Trends come and go, but a few products must always be found in ship restaurants.
Viking Glory’s seafood table features crabs, shrimps and mussels. Eeva Paljakka
A cruise is part of the vacation for many Finns. Finns expect to receive certain foods from the ship as surely as they take a boat trip at least once a year.
Of course, a sea trip is associated with fish and shellfish. It is certain that you do not touch the salmon and shrimp on the buffet table. And not for the shrimp bread, or skagen, sold in the cafe.
– On my first day at work, I was told that no matter what you do, don’t touch Skagen. Shrimp bread is the reason for some passengers to come on board, says Viking Glory’s chef Oula Hänninen.
What’s good to change. Prawn breads have been perennial favorites on ships since the 60s. According to Hänninen, the basic recipe has remained the same for decades.
Viking Line says that around 250,000 pieces of the favorite bread are sold per year.
In addition to shrimp bread, you want to eat at the buffet on board. Viking Glory’s restaurant manager Nanna Lahtinen states that nothing similar can be found in other countries. Only the Christmas buffet compares to what ships have to offer.
Viking Glory’s chef Oula Hänninen and restaurant manager Nanna Lahtinen thank the ship’s staff, who don’t let the rush affect the work and atmosphere. Both Hänninen and Lahtinen enjoy working at sea. Eeva Paljakka
At the buffet table, the biggest change in recent years has been the reduction of waste. There are close to a hundred species, but they are presented in smaller portions.
– You can still eat as much as you want. Now that some of the foods are in smaller portions, you can eat and taste more, and you don’t take too much of just one delicacy, Lahtinen reminds.
Crabs are part of the ship’s dining table. Eeva Paljakka
Crayfish, herring, herring and salmon. Fish and shellfish are the thing in the ship’s buffet. You have to have them – always. Salmon in particular is eaten in huge quantities.
The change of seasons can be seen in Glory’s Kobba restaurant as well as in the buffet.
Anglerfish is a favorite of many. Eeva Paljakka
The warm smoked salmon has been topped with pea puree. Eeva Paljakka
– A certain frame will never change, but new elements will be added to it. For example, there is always herring, but its seasoning broth changes.
If salmon and shrimp never get better from the appetizer table, there is also one permanent favorite on the dessert side: chocolate mousse.
Chocolate mousse holds its ground as a perennial hit on the dessert table. Eeva Paljakka
The dessert table has five to eight varieties, but one of them is always chocolate mousse.
In terms of meat, the overwhelming number one is roast beef.
Even 15 years ago, all ships of the same shipping company had nightclubs with the same name, ala carte restaurants and buffets.
Roast beef is also a favorite dish in the ship’s buffet. Eeva Paljakka
– Now Viking Line’s ships each have a different restaurant offering. For example, Glory does not have a traditional ala carte restaurant, but a bistro-like, easily approachable Kobba, where the food is nevertheless at the ala carte level, Lahtinen says.
And if you want a truly unique restaurant experience, the Fyren private restaurant for 12 people with a round and rotating table can be rented in Kobba. There, the sea view is guaranteed.
Kobba’s Fyren cabinet round table. Eeva Paljakka