Good food, scenery & saunas

'Make and Bake' Finnish cuisine holiday

Love to cook, love to try new cuisines from around the world? Want to learn how to make Finnish cuisine the way mama makes it at home in the kitchen? Then pack up your apron because this week long cooking experience will show you a whole host of beautiful dishes and you also get to experience the joys of Finnish culture and the way the locals live.

Finnish cuisine is notable for combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional dishes from the western part of the country, while the dishes from the eastern part have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Finnish food often uses whole meal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn), many of them foraged locally.

As you move from kitchen to kitchen learn the tricks of this wonderful food, spending your evenings relaxing and swapping recipes with other members of the group.

Enquire

Guesthouse

Cycling between stays

Koli National park

Smoke Sauna

Finnish Food

Wild berries

SUGGESTED ITINERARY

WHAT, WHERE & WHEN

Day 1

Arriving into Joensuu airport, meet your fellow cooks and join your transfer to your first stop at Puukarin Pysäkki. Spend the evening relaxing from your travels with that staple of Finnish life, the sauna and spend dinner getting to know the rest of the group.

Day 2

Time to get your hands dirty in the kitchen with your first workshop with Anni, the hostess of Puukari. She will show you the secrets to baking fabulous rye bread. Dark and fiber-rich ruisleipä, rye bread is a staple of the Finnish diet. You will also try other breads made from grains like barley, oat, rye and wheat, or by mixing different grits and flours. For example, sihtileipä is made of a combination of rye and wheat. Spend the remainder of your day exploring the local surroundings, your guide can make suggestions where to visit or take a sauna.

Day 3

After a leisurely breakfast it is time to saddle up as you take a gentle biking tour with your guide to the next guesthouse, Laitalan Lomat (22 km). If you don’t wish to cycle a taxi can be arranged. All of your luggage will be transferred for you. Along this scenic cycle route there is a very nice small souvenir boutique where you will make a stop. The hostess of Laitala, Henna, bakes with you sweet buns called pulla, these sweet, cardamom-flavored bread are eaten with coffee or as dessert and cinnamon rolls (korvapuustit) – which are pulla made into a roll with cinnamon and sugar and sliced. After the exertions of the day it is time to relax with a sauna by the river! Are you brave enough to take a dip in chilly waters?

Day 4

Your classic Finnish cuisine experience continues as you join Henna in here country kitchen once more.Today you will bake a cake with Henna. In the afternoon enjoy a special peat sauna, perfect for soothing any aches or pains in your whole body! Finish the day with dinner in the evening.

Day 5

After breakfast it is back onto your bike as you take a small tour to Männikkölä (35 km). You will have the opportunity to visit the small town of Nurmes, the city of birches, which sits beautifully between two lakes. The may also be a possibility to do a little shopping. On arrival settle into your new surrounding before it is time to put on your aprons once more. In the afternoon you bake Karelian pies with Ritva, your host. Karelian pasty (karjalanpiirakka) is a traditional Finnish dish made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice, they are very tasty. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg (eggbutter or munavoi), is spread over the hot pastries before eating.

Day 6

After breakfast it is back into the kitchen where you bake another type of Karelian pies. Today is not all about cooking, you also take a minibus and drive for approx one hour to Koli national park. In Koli we hike about 8 km and admire the Finnish national landscape from the top of the hill, 347 metres above sea level. As you admire the marvellous view over Lake Pielinen from the top of Ukko-Koli hill, it's easy to see why this spot has attracted so many Finnish artists, photographers and nature-lovers over the centuries, the picture before you is truly spectacular, don’t forget your camera.

Day 7

After breakfast we are into the final leg of your journey as you take a biking tour back to your starting point at Pihlajapuu, a distance of approx 15 km. In the evening sample the traditional smoke sauna at Minna’s. This sauna has spent over 6 hours getting hot and filling with smoke from the log fire. At exactly the right moment all of the smoke is released from the sauna but the heat remains, creating the most wonderful sauna experience. Feeling relaxed after your sauna, finish your final evening sampling the freshest glow-fried salmon cooked by the campfire and sharing stories of your adventures with your companions for one last time.

Day 8

Time to say hei, hei! Good-bye! as you join the transfer back to the airport for your onward journey, be that homeward or onto further adventures.

BUDGET

From £1310 per person based on sharing a double room on a Full Board basis

This roughly converts to: 1,507 EUR | 1,716 USD

Remember that each trip we craft is unique, and you'll receive a personalised trip proposal based on your travel dates and preferences, and in the currency of your choice (GBP, USD, or EUR).

Enquire

Additional Info

DATES

This trip has fixed departure dates

Many of trips can be tailored to your requirements and departure dates. Please get in touch with us for a tailored quotation and details of availability for your preferred travel dates. All trips and departures are subject to availability.

Enquire