My grandmother knitted me a hat when I was five years old, which in Iceland is called a "Lambhúshetta", meaning Lamb House Cap. It's a cap that covers your whole head except the face and mine was made of lamb's wool.
Anyway, I didn't want to take it off- even in the summer when the sun was shining. Maybe this is the reason why today I am totally bald? I had a bad habit of nibbling on the chin strap and my mother would always say, "Don't eat the wool Heimir darling- we wear the wool and eat the meat."
Anyway, that was long ago and today we are definitely not eating the wool, but we are indeed having lamb for dinner. We have two chefs today- Ægir is the chef from Satt Restaurant at Natura Hotel and Fannar is the chef from Vox Restaurant at the Hilton Nordica Reykjavik Hotel.
Ægir is preparing the lamb, but first we have a wonderful starter made from arctic char prepared by Fannar. They are both really nice guys and they make jokes all the time, so we have a lot of fun.
Our guests for the day are Tarek and Cicely from New York who heard about our Inspired by Iceland campaign on a radio show and immediately wanted to visit Iceland.
Also on board are two bloggers from the United States- Andrew and Erin. It's everybody's first time in Iceland, which is exciting. Tarek and Cicely had already been to the Blue Lagoon on their trip and were very excited to see Jökulsárlón- the glacier lagoon at Vatnajökull. Andrew and Erin have just arrived this morning, so Eldhús was their first event on the agenda- not a bad one, if I may say so.
Today Eldhús is at the corner of two of the most important shopping streets in Reykjavik: Laugavegur and Skólavörðustígur. Here in the centre of Reykjavik there are some really interesting shops showcasing Icelandic design and outdoors gear and many of Iceland's best restaurants. The nightlife is colourful and the clubs are open long into the night (or morning, depending on how you look at it)!
What I find most interesting in Reykjvik is the food, music and design- you just get a sense of the freshness, creativity and energy in these areas. The country is crowded with creative talent making new and exciting things. This is why I feel so lucky to have been able to explore Icelandic food over the last 12 days with Eldhús.
Back to the dinner- "Gjöriði svo vel!" which translated into English means "it's time to start!" The plates are on the table and the food looks amazing. The starter of arctic char has been beautifully prepared by Fannar and is mixed with fresh Icelandic root vegetables. Whilst enjoying the arctic char the smell of the lamb starts to fill the room and Tarek starts telling us how excited he is to try it, saying, "My mother always cooks lamb and it is one of my favourite dishes". Tarek's family comes from Morocco and when it comes to lamb his mother is the master chef!
Knock, knock, knock. It's the neighbours Kristína and Gauti Þeyr, wondering why there is a small wooden house next door to them. In Iceland this is very typical - you don't call ahead first to announce that you're coming, you just drop by. When you arrive you might add, "Do you have a few drops?" which is a hint that you would like a cup of coffee. We went one better and offered Kristína and Gauti Þeyr a glass of wine - thanks for dropping in guys!
We decided to end our fine evening in Eldhús by walking to the next bar to have one last drink before going to bed. Our guests have a long day ahead of them tomorrow and there is so much for them to see and experience over the coming days. As for me, I'll take Eldhús into the garage and do a little bit of this and that with it. I'm looking forward to going on the road with it again, hopefully very soon. "Tarek - how was the lamb?" I asked. "Amazing- but I can't tell my mom!" he replied.