VIDEO: Meet the Local Chef Bringing Greenland Fine Dining to Arctic Cruises

If you’re thinking about an Arctic expedition cruise to experience extraordinary land and seascapes, iconic wildlife sightings, and Inuit cultural immersion… add to that list Quark Expedition's onboard Arctic fine dining experience -  a gastronomic tour de force that will open your eyes – and your palate – to an entirely new perspective on the flavors of the far north.  

Quark Expeditions specializes in bucket list polar expedition cruising, and in the Arctic, it partners with Igapall, a Greenlandic collective of the next generation of Inuit chefs, to bring a fine-dining version of Arctic cuisine to guests onboard its expedition cruises. 

I recently had the privilege of being invited with other media, to experience their ‘Tundra to Table’ dining program for the first time on land at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto during an exhibit of Arctic art. 

On the menu: a 5-course dinner made with Arctic ingredients and sensibilities… that would easily have held its own against any top-shelf, white napkin dining experience on any luxury cruise ship – or any city – in the world. 

Prior to the dinner, I was able to meet with Chef Miki Siegstad, one of the founders of Igapall, and one of the collective’s chefs who designed and prepared the Tundra to Table dinner for us that evening.  

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE to meet Miki, hear his and Igapall’s inspiration, vision and philosophy of cuisine… as well as his introduction to each of the courses in our extraordinary Arctic gastronomic adventure: from a delicate, unexpectedly colorful seafood soup, to spoon-tender reindeer served with leeks and chanterelles, an exquisitely scented Arctic char course, an unexpected, playful rabbit comfort food dish, and a dessert inspired by Christmas family gatherings!

Plus, later in the video, I talk with Quark’s head of sustainability as she explains how the cruise line’s collaboration with Igapall and the Tundra to Table program contributes to Quark’s goals to benefit Arctic communities as they provide their guests once-in-a-lifetime Arctic memories. 

As for our land-based Tundra-to-Table dinner, it could have been a tough crowd: a group of jaded, worldly foodie and travel media types who are hard to impress. Many of us have traveled to Greenland or the Canadian Arctic and have already tasted things like raw seal meat, almost a staple of Arctic expedition experiences. But they had us all onboard – and awed - with the very first bite! 

START YOUR ARCTIC TRIP! 

By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert

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