The chef who plans to revive Viking food (2024)

JesperLynge, 44, is a chef on a mission. But it's not the pursuit of the perfect foie gras or uncovering the world's tastiest oysters that gets him going. Instead, his passion is for Viking food.

Based at the picturesque Lindholm Høje just outside Aalborg in northern Denmark, Lynge, a red-haired giant of a man, looks every inch the beserker - and has learned to cook like one too.

But don't expect charred cuts, industrial quantities of schnapps and barrels of pickled herring. The Vikings, says Lynge, not only loved spices, they were partial to a bowl of risotto too.

'The menu during the Viking period was decided by the season, as they needed to take use of the available ingredients,' he explains.

'Lots of the food that is fashionable today is similar to what they ate. They ate lots of root vegetables, cabbage and lots of different types of wheat and corn - definitely not just meat.'

Indeed, so adept were the Vikings at preparing vegetables, many of the techniques they pioneered are still in use today, notably the method of fermenting cabbage used to make sauerkraut.

They also, says Lynge, liked a sweet and sour supper, combining savoury game meat such as venison with sauces made from foraged berries.

Nevertheless, not every part of the Viking menu sounds quite so tasty. 'There was one sort of warrior called berserkere [beserkers] who would eat anything,' he concedes.

'These types of warriors were very special. They would have eaten everything they could get their hands on, including psychedelic mushrooms.'

Luckily for visitors to Lynge's Viking themed restaurant, there are no magic mushrooms on the menu, although there are plenty of unusual herbs, many of which he grows himself.

There's also 'festive' wild boar and 'barleyotto' - an early version of the classic Italian dish made with barley grains.

Fish, mostly taken from the icy North Sea waters off the Aalborg coast, is also a highlight, although this being Denmark, much of it is herring.

'We do not use any ingredients that weren't available for the Vikings,' insists Lynge. 'Many of the techniques they used, we do too.'

Lynge, who himself bears more than a little resemblance to the beserkers of years gone by, is certainly in the right place.

Denmark is famous for its Viking past and Aalborg, with its network of fjords, sandy bays and concealed islets, is no exception.

Further north is Skagen - known to the terrified English as 'The Scaw' - which, despite its picture perfect modern face, was, during the Viking period, the ideal jumping off point for raids on the Norfolk coast.

Lindholm Høje, where Lynge's Viking eatery is based, was itself a Dark Ages settlement and was once directly on the coast, although the passing centuries have left it landlocked.

A cluster of what initially look like stone circles, it is in fact a burial ground where clan chieftains and slaves alike were buried with varying degrees of pomp and circ*mstance.

They were also buried with jewels, tools and crucially - for Lynge at least - their cooking implements, all of which have helped him build up a picture of the Viking menu.

It was, with its vegetables and grains, a varied one and one that was enlivened considerably once the Vikings worked out a route to Constantinople (now Istanbul) where they proved enthusiastic customers at the city's many spice markets.

'They travelled to Constantinople regularly,' explains Lynge. 'It all began with Halfdan Skallesmækker, who travelled there and brought home a lot of fine spices.

'This was the Viking's first encounter with exotic spices like cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, ginger and black pepper.'

The Danes first encounter also proved to be the British people's first encounter, as Lynge enthusiastically points out.

'In the Nordic countries and in England, the same spices are still used today. Among other things, English blood sausage contains many of these spices, and you will also find them in Scottish haggis and Christmas cakes.

'In Denmark, there's a popular Christmas biscuit called the pebbernød, which can be traced all the way back to the year 1200.

'At Christmas, it is tradition to make pebernød and another biscuit called brunkager, both of which contain variations on these warm spices, which is also the case with many British Christmas cakes.'

Spices, risotto and sauerkraut aren't the only culinary traditions passed down by the Vikings, however.

Porridge too was a Viking favourite as was the classic roast dinner, although the beserkers, unsurprisingly, preferred Danish pork to British beef.

'The pig is one of the most festive animals that were present in the Viking time,' says Lynge. 'This is evident in the mythology, most notably in the story of Frej – the god of fertility.

'His transport animal is not a horse; it is a wild boar. Today, the ultimate Nordic feast dish is still roast pork. Or the Christmas ham.'

Like their neighbours, the Vikings were also fond of game and, come feast days, would tuck into Valhalla style banquets based on venison, poultry and even songbirds.

'They also had rabbit, hare, birds and ducks,' says Lynge. 'They weren't too bothered about what sort of bird they were eating. A bird was a bird.'

While Lynge is yet to cook any songbirds, he does think the Vikings deserve more credit for their culinary traditions, many of which still influence modern British, Danish and Swedish dishes.

'There's a common cultural heritage,' he explains. 'Much of northern European culture has its roots in the Viking Age.

'The British might talk about the Vikings attacking and being violent and that might be true, but 80 per cent of English people have Viking genes. In that sense, we are one common people.'

Nevertheless, the Viking menu certainly helped fuel the raiders, even if stories of mass schnapps sessions prior to battle are nothing more than a myth.

'What made the Vikings such great and feared warriors was their perception of heaven and the afterlife,' says Lynge.

'They were not afraid of dying and they were especially not afraid of dying in a battle. Just imagine fighting against a big man, who believes that if he dies while he is giving his best in a battle, then he will be sent on to an eternal party.'

And with spiced venison and perfectly cooked roast boar on the party menu, you hardly blame them for looking forward to it.