Medal-winning chef Otto Hietamies’ surprise menu combines techniques learned in the Lapland Hotels kitchen and pure ingredients from Lapland

Press release | Thu Jan 26 09:53:00 2023

The surprise menu from Otto Hietamies, winner of a silver medal in the international Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition in Mexico, delights gourmets at Lapland Hotels Bulevardi’s Kultá Kitchen & Bar from 17 January to 28 February 2023. The flavours of the surprise menu stem primarily from Finnish ingredients, including preserved berries and root vegetables. The menu’s dishes also illustrate the techniques and tricks that Hietamies has learned in Lapland Hotels’ kitchens.

For his surprise menu, Hietamies has picked some of the choicest ingredients from Lapland, including reindeer from Sodankylä and pike-perch from Lake Oulujärvi. The dishes also feature flavours familiar from his childhood, such as gooseberry, plum, and carrot.

“I’ve sought inspiration from the early days of Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, from its very first weeks a few years ago, and also from the trip I made to Mexico for the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition. The menu has already received praise from our customers, who have enjoyed it in its entirety very much,” says chef Otto Hietamies.

Hietamies’ career with Lapland Hotels began as a kitchen intern in the summer of 2015 at Lapland Hotels Sky Ounasvaara in Rovaniemi.

“The restaurant’s competent staff and interesting, authentically local ingredients made a huge impression on me, even back then. When Lapland Hotels Bulevardi was opened early in 2019, I got to join the team at Kultá Kitchen & Bar – and I never left.”

A recipe for success from Lapland Hotels

Hietamies believes Lapland Hotels is a great place to work for young cooks, as there are many opportunities for professional development and career advancement inside the chain.

“They’ve really invested in good leadership over the years. I was always surrounded by competent colleagues, who could help me in any situation. Inside a major chain, it is also possible to work at several different locations.

And, of course, Lapland Hotels staff are allowed to participate in cooking competitions with their employer’s support,” says Hietamies.

Hietamies, who dreams of his next competition and his own cooking show, also found his professional role model at Kultá Kitchen & Bar.

“Chef Sanna Rahkonen, who is in charge of the restaurant’s kitchen, leads us expertly through her own example. She reacts quickly in challenging situations and has a fantastic work ethic,” the young chef says about his colleague.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Sanna Rahkonen
Chef
Kultá Kitchen & Bar, Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, Helsinki
+358 40 549 7247
sanna.rahkonen@laplandhotels.com

Kristin Aidla
Restaurant Manager
Kultá Kitchen & Bar, Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, Helsinki
+358 50 0406568
Kristin.aidla@laplandhotels.com

Travel enterprise Lapland Hotels & Safaris offers northern experiences for all 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 1,700 employees in total.

Lapland Hotels has 19 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, Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, and Kuopio.

Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in eight destinations in Lapland: in Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi, Luosto, Olos, Hetta and Kilpisjärvi. Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi. www.laplandhotels.com, www.laplandsafaris.com