Spring-inspired Dining at Fogo Island Inn
The menus at Fogo Island Inn change with the seasons.
The dishes served in spring reflect the ingredients available to us and the relationships that sustain them: fishers heading out for the first harvest of the year, farmers tending their crops, foragers gathering plants across the island, and producers preserving knowledge through their craft.
In April and May, you’ll often see vegetables from the previous harvest, shellfish caught from the waters around the island, and foraged ingredients that have been preserved or fermented in some way.
Each seasonal dish and ingredient reflects the foresight and preparation that began long before we welcome guests back each year.
Small Bites
At the beginning of supper service, the culinary team prepares a snack to set the tone for your meal. These small bites are usually had while enjoying a cocktail or glass of wine in the Lounge.
Newfoundland Wild Hare
Wild hare has long been part of Newfoundland foodways, with small game hunting taking place over late fall and winter.
This dish features grilled wild hare loin served atop a crisp potato cake and finished with fried onions. Alongside it, the culinary team prepared a mayonnaise enriched with fortified rabbit stock, creating a sauce that echoed the flavours of the dish while adding richness and depth.
Snow Crab Devilled Egg
A familiar classic, with a Fogo Island twist.
Eggs sourced from a chicken keeper on Fogo Island were cooked until just set and made into devilled eggs. On top, the kitchen added snow crab processed by the Fogo Island Co-operative Society.
The final touch comes from a paprika prepared by Sous Chef Benjamin Wood. Using peppers grown by The Organic Farm, Ben smoked and dried the harvest before grinding it into a seasoning that brings colour to the dish.
Merasheen Bay Oysters
Oysters harvested from Merasheen Bay, Newfoundland, are the star of this snack.
To accompany their naturally briny flavour, the kitchen created a cold-smoked oil infused with sweet grass gathered near the front doors of the Inn. The oil carries subtle notes of smoke while preserving the delicate qualities of the plant itself.
Finished with freshly shaved horseradish, the result is a balance of salinity, freshness, and gentle heat.
Dahlia Root Salad
Dahlias are often celebrated for their flowers, and our team has been incorporating petals and roots into our menus for a few years.
In this salad, thinly shaved dahlia root provides a crisp texture and subtle flavour. The dish was dressed with a vinaigrette made from elderflower, fermented honey, and verjus, creating a balance of sweetness and acidity.
To finish, the culinary team scattered dried dahlia petals harvested from the previous years, allowing the plant to appear on the plate in multiple forms.
Parsnip Soup with Cold-Water Shrimp
This deceptively simple soup focuses entirely on the flavour of parsnips.
The vegetables were juiced and puréed separately before being brought together again, creating a smooth, concentrated soup without the addition of stock or cream. The result is an expression of parsnip in its purest form.
At the centre are cold-water shrimp caught by the Fogo Island fleet and processed in nearby Seldom. The shrimp were dressed with rose preserves made from petals foraged across the island the previous year, along with house-made rose-petal vinegar.
Cold-Smoked Turbot with Carrots and Lentils
Known elsewhere as Greenland halibut, turbot is a familiar fish throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
For this preparation, the fish was cold-smoked and served on a bed of organic red lentils from Saskatchewan. Cellared carrots from Lester’s Farm in St. John’s, harvested the previous season, were shaved into delicate ribbons and lightly dressed with turnip seed oil.
Beneath the dish sat a sauce made from lacto-fermented carrot juice and cultured butter and balanced with fresh juice for brightness.
Chocolate Truffle with Bee Propolis
This dessert highlights one of the more unusual ingredients used in the kitchen.
Bee propolis, collected by bees from the resins of trees and plants, is used within the hive as both an adhesive and a protective substance. Sourced from Tuck’s Bee Better Farm in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, it is one of several bee products incorporated into the Inn’s culinary program.
The propolis was folded into a rich chocolate ganache, creating a truffle dessert that offered subtle botanical notes beneath its deep chocolate flavour.
Plan Your Stay
These dishes are examples of a few dishes you might see during a spring stay at Fogo Island Inn. They exemplify our culinary team’s creativity and innovative approach. Each of these ingredients tell a story of place, season, and the many hands that bring them to the table.
Explore Dining at Fogo Island Inn.
Contact our Guest Itinerary Advisors to plan your visit.
International Reservations: +1-709-658-7260
US & Canada Reservations: +1-855-268-9277
Email us: [email protected]