Traditions, Nordic ingredients, and new trends come together to create unique taste experiences in nature. You can savor the elegance of French cuisine, enjoy dinner at the world’s northernmost Michelin-starred restaurant in the ski resort, have a three-course lunch in the forest, and soon dinner on top of a fell. At the Wild Food Festival in September, you can taste local delicacies such as reindeer pâté, pastries, and the EU-protected fish Kitkan Viisas.
10 tips for a culinary journey in Ruka-Kuusamo: wild food festival and macarons
Ruka-Kuusamo in the Finnish Lapland is an emerging dream destination for food travelers
Ruka-Kuusamo is a popular outdoor and nature destination, offering many hidden gems for food enthusiasts. Whether you’re a wild food lover, a fine dining aficionado, or a fan of artisanal pastries, the north has something for everyone. Local ingredients like fish, game, berries, wild herbs, and reindeer are widely used in the area’s restaurants in unique ways. You can taste these local culinary delights on September 14th at the Wild Food Festival, which has grown since last year. One of the exhibitors is the Finnish-French café, The French Cafe, where the festival is held at Kuusamo’s event square, located in the café’s backyard.
The cozy and stylish café is owned by Kuusamo local Moona Mankinen and her French partner Arthur Bataille, who moved to Lapland from Nice a few years ago and opened a café-patisserie in an old bank building. Their concept centers on table service and five-star pastries. For the Wild Food Festival, they’re introducing new treats like tar salt-dark chocolate macarons and reindeer pâté. The pâté is prepared in a French-style thin pastry shell filled with cognac jelly. These can be savored with red wine at the long feast table at the Wild Food Festival.
"For us, quality and locality are paramount. I prepare savory treats and pastries using natural ingredients in a French style. The Wild Food Festival is a fantastic opportunity to sample our and other local entrepreneurs' creations in a relaxed atmosphere," says pastry chef and dessert maker Mankinen.
Ruka-Kuusamo is a food traveler’s dream, where traditions and new trends come together to create unique taste experiences. Come and experience for yourself how the northern nature and gastronomy create an unforgettable adventure.
Tips for foodies in Ruka-Kuusamo:
1. Wild Food Festival: a taste journey with nature’s bounty
Kuusamo’s Wild Food Festival in September is a gateway to the world of hyper-local food. The Kuusamo and Taivalkoski wild food kitchen, which forms the foundation of the festival, is based on locality, traditional methods, uniqueness, and boldness. The food is made from pure ingredients freely growing in nature. Local entrepreneurs showcase their creations in five-euro tasting portions.
2. Dinner on the summit: a new sauna restaurant
Opening in December on the Saarua summit in Ruka, the new sauna restaurant promises to take food travelers to new heights. The sauna restaurant offers an unforgettable combination of delicious food, relaxing steam, and unique views of the snowy slopes and the Valtavaara Nature Reserve and Northern lights. Just a little more patience – it’s opening soon!
3. The French Cafe: a culinary experience from Nice to Kuusamo
Imagine stepping from the streets of Nice into the heart of Kuusamo. The French Cafe, established by Finnish-French couple Moona Mankinen and her French partner Arthur Bataille, is an oasis of flavors. The café’s table-served handmade delights, such as Silver Toffee macarons, take you on a culinary journey where local ingredients meet French elegance.
4. Restaurant Tapio: the world’s northernmost Michelin star
The village of Ruka offers one of Finland’s most intriguing dining experiences. Restaurant Tapio, led by British chef Connor Laybourne and his partner Johanna Mourujärvi, is like a hidden treasure. In this intimate restaurant, you can enjoy dishes inspired by northern nature, which earned a Michelin star this summer. Each meal is a work of art, celebrating local ingredients.
5. Studio Restaurant Tundra: fine dining and ceramics
Located in Ruukinvaara, Kuusamo, Studio Restaurant Tundra offers an unforgettable fine dining experience where local ingredients, northern cuisine with an international twist, and ceramics blend together. Ceramicist and chef Jarmo Pitkänen invites you to a dinner where every plate is a unique piece of art. Cooking courses are also available, offering a deeper dive into the secrets of local cuisine.
6. Pizzeria Ruka: northern flavors with an Italian twist
Who would have thought that such a high-quality pizzeria could be found this far north, combining local ingredients with Italian tradition and a wood-fired oven? Located at the base of the ski slope in Ruka, this casual yet stylish restaurant offers pizzas featuring local flavors like salmon and lingonberry. It’s the perfect place to indulge in Italian-style treats after an active day or in the middle of the day.
7. Pohjolan Pirtti & Kievari: the cradle of wild food
Pohjolan Pirtti, built in 1891, takes you to the heart of Kuusamo’s food culture in the village of Vuotunki. Here, you can enjoy traditional delicacies like game, fish, and berries, whose flavors come straight from nature’s own treasure chest. The restaurant’s atmosphere and food transport you back in time, to the core of Kuusamo traditions and historical events.
8. Kujala Reindeer Farm: reindeer delicacies to take home
Kujala Reindeer Farm has been in operation since 1860 and is now run by the fifth generation, Juha Kujala, together with his wife Jenni. The farm’s products are the perfect way to bring a piece of Kuusamo home with you. At Kujala Reindeer Farm, the reindeer roam freely, and every part of the animal is utilized. You can purchase items like reindeer tenderloin, heart, and ground meat – not to mention reindeer bone jewelry.
9. Wild Out: three-course lunch in the forest
Wild Out also offers fantastic three-course lunches in the middle of the forest. Tomasz, an outdoor chef and wilderness guide originally from Poland, worked as a professional chef in Poland, Sweden, and Spain before moving north. The lunch is prepared over an open fire using seasonal products and foraged ingredients.
10. Camp Kitchen & Bar: relax and enjoy flavors from Turku to Thailand
Hop on the gondola from Ruka village, enjoy the scenery, and arrive at the Ruka Valley village in East Ruka, where Camp Kitchen offers flavors from Turku to Thailand and from Nuorgam to New York. One of the restaurant’s favorites is the Asian Super Bowl with sugar-salted Kuusamo salmon. In addition to the delicious flavor combinations, this dish is impressive in size and sure to satisfy even the hungriest foodie!
