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 fresh 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. Replacing traditional ingredients with better, fresher ones - that's how a new speciality comes to be.


On Friday of the Herring Market in 1980, the 250 buns from Viggo Bakery were sold out, so customers 'made do' with ordinary 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 all year round at Torvecafeen in Nibe. The café is centrally located in the town square, and overlooks the old Assembly House, where you can learn more about this market town’s development. The herring plays a central role. Almost 200 years ago, local fishermen landed large catches of herring from the Limfjord, making the town affluent and attractive. They are proud of their history in Nibe, and they celebrate it.

Nibe has three herring on their coat of arms and the church houses a model of a herring scaffie. 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 Torvecafeen.