JORVIK Viking Centre in York has teamed up with a local firm to help visitors embrace the senses of the Viking era in their own home.

The retail team at the centre has joined forces with the York-based olfactory artist to offer a way to bring the smell into your own home – Room Spell’s Jorvik Feast candle.

JORVIK is known for offering the sights, sounds and smells of Viking-age York to visitors from every corner of the globe, but this is the first aroma of a Viking feast that people can take home with them. Newly added to the swords, axes, jewellery and freshly-minted coins in the gift shop, the centre said it is expected to be a popular souvenir for Norse-enthusiasts.

The candle was created by York resident Dan Oliver Gott, who has produced a series of unusual scented candles with a distinctly off-beat theme. 

The Viking Centre will be the only place in the city where you can purchase the Jorvik Feast candle, whilst the Magic and Mystery Shop at Monk Bar will stock three magical-themed candles: The Hex, York 1349 and Deadly Sins.

Dan said: “If you think of Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers, which could give you the taste of a full meal in a single confection, I’ve done the same with a candle – an aroma that changes as the candle burns down to create a full feast of scent, ranging from smoked meats to fresh bread, rolled oats and orchard fruits.

“No Viking feast is complete without lashings of beer, so there is a hoppy aroma that runs throughout.”

The Jorvik Feast candles come in a special tin and have a burn time of around 42 hours, priced at £18.50. The JORVIK Viking Centre gift shop is open to everyone during JORVIK’s normal opening hours.

Paul Ruxton, JORVIK’s retail buyer, said: “The recreated smells of Viking-age York have been part of JORVIK’s story since it opened in 1984, including a heady mixture of pleasant and unpleasant aromas, from apples and damp forest to rotting meat and cesspit.

"This candle definitely captures the delicious smells of a feast – you can almost imagine that this is the aroma that greets fallen warriors as they are welcomed into Valhalla.”

Earlier this year, the JORVIK Viking Centre's podcast was nominated for two prestigious awards.

The podcast was the idea of Miranda Schmeiderer, who was one of JORVIK’s duty managers. The pilot episode was created in November 2020, with an initial series created to launch during That JORVIK Viking Thing, the online Viking festival created to keep people entertained whilst locked in their homes during the pandemic.

The show is co-hosted by Miranda along with Lucas Norton, who researches many of the themes behind the podcasts.