Culinary Winter Finland

… pure campfire romance … authentic culinary lockdown amongst the ice, snow, and the solitude of the Finnish forests

 

Culinary Winter Camp – living at and by a log fire with ice and snow; a 7-day outdoor culinary experience in the heart of the wintery forest and island landscapes of the Saimaa lake, with its 13,000 islands, approximately 35 km south of the small town of Savonlinna, on the 61st parallel of Finland

In high-quality, traditional wooden huts (Norppa-Majat, see menu item “Accommodation Winter Camp”), on the banks of the richly stocked Saimaa Lakes, we stage our authentic lake-side “Winter Camp”.

On open wood fires, we prepare freshwater fish caught under the surrounding ice such as burbot, pike, trout, whitefish, percha and aland as well as local game such as elk, reindeer, capercaillie, wood pigeons, and mallards from the surrounding seemingly endless birch, pine and larch forests.

Authentic methods of preparing wild salmon and vendace as well as black Angus cuts (US grain-fed / dry-aged) are also part of the culinary choreography.

From the “forest wine cellar”, international masterpieces from selected family wineries accompany the daily culinary program. A fire-side workshop educates visitors on the local distillation methods of vodka and gin. The forests in the frozen, endless lake landscape invite you to go snowshoeing, ice swimming, ice fishing, and cross-country skiing.

Each of our traditional Finnish wooden huts has its own wood-fired outdoor sauna and an electric indoor sauna for rest and relaxation (see menu item “Sauna Winter Camp”). All huts are located directly on the lake and no hut can be overlooked from another: absolute silence & tranquility in a world of its own. The central point of every hut is a traditional open fireplace next to a wood-burning stone stove. There is of course an abundant amount of wood for the fireplace, stove, sauna, and own separate barbecue hut – already felled and cut in a separate wood storage hut nearby.

During daylight and night, we take hikes with or without snowshoes, roaming deep into the forests and across frozen stretches of the lake, with regular campfire stops and “wilderness lunches” in wooden shelters, so called Kotas – the “wild Scandinavian way”.

Between our outdoor activities and “over-the-fire cooking workshops” there is plenty of time for extended sauna sessions and relaxation in the privacy of your accommodation. Each hut has its own jetty, which you can use to comfortably access your very own private ice bath – for invigorating cooling-off between sauna sessions or for simply starting the day.

We stage traditional ice-fishing for salmon-trout, and perch with a small hand rod. With authentic fish traps and the “Fyke Net” we show traditional Finnish fishing methods. Caught fish are cooked immediately on the campfire. As always, “catch & release” applies to all other catches.

Cross-country skiing is easy for those with no winter-sport experience to learn, and our trails are groomed on the frozen lake right up to our huts.

All the content and services described above are included in the all-inclusive price of the trip.

This trip is accompanied and staged by the international “wine & food edutainer”, enologist and certified sport fisherman Roland Birr.

€ 2,995 per person – all-inclusive. Unlimited food and drinks, overnight accommodation, sauna, cross-country skiing equipment, snowshoes, kick sledge, ice fishing equipment, fishing licenses & workshops, airport transfer to/from Savonlinna

Guests must arrange their own travel.

We are also happy to coordinate and book flights according to your wishes.

We deliberately keep group sizes small, with a maximum of 10 participants per group.

Please contact us: +49 176 40289039

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