Few things carry more cultural weight than food. Experiences around food are deeply emotional and personal—tied to daily life, family life, and community. Smörgåsbord examines the history of the Village of Ephraim through the foodways which defined its unique culture. From the Scandinavian and German immigrants who shaped production and formed Ephraim’s tourist industry, to their descendants and new arrivals who ushered in a golden age of tourism—the medley of what Ephraim grew, ate, and served made the Village what it is today.

Founded in 1853 by a contingent of Scandinavian immigrants, Ephraim was a particularly remote location on a rapidly developing Door Peninsula. Their struggles in surviving harsh winters and brutal summers in the first years cemented a sense of community bound together by their faith and food. Where settlers were not rich in possessions, a communal focus of neighbor-helping-neighbor has underpinned Ephraim’s history to the present day. When passing steamships brought the first tourists to Ephraim in the 1890s, they set in motion a new industry. One which still revolves around food, hospitality, and celebration of heritage.