HX Expeditions Companions With Chef Inunnguaq Hegelund to Carry Native Substances and New Arctic Delicacies on Its Sailings

As soon as a distant frontier reserved for less than probably the most intrepid vacationers, Greenland is rapidly getting into the highlight. The opening of the long-anticipated worldwide airport in Nuuk, the island’s capital, has made this huge, ice-covered territory extra accessible than ever. (Journey + Leisure even named Greenland one of many greatest locations to journey in 2025.)

As extra vacationers arrive, so do the acquainted questions on the best way to develop tourism with out diluting what makes a spot particular. Native communities, companies, and, more and more, tour operators, are treading with care. Journey cruise firm HX Expeditions is amongst these taking a extra intentional strategy. Its new collaboration with Greenlandic chef Inunnguaq Hegelund spotlights the nation’s often-overlooked culinary traditions by means of an on board eating program that includes native components and tales.

HX’s senior company operational govt chef David J. McDonald Greves calls Hegelund a pioneer of New Arctic delicacies. “As a talented hunter, fisherman, and chef, he brings deep data of native practices and a ardour for showcasing what the Arctic has to supply,” McDonald Greves informed T+L. “His perception in utilizing sustainably sourced and regionally caught and farmed components aligns completely with our mission at HX. This partnership permits us to inform Greenland’s culinary story by means of genuine voices, whereas additionally supporting a broader motion that’s placing Arctic delicacies on the worldwide map.”

Meet Chef Inunnguaq Hegelund

Hegelund was simply 5 years previous when he hauled in his first catch—a hefty cod pulled from the waters off Paamiut, a southwestern Greenland city the place he was born and raised. By 9, he was studying to hunt reindeer with a rifle underneath the watchful eye of his uncle. His childhood was outlined by wild flavors: consuming seabird brains, fish crisped over open flames, and plucking berries straight from the tundra. But probably the most surprising flip in his early culinary story did not occur within the wilderness; it began in his mom’s kitchen.

Across the age of 10, he stored pestering his mother to bake muffins. Finally worn down by the requests, she handed over a recipe and that second sparked a lifelong curiosity within the kitchen. Mockingly, baking didn’t stick—in the present day, it’s one in every of his least favourite issues to do. However that early experiment opened a door: by 14, he was washing dishes in a neighborhood restaurant, and some years later, he was enrolled in culinary faculty.

Immediately, Hegelund stands on the forefront of New Arctic Kitchen—a rising motion that blends Indigenous data with trendy methods to highlight the culinary heritage of Greenland and the broader Arctic area.

His private strategy is rooted in sustainability, meals sovereignty, and cultural preservation. “I hope to deliver an understanding of our meals tradition and traditions,” he informed T+L. “Many individuals cannot perceive it as a result of they dwell in a really industrialized world the place they get all the pieces in a bag. Greenlanders are nonetheless related to nature—one thing you do not see in lots of locations. Right here, now we have different values that now we have to essentially care for. Our world is getting an increasing number of modernized so, in fact, it is harmful for our meals tradition and traditions.”

Hegelund calls his homeland “the wildest kitchen on this planet”—and for good cause. Nothing is cultivated. Nothing is farmed. Even sourcing one thing as seemingly easy as halibut can imply braving -40 diploma temperatures within the depths of winter, heading out by canine sled to frozen ice fields, and hauling up fish by hand. “If I would like musk ox, I’ve to enter the mountains for days to get my meat,” Hegelund mentioned. “And that is with all the pieces. We haven’t any cultivated fish or shellfish. All the pieces is wild and you do not see that in lots of locations anymore.”

That reverence for nature and the tradition round looking begins early. Newborns be a part of elders on journeys into the wild—it is an early introduction to a lifestyle the place self-sufficiency is handed down like a language. By the point youngsters attain their teenagers, many embark on their first unbiased hunt, which is then celebrated with a kaffemik—a gathering of household, buddies, and neighbors to feast on no matter the brand new hunter brings dwelling.

Hegelund defined that looking is such an on a regular basis a part of life that looking rifles are sometimes offered in outlets alongside sweet and bread. However not like many components of the world, looking in Greenland is a necessary lifeline. Whaling, for instance, stays a cornerstone of each cultural heritage and meals safety for folks residing on extra distant components of the island. (Hunters are required to carry a license and comply with strict quotas; the laws hold the ecosystem in steadiness whereas nonetheless permitting Indigenous communities to take care of their lifestyle.)

“We’ve got a lot respect for animals and nature. We all know there’s just one boss in Greenland: nature,” Hegelund mentioned, including that animals are by no means taken without any consideration. “We use the entire animal, from the pores and skin to the bone.”

Even after twenty years within the kitchen, Hegelund nonetheless sees himself as a pupil of nature. “There’s at all times one thing new. Whereas I do know so much, I nonetheless have so much to study.”

HX’s Greenlandic Menu

Hegelund’s partnership with HX lets the chef take his meals philosophy to the seas. He famous the menu leans extra New Arctic with Greenlandic components. “Once you make conventional Greenlandic meals, you want uncooked, fermented meals and components that aren’t allowed on the ship,” he informed T+L.

HX Expedition’s cultural ambassador Niels Sanimuinaq Rasmussen—a local of Ittoqqortoormiit, a distant city in East Greenland—sees the cruise line’s culinary program as a chance to ease visitors into Greenlandic delicacies, one plate at a time. “Meals is the a method we perceive one another greatest,” Rasmussen mentioned. “The brand new choices are a small drip feed, because it introduces you to new flavors in a managed stage. The menu is an evolution of Greenlandic meals.”

HX’s four-course tasting menu made its debut aboard the MS Fridtjof Nansen on Could 24, 2025 underneath the helm of Hegelund. All through the crusing season, a rotating roster of native visitor cooks—Laasi Biilmann, Jørgine Tobiassen, and Eli Nuka Johansson—is becoming a member of Hegelund, who mentioned the group represents the current and way forward for Greenlandic delicacies.

The meal opens with scallop terrine—delicately topped with fennel crudités, bitter onions, and apple—adopted by a wealthy Greenlandic snow crab bisque. For the primary course, diners select between regionally sourced South Greenlandic lamb or a beef dish served with beetroot, salt-baked onion, and an herb butter emulsion. Rounding out the meal is a Greenlandic apple cake accompanied with a salted caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, and a cocoa cracker.

Every course tells a narrative. The apple cake, for instance, pays homage to how the native delicacies has tailored over time. Hegelund mentioned Greenlandic delicacies did not traditionally have desserts. Early candy treats had been typically a mixture of berries with Angelica (an fragrant herb), and even seaweed and animal fats. The introduction of flour introduced dry muffins to Greenland, and applesauce arrived solely within the late Sixties and early Seventies.

Even the inclusion of beef on the menu marks a milestone. Musk ox has lengthy been a staple in Greenlandic kitchens, however the beef on board is sourced from the one cattle farmer in the whole nation, positioned within the southern city of Narsaq. “It’s all actually new. You’re a number of the first visitors on this planet to eat Greenlandic cow,” Hegelund mentioned. 

Sustainability and native collaboration are on the core of this system, as 30 % of the components are sourced straight from Greenlandic producers. “At HX, we see sustainability as long-term optimization—strengthening native economies, fostering neighborhood engagement, and minimizing environmental and cultural influence,” McDonald Greves informed T+L. “In Greenland, sustainability isn’t a pattern; it’s a lifestyle. Individuals have at all times lived in steadiness with nature, with deep respect for the weather and a dedication to passing on a wholesome atmosphere to future generations.”

Half cultural immersion, half culinary expertise, HX’s program deepens the connection between vacationers and the land they’ve come to discover. “I hope visitors go away with a deeper appreciation for the distinctive flavors and components of Greenland, together with a richer understanding of the nation’s tradition and culinary traditions,” McDonald Greves added. “With native Greenlandic cooks on board to cook dinner, educate, and share the tales behind every dish, the purpose is to ship an unforgettable culinary journey that highlights Greenland’s wealthy meals heritage.”