Pike, Wild Mushrooms, Rowan Berries and Åland Pears – The Chef of the Year Menu Is a Celebration of the Autumn Harvest

The autumn menu created for Viking Line by Chef of the Year Piero Silvani is packed with seasonal flavours and treasures from Nordic nature: venison, wild mushrooms, roe and Puikula potatoes. The dessert menu features bright orange berries widely used in Sweden, adding a surprising twist. The wine recommendations for the Pure Nordic Tastes menu showcase a straightforward and classic European style.

Ingredients from the Nordic wilderness form the foundation of the new Pure Nordic Tastes menu in Viking Line's à la carte restaurants. Piero Silvani, crowned Chef of the Year in 2025, has created a menu built around flavours that our passengers easily can identify with.

"Our nature offers many wonderful, vibrant ingredients whose natural acidity allows them to shine in a dish. I have approached familiar traditional flavours with a modern touch. Guests can also look forward to some surprising flavour combinations that are well worth experiencing," says Piero Silvani.

Throughout his career, Silvani has worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Helsinki and Stockholm, as well as at major catering events. Today, he works at Bistro Ego in Helsinki.

The flavours of the autumn harvest and ingredients from nearby regions run throughout the menu. Starters feature, among other delights, Puikula potatoes, vendace roe, crayfish and lingonberries. Main courses include pike, lobster, venison and wild mushrooms, while desserts highlight sea buckthorns, rowan berries, rosehips and pears from Åland.

"The ingredients closest to my heart on this menu are the orange berries that are widely used in Sweden. One of my personal favourites is the grilled lobster served with savoury butter and French fries."

The wine recommendations for the Pure Nordic Tastes menu have been created by Waiter of the Year Katrina Laitinen, who works as a sommelier at BasBas Kulma. The selected classic European wines pair beautifully with the dishes on the menu.

"I wanted the drink recommendations to complement the menu's focus on ingredients. The wines work beautifully alongside the dishes without unnecessary embellishments. My aim was a straightforward and classic style," says Katrina Laitinen.

Viking Line has been one of the principal partners of the Chef of the Year and Sommelier of the Year competitions since 2018.

"We want to play an active role in developing Finnish food culture and the restaurant industry. According to a survey we conducted last year, dining is an important part of the cruise experience for well over half of our passengers. The Pure Nordic Tastes menu, created by Chef of the Year and Waiter of the Year, has become an eagerly anticipated autumn tradition aboard Viking Line ships," says Janne Lindholm, Restaurant Manager at Viking Line.

“The survey also found that domestic and Nordic ingredients are important to two out of three Finns. The food traditions, seasonal produce and ingredients of our neighbouring regions are a valued and integral part of our food philosophy throughout the year and across all our restaurants.”

The Pure Nordic Tastes menu will be available in the à la carte restaurants aboard Viking Glory, Viking Grace, Viking Cinderella and Gabriella from the beginning of September until the final week of October.

Pure Nordic Tastes Menu on Viking Line Ships 1 September–27 October 2026

Starters

• Puikula potato, pickled onion and vendace roe €14
• Hand-peeled crayfish, tomato jelly and crayfish bisque €14
• Beef tartare, celeriac blini and pickled wild garlic capers €15
• Tartlet filled with caramelised onion, Almnäs Tegel cheese and lingonberries €13

Main Courses

• Pike fillet, prawn and pike mousseline, grilled cabbage, potato purée and mussel butter sauce €29
• Grilled half lobster, browned savory butter, tomato salad and French fries €43
• Grilled venison loin, chanterelle purée, sautéed mushrooms and aromatic venison jus €31
• Barley risotto with buckwheat, grilled cabbage, wild mushrooms and wild mushroom broth €26

Desserts

• Sea buckthorn sorbet, rowan berry yoghurt cream and rosehip jelly €14
• Raspberry bavarois, redcurrant butter ice cream and vanilla €13
• Åland pear, caramelised white chocolate and lemon verbena ice cream €13

For further information:
 

Janne Lindholm, Restaurant Manager

janne.lindholm@vikingline.com, tel. +358 400 744 806

Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Communications Director

johanna.boijer@vikingline.com, tel. +358 18 270 00

Christa Grönlund, Communications Manager

christa.gronlund@vikingline.com, tel. +358 9 123 51