that evening, the restaurant was busy – as was our host, directing operations in the open kitchen. The restaurant is housed in a refurbished old machinery workshop that once served the local shipyard. After being closed for more than three decades, the building was carefully restored, with great respect for its original industrial character.

Grilled porbeagle shark

We were presented with a comprehensive sampler menu of nine courses with local specialities of fish and lamb and seasonal fresh ingredients.

We were not disappointed – the menus featured some fantastic dishes including seaweed crackers and kelp broth, cod skins, fresh sea urchin, thyme cured halibut, cod ‘wings’, cured lamb, grilled local porbeagle shark (fresh by-catch) and lemon sole topped off with a lovely skyr and sorrel granita.

Grilled lamb

During service, Gísli appeared at the table a couple of times to introduce some of the dishes to us and it would have been impossible not to feel how proud he was of the fantastic food he was serving us – quite rightly too!

Thanks to Gísli for a great day out, topped of with a superb meal at his restaurant, his cuisine emphasises local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients and reviving or preserving traditional Icelandic food culture including old recipes, wild herbs and plants and he is a master in seafood preparation.

Beyond his restaurants, Gísli is a food activist and author. His cookbook, “Slippurinn: Recipes and Stories from Iceland” serves as a culinary manifesto, blending recipes with narratives about Icelandic culture and the importance of sustainable practices. Gísli’s work not only celebrates Iceland’s rich culinary heritage but also positions him as a compelling voice in the global conversation on food, culture and sustainability. The book is available worldwide through Amazon.

Slippurinn’s Final Season

Slippurinn, the restaurant founded by Gísli and his family was operating its 14th and final season in 2025. Gísli expressed that they wanted to “finish well and beautifully,” making this last season a special culmination of Slippurinn’s history, which he accomplished.

Though Slippurinn has closed, Gísli will continue with his other restaurant operations: Næs in Vestmannaeyjar and SKÁL! in Reykjavík and he is launching a new restaurant, Ylja, at Laugarás Lagoon, located by the bank of the river Hvítá. The project combines nature, design and dining intended to offer guests a unique experience in a beautiful lagoon environment.

Fish Focus wish Gísli Matt every success in the future and look forward to reporting on his next ventures.

We will be posting an article every day, covering this amazing trip and showcasing the Icelandic Seafood industry, cutting edge aquaculture, Icelandic heritage and the hospitality of the Icelandic people. You can read the whole publication here

Images: ©Fish Focus