Lapland Hotels restaurants are thriving – Two skilled professionals to compete in the Chef of the Year 2024 semifinal

Press release | Thu Apr 04 08:52:00 2024

Lapland Hotels Bulevardi’s Kultá Kitchen & Bar restaurant’s Shift Managers Otto Hietamies and Alfred Tallberg have been selected for the prestigious Chef of the Year 2024 semifinal. The competition is a Finnish chef championship, and its semifinal will take place on 22 April 2024. Lapland Hotels has also been successful in various industry competitions in the past.

The Chef of the Year competition has been held since 1995, and its purpose is to increase the appreciation of the industry and to develop Finnish food and drink culture. The competition consists of three parts: the preliminary selection is made based on anonymous applications, after which ten chefs will then be selected to move on to the semifinal. The final will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki in connection with the Wine & Food event in October.

This year, two Lapland Hotels’ chefs qualified for the semifinal.

Otto Hietamies has been working at Kultá Kitchen & Bar since 2019. Hietamies has distinguished himself in several competitions in the industry: in 2022, he won gold in the Young Chefs’ Finnish Championships and, in 2023, silver in the Young Chefs’ World Championships. At the end of 2023, Hietamies competed in the prestigious PRO-gaala Best Chef series. He will be participating in the Chef of the Year semifinal for the first time.

– “Qualifying for the Chef of the Year 2024 semifinal means a lot to me. I’m excited to get to show my skills against some of the best professionals in the field. Competitive situations enable professional development and also give the chance to network with other experts. I’m really looking forward to this. I have worked at Kultá Kitchen & Bar for over five years, which has prepared me well for the competition. The restaurant offers a top-notch setting and a supportive atmosphere for professional development,” says Hietamies.

Lapland Hotels’ second semifinalist, Alfred Tallberg, has been working at Kultá Kitchen & Bar since January 2024. Before he started working at Lapland Hotels, Tallberg had created a career in the kitchens of several top restaurants in Helsinki. Tallberg will be competing in the Chef of the Year semifinal for the fourth time.

– “It feels really good to be among the top 10 chefs in Finland. The competitions have given me a lot of confidence in my own work. They are a great opportunity to grow as a professional and try new things. Lapland Hotels has a development-promoting atmosphere, and we get to work with the finest northern ingredients on a daily basis,” says Tallberg.

Top professionals contribute to ensuring the high standards of Lapland Hotels’ restaurants

With its long-term work, Lapland Hotels, the largest private hotel chain in Finland, has successfully increased the appreciation and quality of hotel restaurants both in Finland and around the world.

The hotel chain is known for several high-quality restaurants that promote Lappish cuisine and the appreciation of premium northern ingredients. Continuous development and strengthening each employee’s expertise are also an essential part of Lapland Hotels’ restaurant philosophy.

The success of Lapland Hotels’ restaurant professionals in prestigious industry competitions is a testament to both the hotel chain’s expertise and the kitchen staff’s passionate attitude towards their work. The restaurants always seek to create new experiences for their customers. Various theme weeks and regularly changing surprise menus attract both hotel guests and other city residents.

Photo copyrights: Lapland Hotels & Safaris

Further information:

Otto Hietamies
Shift Manager
Kultá Kitchen & Bar, Lapland Hotels Bulevardi
+358 40 482 2809

Alfred Tallberg
Shift Manager
Kultá Kitchen & Bar, Lapland Hotels Bulevardi
+358 40 029 2474

Travel enterprise Lapland Hotels & Safaris offers Northern experiences for all the senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain, Lapland Hotels, the largest experience service company in the Nordic countries, Lapland Safaris Group Oy, and Lapland Ski Resorts. The group has approximately 1,950 employees in total.

Lapland Hotels has 20 hotels, more than 2,400 rooms and apartments, as well as over 10,000 restaurant seats around Finland: in Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas and Hetta, as well as Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Kuopio and the Haikko Manor in Porvoo.

Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in five destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi and Luosto.

Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi. www.laplandhotels.com/en/, www.laplandsafaris.com/en/