AFTER a hard day's pillaging, your average Viking was sure to need a hearty snack.

And, thanks to a York sandwich bar, he could have had one.

As part of the Jolablot Viking Festival, the Jorvik Centre asked food outlets across the city to come up with a new recipe on a Norse theme, to give some idea of what the fashionable Scandinavian might have enjoyed in aeons past.

The competition was christened A Frenzy Of Feasting, and the winning entry came from Andrew Pinder, of Alfresco Sandwich Bar, in Coppergate, whose trio of nutritious Norse nibbles won the judges' hearts and stomachs.

"I'm delighted to have won," said Andrew. "We wanted to enter into the spirit of the festival. We always like to be imaginative with the fillings that we use, and this competition provided the perfect opportunity for us."

A spokeswoman for Jorvik said: "Alfresco won because they had clearly put a lot of thought into the sandwiches. They had done their own research, and the menu was quite historically accurate." Andrew won a special certificate for his efforts.

The winning creations, all served on authentic rye bread, were:

The Bloodaxe Beef Brunch: roast beef with beetroot and dill chips, a remoulade of capers and gherkins in a mayonnaise sauce, and a hard-boiled egg.

The Longship Lunch: sweet cured herring in dill, with a hard-boiled egg, capers and remoulade sauce.

Valhalla for Vegetarians: pickled red cabbage, apples, Danish blue cheese and chopped walnuts.

Updated: 11:38 Thursday, February 14, 2002