Planning a festive menu in Lapland: seasons, ingredients and the order of service

Planning a Lapland-style festive menu involves three key decisions: choosing seasonal ingredients, deciding on the order of the courses, and taking your guests into account. Once you’ve done that, the menu will remain clear and the food will have that authentic Lapland flavour at your celebration. We plan festive menus in Saariselkä based on the Lapland food culture at Pirkon Pirtti, and we tailor them to your wishes. Below you can see how the season guides our choices, which ingredients form the basis of the menu, and the order in which the courses are served.

Planning a festive menu in Lapland starts with the season

Lapland’s ingredients have their own calendar. Cloudberries grow in the marshes and have a short harvesting season, so they are best suited to celebrations in summer and early autumn. Reindeer and fish feature on the menu regardless of the season, but the side dishes change: light salads in summer, mushrooms and berries in autumn, and warm, hearty soups in winter. When you base your menu on seasonal produce, the ingredients are at their best on the day of the celebration and the menu feels natural.

The occasion often sets the tone for the menu. The Christmas dinner, the Easter menu and the food served at spring celebrations are each unique, whilst weddings and birthdays call for a different atmosphere. In winter, food warms you up; in spring, the menu becomes lighter. Let us know the date of your celebration, the number of guests and the venue, and we’ll suggest dishes that are perfect for the season. We’ll deliver the food to your holiday cottage, home, function venue or up in the fells, and we’ll sort out the details when you place your order.

Choose one main ingredient for each dish, so that the menu remains straightforward and each flavour has room to shine.

The ingredients of a Lapland festive meal and their roles

In a good menu, each main ingredient has its own role to play. Examples of our dishes include reindeer stew, smoked salmon, Lapland flatbread, wild mushroom salad and Lapland cheese soup. Reindeer and salmon serve as the main courses, the mushroom salad sets the tone for the evening, and the flatbreads and cheese soup are perfect as side dishes or starters. In this way, the menu tells the story of Lapland, and each dish is given its own space. Lapland’s culinary culture is at its best when the ingredients are allowed to shine in their own right.

Berries add a touch of tartness to the menu and balance out fatty meats. Lingonberries go well with reindeer and game, whilst cloudberries are ideal for desserts and as accompaniments to cheese. Choose one main ingredient for each dish. When reindeer and salmon compete on the same plate, neither stands out. When you’re catering for both locals and tourists, the familiar combination of reindeer and lingonberries appeals to everyone, whilst cloudberries add an element of surprise.

The order in which the festive menu is served and the different types of guests

Start with something light and refreshing, move on to a hearty main course, and finish with a berry-based dessert. For example, a wild mushroom salad or cheese soup to kick off the evening, reindeer or salmon as the main course, and a dessert based on cloudberries or lingonberries to round it off. If there are several courses, keep the portions reasonable so that your guests can enjoy the meal right to the end. The same order applies to a buffet: cold dishes first, followed by hot dishes, and dessert last.

Guests often include children, tourists and people with special dietary requirements. Please let us know your requirements when you book, as they will affect the structure of the entire menu. Read more about this, How are special dietary requirements taken into account when placing a catering order?, and you’ll find help with estimating quantities in the article on portion sizes for party food. We’ll take care of the serving and table setting our catering service, and we’ll sort out the details when you place your order.