Viking Line starts serving its lavish Christmas buffet. This year’s Christmas buffet includes more than one hundred dishes, a 25 per cent increase compared to Christmas 2023. Fish and vegetarian dishes are served alongside traditional Christmas ham, cocktail sausages and the classic Swedish potato dish Janson’s Temptation. Nearly 80 per cent of the ingredients are locally sourced.

During the Christmas season, some 70 per cent of Viking Line’s passengers opt to try the Christmas buffet on board. Passengers are tempted by the convenience, tradition and tasty food.

“Guests come to us to enjoy a comprehensive experience: food, drink, good company and the beautifully table settings. Christmas is the highlight of the holiday season. On Christmas Eve we enjoy a traditional Christmas buffet, and on Christmas Day there is a wonderful festive buffet with even more Christmas classics and an extensive range of seafood on offer. The Christmas buffet is available from mid-November to December 26,” says Janne Lindholm, Manager of Viking Line Restaurants.

Viking Line’s Christmas buffet starts being served on November 14. The buffet is based on local and traditional flavours, and this year there is an even greater share of classic dishes. Guests can choose from a total of 105 dishes, which is a substantial increase compared to the 75 dishes last year.

“We get a lot of praise for keeping our Christmas buffet traditional year after year – our customers can be sure to find their favourite dish in our buffet. We offer everything from ham and meatballs to different kinds of herring. Along with Nordic food traditions, locally sourced ingredients play a big role in our Christmas buffet – this year, nearly 80 per cent of the food served is sourced locally,” says Janne Lindholm.

The highlight of Viking Line’s Christmas buffet is the variety of fish dishes on offer. Most of the fish is supplied by Finnish producers. Viking Line serves herring from the Finnish company Sillikonttori, vendace – a freshwater white fish – from Pielinen, and cold-smoked pike and grilled rainbow trout from Kalalappi.

“One of the most popular fish dishes at Christmas, surprisingly enough, is lutefisk. We see less and less of this in Christmas buffets at home – perhaps people don’t know how to make it or don’t want to make it at home. We serve lutefisk with a tasty sauce and all the trimmings in single-portion bowls. It could be that the younger generation will get their first taste of this traditional dish on our vessels – without knowing that it’s lutefisk,” says Janne Lindholm.

While the focus of Viking Line’s Christmas buffet is mainly on classic dishes, there are also tasty new treats and vegan alternatives among the 105 dishes.

“Over time, the demand for vegan dishes has stabilized. This year, we’re serving among other things barbecue-glazed tofu with trimmings, grilled rutabaga with garlic cream and oat-based cheeses from the Finnish producer MÖ, which has won a number of international awards,” says Janne Lindholm.

Facts about Viking Line’s Christmas buffet 2024:

There are 105 dishes. For the children’s Christmas buffet, another 12 favourite dishes are available. Along with cocktail sausages and chicken legs, beetroot balls and cauliflower wings are also served.

Nearly 80 per cent of all ingredients come from local producers.

There are 25 different options on the fish table: different kinds of fish, seafood and side dishes. A variety of herring dishes is served along with salmon, pike, smoked bream and mackerel. A total of 2,000 kilos of lutefisk will be served.

One new feature this year is that tasty traditional Christmas morsels will be served on rustic wooden trays: dry-cured ham, roast beef pastrami, duck breast, reindeer pâté and cheeses.

Two kinds of ham will be served – traditional Swedish pink ham and Finnish grey-salted ham.

There are plenty of vegetarian alternatives – a total of 26 hot and cold vegetarian dishes.

To crown this Christmas feast, an impressive chocolate cake is served.

The Christmas buffet will be served on Viking Line’s five vessels until December 26, 2024.