Snow-covered forests. Northern Lights. Reindeer. Log cabins. Husky sleds. Silence so deep you may accidentally start thinking about your unanswered emails.

Lapland looks like a fairy tale.

And then dinner arrives.

Because one of the best surprises about travelling in Finnish Lapland is the food. Traditional Lapland food has been shaped by Arctic winters, forests, rivers, berries, fishing, reindeer herding and Sámi traditions. It is warming, practical and wonderfully unfussy.

Nobody is going to serve you three drops of sauce while explaining the emotional journey of a turnip.

After a day at minus 15°C, you want proper food.

So, what should you eat in Lapland?

Poronkäristys – the Lapland classic

Let us start with the reindeer in the room.

Poronkäristys, or sautéed reindeer, is one of the best-known traditional dishes in Finnish Lapland. Thin slices of reindeer are slowly cooked and traditionally served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries.

The meat is tender, rich and usually much milder than first-time visitors expect. The potatoes provide comfort; the lingonberries bring sweetness and acidity.

It works.

Very well.

Visit Finland’s guide to traditional Finnish food includes reindeer among Finland’s most characteristic regional foods.

There may, admittedly, be a small emotional adjustment involved if you photographed reindeer in the afternoon.

And an even bigger one when you get home.

“Sorry, kids. I ate one of Santa’s reindeer. No presents this Christmas.”

Lapland is magical.

It is also very practical.

Lohikeitto – central heating in a bowl

If poronkäristys is the famous Lapland food, lohikeitto may be the dish you secretly want to order again tomorrow.

Finnish salmon soup is typically made with salmon, potatoes, leek, cream and dill.

Nothing revolutionary is happening here.

It doesn’t need to.

It is warm, creamy, filling and almost ridiculously comforting after several hours outside in the Arctic cold.

For groups, it is also a very safe introduction to Finnish Lapland cuisine. Not everyone is ready to move immediately from photographing Rudolph to ordering him with mashed potatoes.

Salmon soup provides a gentler landing.

Leipäjuusto – the cheese that squeaks back

Then there is leipäjuusto.

Also known as Finnish squeaky cheese.

And yes, it really can squeak against your teeth when you eat it.

The cheese is mild and firm and is often served warm with cloudberries or cloudberry jam. The sweet, sharp berries and slightly salty cheese are a brilliant combination.

Cloudberries themselves are one of the characteristic flavors of the Arctic north. Known as lakka or hilla in Finnish, these golden berries grow in boggy northern areas and appear in jams, sauces, drinks and desserts.

Visit Finland’s guide to Lapland food highlights sautéed reindeer, salmon soup, cloudberries and leipäjuusto among the flavours visitors should experience in northern Finland.

There is another option too.

In Sámi tradition, leipäjuusto can also be enjoyed with hot coffee.

Cheese.

In coffee.

Do not judge it from your office chair.

You are going to have to go north and investigate properly.

Cloudberries – Arctic berries with a high opinion of themselves

Cloudberries deserve a section of their own.

They look a little like golden raspberries, but the flavor is quite different: sweet, tart and slightly floral.

And they are not particularly cheap.

Which seems reasonable.

Cloudberries clearly know they are special.

You will find them in desserts, jams, sauces and drinks, but perhaps the most classic combination is warm leipäjuusto with cloudberry jam.

If you see that on a menu in Lapland, order it.

This is not the moment to be sensible.

Suovas – smoked reindeer with Sámi roots

If you want something even more closely connected with Sámi food culture, look for suovas.

Suovas is salted, smoked reindeer meat and has a deeper, smokier flavor than poronkäristys. It can appear in traditional dishes or in more modern interpretations.

Reindeer, fish, berries and preserved foods all reflect the landscapes and traditions of the Arctic north.

This is where food becomes more than dinner.

It helps explain why people have eaten certain ingredients here for generations and how life in the Arctic shaped what ended up on the plate.

That is when travel becomes interesting.

Rieska – simple bread that understands winter

Rieska is traditional Finnish flatbread, with recipes varying by region and sometimes using barley or potato.

It doesn’t look particularly dramatic.

It doesn’t arrive surrounded by smoke.

Nobody is standing nearby with tweezers arranging microgreens.

It just sits quietly beside your soup, being excellent.

And that feels extremely Nordic.

Arctic char, whitefish and northern fish

Reindeer gets most of the attention, but food in Finnish Lapland is also closely connected to its lakes and rivers.

Arctic char, whitefish, trout and salmon may be smoked, grilled, cured or prepared over an open fire.

The approach is often simple: excellent fish, potatoes, herbs and perhaps some butter.

In other words, good ingredients without unnecessary interference.

A philosophy we strongly support.

Hot berry juice – after the Northern Lights, you will understand

After snowmobiling, husky sledding, a reindeer sleigh ride or two hours staring hopefully into the Arctic sky, hot berry juice suddenly becomes one of mankind’s greatest inventions.

Lingonberry, blueberry, blackcurrant and other berry drinks are often served warm during winter activities.

Fancy?

Not particularly.

Wonderful when your fingers have stopped communicating with the rest of your body?

Absolutely.

And these little details matter.

Anyone can put “Northern Lights excursion” into an itinerary.

The good programs also remember that humans require warmth, food and occasionally something hot to hold.

What should you eat first in Lapland?

If you only have time to try a few traditional Lapland foods, start with poronkäristys, lohikeitto and leipäjuusto with cloudberries.

Add suovas if you want to explore Sámi food traditions more deeply, and make sure you try some northern fish while you are there.

But the best way to experience Lapland food is as part of the journey itself.

Reindeer after learning about reindeer herding.

Salmon soup following an afternoon in the snow.

A wilderness dinner around a fire.

Cloudberries in a cozy lodge.

Hot berry juice beneath the Northern Lights.

That is when dinner stops being something that happens between two activities and becomes part of the destination.

Come to Lapland hungry

At Best of Nordic, we can build these food experiences into a tailor-made Lapland program — whether you are planning an incentive, MICE program, leisure group or individual journey.

We can combine authentic meals with reindeer encounters, huskies, wilderness dinners, Northern Lights experiences, unusual accommodation and all the practical logistics that make an Arctic program run smoothly.

You can also explore more of Finland with Best of Nordic, from Helsinki and sauna culture to forests, lakes and the Arctic north.

Want your clients to taste Lapland for themselves?

Contact Best of Nordic or email info@bestof.dk and we will create the program.

Just be prepared.

The cheese squeaks.

And Santa may be one reindeer short.