Meteorologists tell us that the Danish summer was rainy. While it is hard to remember if the Herring Market of 1980 was rainy, we know a local Lions Club member had the idea for a new and relatively simple dish, one that has since a trademark for the Herring Market in Nibe. A “herring dog” – something you won’t find many other places. A little of the inspiration may have come from the Netherlands, where herring are swallowed whole, with a glass of aquavit to follow.

The herring dog is, as the name implies, inspired by another Danish favourite: the hot dog.

But a herring dog is an entirely different delicacy, requiring good raw ingredients from the fishmonger and baker, and some manual dexterity. Instead of hot dog sausage, you use a smoked herring. Instead of a hot dog bun, you use good bread from a good baker. And, instead of mustard and ketchup, use mayonnaise and fresh chives.

That’s how a new speciality comes to be.

Nibe Herring Dogs were invented as a delicious snack. Already on the Friday of the Herring Market in 1980, the 250 buns from Viggo Bakery were sold out, so customers “made do” – smiling – with ordinary French bread the rest of the weekend.

Since then, the herring dog has been a favourite at the annual Herring Market in Nibe, held the last weekend of August. Lions Club members have been behind the sale and preparation – and sales are good: over 1100 herring dogs were consumed in 2004.

And now you can enjoy a herring dog, with extra service and condiments, the year round at the Torvecafeen in Nibe. The café is centrally located on the town square, and overlooks the old Tinghus (Assembly House) where you can learn more about this market town’s development. The herring plays a central role. In the old days, almost 200 years ago, local fishermen landed large catches of herring from the Limfjord, making the town affluent and attractive. We are proud of that history in Nibe, and we celebrate it. The market town Nibe has three herring on is coat of arms; the church houses a model of a herring scaffie, and so on. Today, not many herring remain in the fjord, but you can enjoy them anywhere in town. And then there’s the herring dog – available at the Torvecafeen.