Otto's career story: "Two months as a chef in Lapland convinced me that Lapland Hotels is my place"
When Lapland Hotels opened a new hotel and restaurant on Helsinki's Bulevardi in 2018, I immediately submitted an application. I had freshly graduated as a chef and just finished my internship in the Sky Kitchen & View restaurant in Rovaniemi. Two months in Lapland convinced me that Lapland Hotels is a place where I want to work and grow as a professional. My internship in Rovaniemi showed me the high quality of our company’s restaurants. It's cool that we use pure Lapland raw materials in restaurants and manufacture everything we have on the menu ourselves from the very beginning. The atmosphere in Rovaniemi was relaxed, and I was able to be myself from the beginning.
In my first five years at Kultá Kitchen & Bar, I have been able to make tremendous progress. I have had success in several young chefs' Finnish championships and in early 2023 I won a silver medal at the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition in Mexico. That felt really great! I especially like new projects, such as periodical, seasonal, and theme menus in my work. I look forward to them every time like they were a holiday trip. I will also get a new kind of responsibility when I soon begin work as a sous chef.
My passion for cooking comes from my childhood home, where especially my father cooked often. In secondary school, I got to try it more myself, and that’s when I really realized that food is my thing – and it's great that nowadays I get to make it every day for a living! At work, we have a great group of people with whom we share jokes in shifts in the kitchen, and after work, we go to an after party or taste the menus of other restaurants. Appreciation of good food unites us. Co-workers become your second family, whether you like it or not.
My roots are strongly in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Vantaa, but Lapland and outdoor activities in nature are important values for me. My father's family is from Lapland and I have travelled to Lapland with my family many times. My favorite place is Pallastunturi. It's a cool place and it melted my heart. When travelling in Lapland, among other things, I often use employee discounts for overnight accommodation, restaurants and skiing, that is, lift tickets and rental equipment.
I am proud of how well my employer has managed to bring the authentic atmosphere and serenity of Lapland to the urban environment and hotels in a sophisticated way. I really love the spirit of Lapland and especially the relaxed people. I want to bring the same feeling to customer service. Even though I'm mostly on the kitchen side, greetings from the kitchen can be brought to the tables – and they're always great customer service moments. As a chef, I want to offer customers a variety of food: our restaurant offers familiar and safe sautéed reindeer, but for those who want more experiences, surprise menus are suitable. The best piece of feedback I have received was from a visitor from Lapland to Helsinki: he said that until then, he thought his own mother made the best grouse breasts, but he was mistaken.
Otto Hietamies, chef, Kultá Kitchen & Bar -restaurant
