Arctic Lakeland’s food and drink culture is grounded in pure, local ingredients from the surrounding nature.
The foundation of Arctic Lakeland’s food and drink culture is deeply rooted in the local produce. The area’s vast forests and lakes are brimming with berries, wild herbs, mushrooms, fish and game. The clean nature and pure air provide an excellent base for ingredients to grow and flourish.
There is an element of simplicity in Arctic Lakeland’s local delicacies. Many ingredients are full of flavour and therefore you will find unfussy and hearty foods on your plate. The foods are often sturdy and great for a snack on the go. Local delicacy ‘avokukko’ is a loaf of bread filled with salmon or vendace offering all the key ingredients of a meal all in one – a perfect snack to take for an excursion! Bread and pastries during meals play an important part as well. There will always be bread and butter with lunch and dinner and it is often placed at the centre of the table.
Late summer brings on the berry season with strawberries, blueberries, lingonberries and cloudberries. Berries make up another essential part of the cuisine in Arctic Lakeland and you will find them in pastries, desserts and as an accompaniment to main dishes. Berries are stored for the winter and then enjoyed throughout the year. Fish and game are available throughout the year and many restaurants have pike perch, smelt, lamb and elk in their menus. Possibly the most unique local ingredient is tar. Due to long tar burning traditions, you will find tar flavoured foods in Arctic Lakeland – the smoky flavour adds an interesting touch foods!
Local delicacies for every taste
Arctic Lakeland cuisine is based on local and clean ingredients and following delicacies should not be missed when visiting the area:
Rönttönen – sweet berry & rye pastry
Perhaps the best-known local delicacy of Arctic Lakeland is rönttönen, which is a sweet pastry baked in crusty rye dough. It is filled with potato mash and lingonberries, which give it pink colour. Rönttönen can be enjoyed with butter or as it is, making it a perfect snack for hikes and days out in the nature. It has EU’s Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, which means that rönttönen has a specific link to Arctic Lakeland and is unique to this region. You will find rönttönen at hotels’ breakfast tables, cafes, bakeries and supermarkets so be sure to try this during your visit.
Bread cheese or squeaky cheese
Bread cheese is a flat cake-like cheese, that is often enjoyed as a dessert with coffee. It is softheartedly called squeaky cheese as it makes a squeak when you bite into it. The bread cheese is best served with cloudberry jam and can even be dipped into coffee to make it melt.
Tar flavoured foods
Arctic Lakeland has a long history of producing tar, which was used for ship building, roofing, insect repellent and even treating cuts. It is extracted from coniferous trees by burning them in pits. Tar has a smoky flavour and adds an interesting flavour to foods. In Arctic Lakeland, you can try tar ice cream, tar beer, tar liquor and tar chocolate to name a few!
Nettle
Wild herbs are an important part of Arctic Lakeland cuisine and perhaps the best-known wild herb grown in the area is nettle. It can be found dried and in powder form and also many restaurants incorporate it in their menus such as nettle soup. It is one of the local superfoods and said to be many more times nutritious than spinach.
Avokukko
Avokukko is a loaf of bread filled with fish and open at the top. It is ideal ‘food on the go’ and is often available at supermarkets and bakeries. The bread is made of rye and is shaped into a round or rectangular shape and filled with fish. The top is left open. Avokukko can be enjoyed as a main dish for lunch or dinner or as a savoury snack with afternoon coffee or tea.
Your Guide to Local Delicacies & Dining
There are a variety of restaurants, cafes and bakeries in Arctic Lakeland and we have selected a few highlights to try out:
PEKKA HEIKKINEN BAKERY SHOP AND CAFÉ
Pekka Heikkisen leipomo is a famous bakery located in Kajaani. It is over 100 years old and is still ran by the Heikkinen family in the 4th generation. The bakery has been making bread, cakes, sandwiches and rolls since 1913. In addition to rönttönen, they also have a bread menu that changes daily. Their rye bread is made in their own rye sourdough starter and is baked in a wood fired oven. They also bake tar flavoured bread. Pekka Heikkisen leipomo is an ideal place for a coffee and a sandwich and a cake or to pick up snacks for a day out.
PALJAKKA SAFARI KITCHEN & BAR
The kitchen combines local ingredients with Mediterranean-inspired flavours. Lunch, grilled bites, and special menus for events and groups are served. Coffee, ice cream, or drinks from the well-stocked bar can be enjoyed at any time.
The cosy indoor restaurant seats 50 guests year-round, with another 50 seats available on the covered, mostly mosquito-free terrace from spring to late autumn.
Relaxation in the heart of nature is best paired with good food and friendly service.
KAESAN KOTILEIPOMO – HANDMADE IN KUHMO
In Kuhmo, you will find another famous bakery called Kaesan leipomo – Kaesa’s bakery. They bake excellent rönttönen and rye bread. Rye bread sticks flavoured with berries are one of their specialities. You can also get individually sized avokukko from Kaesa’s bakery, filled with salmon, vendace or swede. The coffee shop is open daily to enjoy their bakes in or to takeaway.
RESTAURANT AINOA
Located in Vuokatti at Hotel Aateli Hill is one of the finest restaurants in Arctic Lakeland, restaurant Ainoa (“the only one”). They are available for dinner and offer a fantastic fine dining experience in Vuokatti. Dishes include creamy nettle soup, local cheese board, pike perch with mushroom stew and locally made ice cream for dessert.
GIANT’S DINNER – ARCTIC GIANT
If you wish to have a meal with a view, look no further than Giant’s Birdhouse and their restaurant Makuhelmi. Located at the top of Kivesvaara, you will not only enjoy excellent food but also spectacular views. The restaurant specializes in local ingredients and their speciality is Giant’s dinner – a giant sharing plate for two to sample local dishes. Options include soup with nettle bread, salad with tar infused oil, smoked fish pot, slow cooked meat and blueberry quark.
CAFÉ VAARAN TUPA
At the top of Vuokatti hill, you will find a small and charming log cabin café called Vaaran Tupa. It has been serving outdoor enthusiasts since 1937 and has also acted as fire warden’s hut. Now there is a café which is open during winter and summer seasons serving skiers and hikers. The café is a perfect stop to refuel during the day on the slopes or during a hike.
HAAPALA BREWERY
In Vuokatti, you will find the only brewery in Arctic Lakeland at Haapala Farm. Their craft beers are made of arctic malts and flavoured with local ingredients like spruce pine, tar and rye. There is also a restaurant available at Haapala Farm, which specializes in dishes made from local ingredients such as tar salmon soup, butter fried pike perch and kale pancakes, not forgetting beer tasting menus.
Restaurant Kanteletar
At Hotel Kalevala’s restaurant Kanteletar, cuisine is designed for international tastes while proudly using local products like fish, meat and berries. Guests can enjoy their meal with beautiful lake views, as the restaurant is located on the shores of Lake Lammasjärvi in Kuhmo.
RESTAURANT KIPPO
Restaurant Kippo is a charming restaurant in Vuokatti specializing in Arctic Lakeland and Finnish delicacies. Their specialty is their own smoke cabin, which allows them to smoke foods on site. The restaurant prides themselves in using local ingredients and dishes like creamy mushroom soup with tar bread, Arctic Lakeland fish soup with onion butter, vegetable patties with nettle pesto and cheese curd served with tar infused cream make up the menu.
LEARN TO MAKE LOCAL DELICACIES
If you are interested to dive in deeper to Arctic Lakeland’s cuisine and to learn how to make the local delicacies, then check out charming Arola farm located in Suomussalmi. They offer a weeklong package during which you’ll learn to bake and make the local foods, to heat a wood burning oven and sample the food, whilst enjoying the wilderness.
Discover more restaurants and cafés, more things to do in the area and check out our wide range of accommodation options in Arctic Lakeland region.
