The restaurant famed for being the world’s most remote Michelin-starred dining experience is about to get even harder to reach.
Two-Michelin-starred Koks, helmed by Poul Andreas Ziska, gained notoriety for its far-flung location on the Faroe Islands, where guests are driven the final leg of the journey in a Land Rover from Lake Leynavatn to access the remote farmhouse housing the restaurant.
But Ziska has been forced to find a new location, and settled on somewhere even more arduous to reach: 200 miles above the Arctic Circle in Greenland.
From mid-June to mid-September in 2022 and 2023, the 30-seat Koks 2.0 will be open for diners at Ilimanaq Lodge, a 40-minute boat ride across the bay from the town of Ilulissat.
Guests at the lodge get first dibs on the exclusive eatery, but bookings opened for regular folk on 1 March.
It will be the first Michelin-starred establishment to open on Greenland.
Ziska, who is from the Faroe Islands, told Bloomberg of the move: “As a Faroese person, I’ve always felt like there’s a connection there [to Greenland].
“It’s a place we identify ourselves with, at least when it comes to the raw materials.”
He plans to use as much local produce as possible, foraging for wild plants like crowberry and angelica and using meat from local wildlife, such as seal meat.
“I’ve had musk ox a few times, and it’s so so good, so I want to work with that. And reindeer. Maybe even polar bear,” he said, adding: “Of course, we’re not going to cook with any animal that’s endangered.”
The original aim was to transplant Koks from its former farmhouse location, whose 18th-century architectural quirks meant it wasn’t quite fit for purpose, to a new building in the Faroes.
But endless red tape prevented construction from starting; four years on, “we still haven’t gotten permission to build the new restaurant,” said Ziska.
The new Greenland residency will last for at least the next two years.
“It is a unique opportunity to showcase our fantastic raw materials and nature,” Palle Jerimiassen, mayor of Avannaata municipality, told local newspaper Sermitsiaq.
“Hopefully, it will have a lasting effect locally.”
