The Finnish nature is at its most bountiful with the arrival of autumn, making September the peak season for chefs. Ingredients are harvested from the fields and forests and from the lakes and sea. Ari Ruoho, head chef at the restaurant Nokka, selects the best seasonal flavours to create the popular HelsinkiMenu and other delights.

Ari Ruoho loves his fish. Roach, perch, pikeperch, pike, herring, bream – they’re all good.

“I always go for seasonal fish, and herring I use just about all year round,” Ari tells us.

Fishing during his free time allows the head chef to get out of the kitchen and into the nature. Ari loves to spend time on the sea, and the deteriorating state of the Baltic Sea spurred him into action. He launched a campaign to protect the Baltic Sea and was joined by the Baltic Sea Action Group.