Daniel Serra

Historical food in all its forms has been a part of Daniel Serra’s life since 1994. As a young archaeology student, he sampled the flavours of ancient Rome by recreating dishes from the Roman cookbook by Apicius. This first encounter with tastes from the past led to a great curiosity for historical foods and a profound academic interest in culinary history. He has since studied, reconstructed, lectured, cooked and tasted his way from Iron Age to Renaissance food, and is now considered an authority on Viking Age and Medieval food by museums and re-enactors in Scandinavia.

Daniel’s research spans from the Viking Age to the Renaissance and is concentrated on taste, culinary practices and the role food has played in ancient societies. Through archae­ological findings, written sources and experimental cooking projects, he has acquired the comprehensive knowledge that is the basis for his doctoral dissertation and the Viking age cookbook “An Early Meal”, in which he gives us a taste of history. With Daniel’s own words: “We meet, remember and express ourselves through food. Culinary culture allows us to understand and experience the world around us.”

As an experimental archaeologist, Daniel was employed to reconstruct Viking Age food at Lofotr museum in Lofoten 2010, and Renaissance food at Glimmingehus Museum 2011. For the last ten years Daniel has given lectures, courses, work­shops and consulting about food archaeology and culinary history through his company Memento – Past Food.