Day 1: The Roots of our Culinary Traditions
We begin our journey in the inner archipelago, surrounded by large forested islands and a cultural landscape that invokes the feeling of travelling back in time. Traditional old wooden houses are dotted along the bay.
After a short paddle we take a lunch break by a pretty sea meadow, one of Saint Anna's most unique habitats, where salt-resistant plants thrive along the edge of the sea. We forage edible greens as well as rose hips, hawthorn and barberries, wild remains from a time when the island was inhabited.
We continue our paddle through the inner archipelago. By now, we're completely submerged in the area, with a maze of islands stretching out in all directions. In the late afternoon we arrive to our camp for the night, where our culinary guide is waiting, already busy preparing for an evening and morning full of wild cooking.
We all help cook a delicious meal for the evening as well as prepare items for upcoming days. We forage for sorrel, orpine, chives and juniper berries.
- Dinner: Slow-cooked venison stew served with potatoes, lingonberries and pickled cucumber
- Dessert: Regional cheeses with rosehip marmalade & sourdough:
Approximately 4 hours of kayaking
Day 2: Darlings of our Modern Culinary Soul
As we peek through the opening of our tents, we are hopefully met by a mirror-calm sea with the blue sky reflected in the water in the most gorgeous of ways. A morning dip is a refreshing way to start the day.
After breakfast, we set off for our paddle exploration of the day. We paddle through stunning bird sanctuaries, clusters of little islands with abundant bird life. Very likely we'll see Sea Eagles gliding high up in the sky, and if lucky we may spot seals.
We're in the middle part of the archipelago now, where the islands are smaller and more plentiful. We aim to reach our next camp in the early afternoon, a completely different habitat than the pine trees and moss of our last island. Here we are surrounded by deciduous forest with open glades marked by grazing animals. It's a great landscape for foraging mushrooms and berries. Wild herbs grow on the meadows, and we pick oregano and ground-ivy to use for dinner.
- Breakfast: Cast-iron waffles, strawberry jam
- Lunch: Flatbread wrap with wild boar, juniper mayo, leek, apples & buckthorn preserves.
- Dinner: Dutch-oven lamb roast with mashed sun chokes and wild mushrooms
- Dessert: Cloudberries, whipped fresh cheese & cardamom
Approximately 6 hours of kayaking
Day 3: A Fisherman’s Catch of the day
If the weather allows, we'll head to the outer archipelago. It's a very different landscape than the one we left behind - hundreds of tiny barren islands with sparse wind-pined trees and a unique flora of salt-resistant plants. The blue horizon is our backdrop and the solitude out here is amazing.
After quite a strenuous paddle we make our way back to our camp by late afternoon. The local fisherman will arrive with his catch of the day and we'll make a proper feast for our last night in the archipelago. We invite the rest of our crew to join!
- Breakfast: Grilled bread, muesli with fresh blueberries & hazelnuts
- Lunch: Root vegetable hash with lamb sausage, pork belly & pickled beets
- Feast:
Smoked salmon on butter-fried toast with horseradish & dill creme,
pickled red onion, pickled cucumber and smoked seaweed
Smoked whitefish in flatbread roll with chive & mustard creme
topped with roe
Pan-fried perch fillets with mashed potatoes
and wilted wild greens
- Dessert: Dutch-oven Apple pie with wild-made custard
Approximately 6 hours of kayaking
Day 4: Brunch to Fuel the Journey Home
Our last morning of waking up in our tranquil island wonderland. We pack up our camp and fill our bellies with a hardy breakfast.
We paddle towards a different site on the mainland than where we started, passing though new bird sanctuaries as we near the end of our fantastic exploration. A narrow canal takes us from the wilderness maze, then all of a sudden civilisation appears in a bay full of little cabins and old houses.
You will leave Saint Anna full of inspiration to take your wilderness cooking to another level, just about anything is possible!
- Brunch: Frittata with wild mushrooms, greens & goat's cheese
Approximately 4 hours of kayaking
