Rudolf makes the menu

JUST as kangaroo, emu and crocodile meats are popular in Australia, reindeer and moose are delicacies in Finland.

Local produce ... reindeer and moose are the 'it' menu items in Finland at the moment / Reuters

JUST as kangaroo, emu and crocodile meats are popular in Australia, reindeer and moose are delicacies in Finland.

Served with potatoes, salad or in a stew, reindeer and moose are the "it" menu items in Finland at the moment.

"It is really trendy here right now," Helsinki-based celebrity chef Sara La Fontaine said.

Food from any country is influenced by its neighbours, history and locally produced ingredients.

Like its Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Finland gets extremely cold in winter and fresh ingredients are often hard to come by.

"There is influence from Russia and Sweden. You can see it in the food and the drinking," Ms La Fontaine said. "But I think we have made it our own."

Stews are popular, as are soups.

"When it is raining and it is cold, you eat these pot meals with gravy and mashed potatoes," Ms La Fontaine said. "That is when I use reindeer and moose a lot."

Other local delicacies include salmon, different cheeses and breads.

In summer, Finns love a good barbecue and sauna, with grilled sausages, cold beer and always a nip of vodka.

A country of many lakes, fresh fish is also popular in Finland. Perch, pike, burbot and baltic herring are all specialities.

Salmon is eaten hot or cold, served raw, salted or smoked.

"We love eating fish, especially salmon, you will find it everywhere," Ms La Fontaine said.

She is known for combining traditional local recipes with a modern, international twist.

Trained at the New York Culinary Institute, Ms La Fontaine has released a number of cookbooks, as well as having her own TV show and kitchenware range.

She said Finnish cuisine was constantly changing, but would always be influenced by age-old traditions such as smoking meats.

"Finnish food is really fresh and light and has a lot of balance," she said. "Berries are really in at the moment – lingonberries and cloudberries, they add some really fresh flavours and it is great because you can just pick them in the forest."

Autumn is the time to collect fresh wild berries and mushrooms.

Strawberries, cranberries, gooseberries, blueberries and raspberries are also popular and provide a good flavour for many local liquors. Cloudberries are bright yellow and are found only in the Arctic Circle. It is also popular to drink a shot of vodka with a couple of berries in the glass.

Each region of Finland comes with its own specific recipes and unique dishes.

But the best place to sample a mixture of Finnish cuisine is the waterside capital of Helsinki, where new restaurants and trendy bars are opening all the time.

There, one can sample food from regions such as Lapland, the Aland Islands and Savonia.

The Sunday Times