"We have a generation which has not eaten whale meat," the chef said. "People used to eat whale three days a week, fish three days a week, and lamb on Sunday."
He has promoted the meat in local media and is launching a recipe book this month in Iceland, Norway and Denmark. Whale meat oxydises quickly when it is exposed to the air, turning dark and developing a strong smell.
This was probably the kind of meat many Icelanders remember from their childhood, when whale was a cheap staple food, and that's why they don't care for it now, Tyrfingsson said.
"We used to have whale at home 20 years ago. But it was only mum and dad who ate it," said 37-year-old Thorbjorg Snorradottir, who works at a petrol station in Reydarfjordur in eastern Iceland. "It's not very good, it's very dry meat."
Tyrfingsson said he has a friend who owns a whale-watching boat and he said he was worried what impact whale hunting would have on his business.
"I think we are jeopardizing a lot by doing it, and not gaining anything with it," Tyrfingsson said. "If you get it, you put it on the menu. But it's no issue for us."
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