Here, at Öfvergårds in Åland's apple kingdom, Anna and Jan grow and refine their own apples. In 2014, a hailstorm destroyed the entire harvest. A tough experience that came to be the start of developing the farm from a traditional apple orchard to an innovative and creative company that invests in food craft processing of the farm's own apples, farm tourism through apple safaris and farm visits for smaller and larger groups. The couple is an excellent example of how you dare to think new in an orchard. Throughout their operations, they work to strengthen the identity of Nordic raw materials, apples. They have many ideas and draw inspiration that can work in a Nordic context, several influences come from America and the Nordic countries where they have been active in bringing home inspiration and paving a new path for production within a fairly uniform apple production on Åland. They have Åland's only cooperative farm so far where you can rent apple trees on the farm and pick the harvest from the trees yourself. https://www.ofvergards.ax
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FANGST is nominated for EMBLA 2021 as a testament to their strong dedication to developing the Nordic food culture, by rediscovering the old preservation methods formally utilised by hundreds of small canning companies along the Nordic coastlines more than a century ago. The Nordic countries have a tradition for this fine preservation method and FANGST has successfully reintroduced canned fish and shellfish, as a high-quality product made with local ingredients and with an unyielding focus on using seasonal fish. Furthermore, FANGST strive to also introduce species not commonly consumed in the Nordic diet, such as Sprats (Brislinger) which are normally used for animal feed. FANGST puts much emphasis on sustainability and gastronomic craftsmanship, striving to work with both small-scale suppliers as well as larger companies – all in the pursuit of excellent taste. https://fangst.com/
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Dímunargarður has developed a unique sparkling alcoholic cider made from excess white turnips called Mai Rótabryggj. The inspiration for the cider stems from the first EMBLA awards in 2017, where Dímunargarður won the Nordic Food Producer category. Eva and Jógvan Jón from Dímunargarður met with the Danish candidate Æblerov (producer of cider from excess apples) during the ceremony in Copenhagen. Since their white turnips are almost pear-like in flavor, the possibility of producing a completely unique product, a root cider, was discussed. The excess roots were being used as cattle feed, and a cider would both increase the value of the resource and extend the durability of the product. Dímunargarður formed a partnership with the local brewery Okkara and its master brewers, Søren Antoft and Høgni Jensen, to solve the challenges of creating a new product from a novel resource. The finished product, the Mai Rótabryggj, was taken to market in 2019. The distinct flavor of the cider is a great fit with the powerful umami taste of the traditional fermented meats of the Faroe Islands, and it can also be used in refreshing mixed drinks. www.storadimun.fo
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An Appenzell native I grew up in a typical Swiss cheesemaker family. After graduating as a cheesemaker, myself, wanderlust grabbed me. In 1996 I was offered a job in Finland. The position was as a long-distance truck driver. Operating between Finland and Central Asia. In the year 2000 I acquired a 200-year-old former tenant farm in the deep Finnish forest. No electricity nor running water. Nowadays, the owners of the farm from the year 1900 are the namesake of our cheeses and therefore the main characters. In 2002 I founded my own "Herkkujuustola" (gourmet-dairy). The main reason for founding my own dairy was, that I was not happy with the selection of cheeses available. I updated cheese-recipes and manufacturing processes from my youth and adapted them so that they'd be compatible with the Finnish breeds of cows, the climate, and the consumers. At the 2012 cheese-competition in Finland, our washed-rind soft cheese won with the maximum of 100 points. 2016 I was elected Finnish cheesemaker of the year. It was the first time ever in Finnish history that a private commercial entrepreneur was awarded with this price. In the same year our herb filled WilliWili won the gold medal at…
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At Sassuma Sea Salt, the founder Napaartoq Petrussen uses the clean oceanwater as a resource, to produce pure and tasteful sea salt. He does this with respect for nature, culture, environment, and the local community. His idea is to bring salt to life with historical, experiential, intuitive and scientific understanding of what makes the process sustainable and successful. Napaartoq works tirelessly with product development and new flavors, using locally collected herbs and berries. He is very aware of the impact of his production on the environment, and the salt is produced with care, and with excess heat from the nearby powerplant. Sassuma Sea Salt increases the taste of Greenland and supports the importance of taking care of the sea, as described in the Greenlandic myth “Mother of the Sea”.  www.sassumaseasalt.com
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Unique goat cheese making in the north Farmers and couple, Jóhannes H. Ríkharðsson and Stefanía Hjördís Leifsdóttir live at Brúnastaðir Farm in north Iceland with their four children and are responsible for the cheese production. Everyone has their role in the process from taking care of the goats, feeding them and milking, making the cheese to marketing and technology related matters. There are a lot of things to think about from the start of the production to marketing. An incredible valuable part of our team is Guðni Hannes, cheese maker. He comes and helps us design the cheese and flavors and experiment with us on how to best use the milk. “When we moved to our farm, Brúnastaðir in Fljótin in the year 2000 we had to find opportunities for employment. Since jobs are far apart and winter weather conditions often very challenging we expanded our sheep farm by half and started to be foster parents. Later on we added tourism and cabins to the mix. The kids on the farm had animals of all sorts and they opened a little petting zoo during the summer months along with our tourism activities where the animals roam around in their natural…
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Deep inside the world's longest fjord, in the Nærøyfjord World Heritage Site, lies Undredal. Cheese making is central in Aurland, and the village of Undredal is one of the few in the Nordic region that has an unbroken tradition of ranching and making goat's milk. At Undredal Stølsysteri, they have further developed the knowledge that has been inherited through generations. The village did not get a road connection until the late 1980s. Therefore, it has been a matter of course that the milk must be further processed in the village, and the farmers joined forces to make cheese and sell cheese. The farmers in Undredal are custodians of cultural traditions, and have saved part of our culinary biotope.   All resources are used, and the goats graze in steep slopes by the fjord, up to 1000 meters above sea level. The milk is not pasteurized, and processed into both brown and white cheese. During the summer, milking and cheese-making take place on two different stalls, the rest of the year down in the village. Undredal Stølsysteri is not making any compromises. It`s quality is not only related to technical criteria, but to animal health, soil, plant selection and grazing landscape. In Undredal, they still make the traditional unsalted protein-rich cheese,…
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Sophia Lovén has successfully developed a traditional Swedish lupin bean from Skåne into a tasty delicacy, named Temp:ish. Temp:ish is an organic, soy-free and gluten-free plant-based protein-source that consists of fermented lupin beans. She runs her artisan production on her farm in Roslagen, a coastal area in the province of Uppland. Sophia Lovén has built a transparent value chain for new green proteins that are otherwise mostly talked about in large-scale industry. This meets a new market, not least through smaller producers and restaurants looking for raw materials with extra values. Sophia has created a refined product for further refining. http://www.tempish.se - I’m happy to represent Sweden in the Embla Food Awards finals as a Nordic food artisan! I am proud to participate with Temp:ish, a fermented lupin bean, which is a fantastic Swedish-grown protein source."
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