Original subtitles

Great, great waves here.

That rolling waves.

What does that mean?

Danger.

And now we're supposed to paddle.

OK! Woohoo!

Whoa! Yeeha!

Paddle, paddle, paddle!

Shit!

Gordon!

This is Finland,

the land of 1,000 lakes,

huge swamps and massive potholes.

shit. Here we go!

GORDON I'm on my way to Lapland,

the largest and the northernmost region of Finland,

home of the midnight sun.

Now, I'm here in the summer to explore this

emerging culinary scene that's really taken advantage of this

incredible growing season, which yields amazing

ingredients that can only be found up here in the north of Finland.

GORDON I'm starting my journey by meeting

one of Finland's finest chefs, Kim Mikkola,

to indulge in my second favorite "F" word.

Foraging.

What the hell?

Kim! Oi!

What the hell's going on here?

Ah, we were supposed to pick some berries,

but apparently people play swamp football here.

How are you doing, man? All good?

Good to see you, man. Oh, man!

GORDON Kim Mikkola is owner and chef of

Michelin-starred Inari, in his native Helsinki.

This former Noma sous chef is known for his inspirational tasting menus,

fusing local seasonal ingredients with Asian influences.

And also apparently watching muddy soccer matches.

Are they really seriously playing soccer?

Yeah, yeah. I've been watching them play.

It's pretty good. It's, like, knee-deep.

Are they good?

Yeah, they're, like, Finnish Champions, something like that.

They're the Finnish Champions?

I think so.

They kicked the Swedish ass, I think, a coupla times.

That's what I heard.

Bloody hell! Woohoo!

GORDON When the snow melts,

much of Lapland becomes swampland.

Enter swamp soccer, and these ladies are former international champions.

It's wet, it's muddy, and it's making me miss the UK.

I'm not too sure if we play swamp football in Scotland.

Hey, guys! Hello!

Stop talking. Come and play with us.

Really?

Are you sure?

Come! Come, come, come!

Don't be a chicken leg. Come, come!

I don't mind starting this week by kicking your ass on the pitch.

Oh! Yeah?

Amazing! Can't wait.

OK? Let's go!

Can we be on separate teams?

Yeah, of course! You look a red boy.

I'm a red boy.

And you can join with us.

Great! And you are here.

OK. OK.

Let's go then, Chef! Woo!

Come on, Gordon! Oh, oh, oh!

OK, OK, OK.

Go, go, go, go! Seriously?

Oh, they're wrestling!

Shit! Really?

Go, go! You play like a little girl.

GORDON Kim and I can't match these guys, but that's OK.

This is just a friendly game.

Oh!

Yeah! Yes!

GORDON But my team won.

I want to make that very clear.

My team won. Ramsay one, Mikkola zero.

Can we forage now?

GORDON After leaving the Finnish champs,

it's, 'Goodbye, muddy swamp,' and now we're off to find some

berries, obviously in a muddy swamp.

So, there's a couple of things that you might wanna know before go further.

Go on.

The adder.

It's gonna sting, like, if they bite.

As in the viper? Yeah.

Yeah, the snake.

The snake.

And the other thing is, watch out for the holes.

The holes?

Yeah, so you don't get swallowed.

Seriously? Yeah.

People sink in these swamps?

Yeah, people could sink in these swamps.

There's this one called the "Three-Man Swamp."

Seriously?

Yeah, and they've lifted three mummified bodies from the swamp.

Stop it. Yeah.

Really?

So it could get that deep.

So keep your eyes out.

And vipers, as well? And vipers.

Shit. Here we go. Oh.

So, these were the blueberries I was talking about.

You wanna taste one?

Yeah. Thank you. Wow!

Yeah?

So, what does the sun do to them this time of year?

Yeah, well, they develop sugar super-fast.

The growth season is very short.

Right.

But you've got sun right through till what, 11?

Yes, sun all day until probably, like, 12-ish.

Wow!

They see light 24/7 for a month,

and they just keep developing those sugars.

You get a more intensive flavor.

And then when's that season done?

When does it close?

So, you need to be fast. Yeah?

Like, the window is, like,

literally, like, a coupla weeks.

Really?

All the grannies are gonna pick all the berries.

Out here?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Bloody hell!

Yeah, let's go over there.

There's some cloudberries over there.

Look at that.

You see, like, nice cloudberries,

the orange one over there?

OK, yeah. That's the money.

Is it really? Yeah. That's it.

You can't get these, like, a lot more southern than here.

You should taste one.

They're beautiful. Yeah. Yeah.

God, look how soft they are.

They're super-delicate, huh?

If you don't pick them by hand,

you immediately crush them.

Wow!

That's the jewel of the swamp.

That is delicious.

So, there's one more thing that I wanna show to you.

Edible? Yeah. Borderline.

Borderline. Right.

There's some ants here.

Ants?

Yeah.

So this is a delicacy?

Yeah, it's more of, like, a traditional kinda thing

that the kids do.

What's gonna happen.

The size of them!

What we do is we're gonna take this willow.

Shit.

Willow branch. It's nice and sweet.

Wanna take that?

Yeah.

Just gonna do a little, you know, shuffle there.

You're gonna put that in there,

let them come on to your stick.

So they get on the stick?

Yeah, yeah.

And then you just, like, get them off o' the stick, boom!

And then you go for it. You lick it.

How do you like the taste of their ant piss?

It's very sour.

It's very good, huh? Formic acid.

I mean, it's used in foods in different forms,

as well, but.

Wow! That's delicious.

Yeah, it's really good, huh?

But would you cook with them?

Yeah, yeah. The acidity?

Yeah, it's like lemons. Very lemony, very gingery.

You Finns are crazy. I mean, seriously.

Let's get that southern softness out of you, man.

Ph! Jesus Christ! Mad!

So, I'm in a swamp and you reckon this is the heartbeat

of Finnish cuisine?

Yes, Finland. Suo maa, swampland.

Suo maa.

Mmm, suo maa, suo means "swamp."

Gotcha.

Because I think of Finnish food,

I think 20 years ago to British food,

in a way that we didn't have an amazing reputation.

Yeah, I remember that video where you just,

like, said that Finnish food is garbage.

That's why we're here, I guess.

That's why I wanted to bring you to this swamp,

'cause there's, like, mosquitoes so it's annoying to

you, while I'm seeing you say that these were good.

I didn't say it was garbage.

I said it was crap.

No, yeah, OK.

Yeah, that's different. Yeah, I get it, I get it. Yeah.

But what I want you to do is get all those ingredients that

absorb the sun and then we should cook for Finnish people,

a Finnish meal, by what you think Finnish food

will be like.

Right.

And then see who gets the OK.

The medal. Bring your A-game.

Bring my A-game. Yeah.

I'll you at the.

Sharp knives.

Yeah. And an open mind.

I can't wait. Great introduction.

I'm starting to get my head around how weird Finland is,

in a nice way.

I'll see you at the end of the week.

Alright. Yeah?

Thank you very much! Excellent!

Have a great time, huh?

Watch out for the mosquitoes.

Hey, watch out for the vipers.

What a welcome to Finland.

Kim's a seriously talented chef,

and he's laid down the gauntlet,

so, yeah, it's gonna be a tough week,

but, if I do my homework, you know,

I can kick his butt.

GORDON After mucking around in that bog,

I'm off to the less bug-infested Tornio River,

which marks Finland's border with Sweden.

Now, Kim suggested that I meet a woman that has a

very unique cooking technique that can only be found here in

Finland, and Risto has offered to drop me downriver.

Risto!

Gordon!

How are you, sir? How are you?

Thank you so much for dropping me downriver.

Are we good? Yeah.

This is beautiful. How far down is it?

It's 1 kilometer, 2 kilometer down.

OK, so not too bad.

Not too bad.

And look at that water. It's flat like a lake.

Oh, wait when you see the Kukkolankoski Rapids.

The what? Kukkolanko?

Kukkolankoski Rapids is a great place.

OK, little bit rougher than this?

Wait until you see it.

Really?

No problem.

Right. Shall I jump in the front? Or do you want me to.

Yeah, but you have to change with the clothes.

You have to change clothes.

Change my? Gotcha. Wet suit.

Go, go, go, go, go, go! Run, run, run!

GORDON Along with the wet suit,

it seems this expedition also requires five massive

Finnish men in helmets.

Shit.

Who's steering, by the way?

GORDON By the looks of our entry to the river,

the only thing more difficult than riding the

Kukkolankoski Rapids is pronouncing them.

Let's go, gentlemen. Stop around, please. Come on!

Enjoy the ride!

Here we go!

Great, great waves here.

That rolling waves.

What does that mean?

Danger.

This is mean also danger.

Is a cliff here.

It's go under the water.

And that means also danger.

And now we're supposed to paddle.

OK. Hut! Hut!

More power!

More power!

Shit.

Use your body!

Paddle, paddle, paddle!

Shit.

Paddle, paddle, hey, hey!

Paddle!

Paddle, paddle!

Don't give up!

Stay in boat!

Check your seat!

Please!

Please! And paddle, paddle!

Shit. Come on! Woohoo!

Whoa! Yeeha!

We're too close to Sweden!

Whoa!

Paddle, paddle, paddle!

Oh!

Shit!

Gordon!

Stay right there!

Quick! Get out!

Oh, shit.

Gordon!

Stay right there!

Quick, quick!

Take that one!

Wait Gordon, we're coming!

GORDON I'm man over board in the Kukkola Rapids

in northern Finland, and very much up shit creek,

luckily, I've got a paddle.

Come here!

Take hand, take hand!

Up!

Take your own seat.

Let's get paddling!

Woo!

Now we're the ones who saved your life.

Huh?

Shit.

And now full speed!

Hut, hut, hut. Steer, steer.

So sorry about that.

Shit.

Yep. Great work, thank you!

Surely there's a bus?

Holy

Thank you! Excellent work!

Well done! Well done, boy!

Well done! Well done!

Faster. Faster. Move fast. Move fast.

Up, up, up, up! Bye-bye!

Take care!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Hi, there! You made it.

Come on inside.

Nice to see you. Nice to see you.

Are you well? Yeah.

I'm fine, thanks. How are you?

Good. Yeah, very well, thank you!

Good.

OK, if you want to come to the kitchen,

you have to get rid of that and put this instead.

Take this off?

Yeah, and put this instead.

And wear a towel?

Yeah. We are going to the kitchen. Come on.

Into the kitchen? Yep.

The kitchen in there? Yeah.

It's in here. Follow me.

OK, what we're gonna make is reindeer balls.

Reindeer balls?

Reindeer balls. Why inside here?

Why can't we just go in the house and use the kitchen?

Because we have much more fun in sauna.

We're going to cook the balls in the sauna?

Exactly!

GORDON With other three million saunas in Finland,

Finns love to turn up the heat,

so Kim has sent me to meet with Katariina,

an author of a cookbook dedicated to sauna cuisine

that she learnt from her grandmother.

Oh my God! Yep.

We're cooking in here? Yes.

But where? Where do the balls go?

They go to the fire.

Right.

Meatballs I've made, reindeer not.

I've never cooked in a sauna, so this is a first for me.

Shall we?

We shall. Thank you.

Yeah. OK.

I don't wanna burn any bits.

Reindeer balls. Explain the process, please?

OK.

So, we're gonna have plain flour.

Yes. Like this.

Bit of salt. Just that much. OK, good.

So, we're making a dough?

So, is it like a.

Yeah. Salt crust?

Exactly. Right.

Have you done it before?

With fish, yeah, but not reindeer balls, no.

OK.

So, we're gonna hide the pieces of meat.

Oh. And you just stick in there?

Yeah. So stick the piece in there.

In there. Yeah, that's it.

Wow! OK great.

And we put the balls on cardboard.

Like a little tray.

Yeah. And then we go to sauna.

We take them in like this?

Mm-hmm. Wow!

Literally just in the oven like that?

Yes. Wow!

OK. In?

Yep. There.

There you go. That's good.

Jesus! And what happens if the cardboard.

Well, it's actually catching fire now.

It catches fire and it hardens the dough.

Yeah. Bloody hell!

To clay-like.

I've never seen a technique like this.

That's incredible. They're gonna take, what?

Ten minutes? 12 minutes?

Ten minutes, yeah.

Wh! Anything else to go in there?

We're gonna smoke some mushrooms.

Smoked mushrooms?

Yeah. Wow!

I gotta get out. I'm sweating.

Like a nun watching porn. It's so hot in there.

Mushrooms we have here.

Wow, look at them. They're beautiful.

We have a seasoning.

They are chantrelles.

So how do we smoke them?

Yes.

We need wet newspaper, so if you.

Wet newspaper?

Yeah, if you don't mind you go to the river and just.

In the river? All of that, wet?

Yeah. Yeah. Just get it wet.

Totally soaked.

Ah, shit!

Don't fall in.

I mean, I've cooked mushrooms before,

but this, shit, is taking the biscuit.

Seriously.

OK. Wet newspaper down?

You can put them there.

Yep. Mushrooms in?

In the middle?

Mushrooms in. How much do you want?

Oh, a lot. These are beautiful.

Oh my Lord! Some salt?

Some salt, yeah. And the next?

You like thyme? I love thyme.

Put some on. It's nice to

Mmm, beautiful! Love that. Amazing!

OK. We can now wrap the gift.

Wrap the gift? So, there?

This go there. Yeah. Yeah. Very good!

There? Nice!

Wow! OK.

Back in the sauna again?

Back to the sauna again.

I mean, imagine how much weight we're gonna lose

going in and out!

I know!

Huh? Oh my God!

In she goes. Straight in, yes?

Straight in. Same place?

Watch your fingers. Yes.

Same place. Yes. OK.

There you go. Very good!

Ph! Then we just wait.

Now it starts catching fire.

And that's where the steam starts.

Yeah.

This is amazing!

GORDON Ten minutes later and our lunch is ready.

And so inside here? Yeah, you can.

We just slice? Meatballs. Yeah.

Man, look at that juice in there. Mmm!

And you dip it in the. shit, that's hot!

Yeah, just. OK to dip in?

Dip in there. Yeah.

That is delicious. Yes.

And I'm not being rude,

but the juiciest balls I've ever tasted, I never thought...

Would come from a reindeer.

No, I'm serious! Delicious!

OK. Mushrooms?

Yeah.

There they are, steaming.

They are. Oh my God!

Look at that. The thyme on there.

My God! That is delicious.

Honestly, I need to cool down, please?

Yeah. You want to go for a swim?

That'd be a great idea.

On the river. Huh?

Please swim upwards the current.

Upwards?Because it's really strong.

Ow! shit.

It will take you all the way to...

Oh, and watch your head.

Woo! shit.

Katariina's a very talented chef,

so I'd love to see her end of the week for the final cook.

Shit, I'm not getting anywhere!

I'm not too sure if I'll use any of the sauna techniques.

I can't imagine my guests will wanna sit inside a sauna and

eat my food.

But what an experience.

I mean, slightly weird, but a wonderful weird.

GORDON With only two days until I go

head-to-head with Chef Kim, I still need a protein for my meal,

so I'm off to meet a local fisherman with a

unique fishing method.

Holy

Marku!

Hello, Gordon!

How are you, sir? So nice to meet you!

Yeah. So nice to meet you.

What a beautiful spot! Yeah.

Now, over there is Sweden, right?

Yeah.

But you love the Swedes, right?

You know that the border has a...

...time zone is going between them.

Oh, so they're behind, or are they in front?

They are one hour behind.

OK, right. OK.

So that's why we say that this is the past.

And here you see the future.

Oh, OK!

GORDON From Swedes and Finns to poles,

which are used in the traditional fishing method of

hand netting for lavaret or whitefish,

Marku is one of only 16 families who have the rights

to catch them on this river.

This method, actually, is originating from...

...1400 or earlier.

Wow! Now, what's the secret behind your pole?

You need to have a proper tool, so...

...I have woven this net myself.

Yes.

Then you move...

...the net this way.

You need to have soft hands and fingers.

Soft?

You feel everything...

...here in the rod.

OK. Here we go.

GORDON Just my luck, the water is at its

highest level in a century.

Fortunately, we get there via a flimsy plank of old wood

that could snap at any time.

It looks like 100 years old.

When was the last time you got it redone?

Woo!

Are we gonna go in the pools here?

Down here.

Where's your favorite spot?

You can catch here and then we...

...try here as well.

Carefully, carefully.

Do you feel the bottom?

Yes, there I did, yes.

Man, it's not easy, is it?

Carefully that you don't fall in.

No. You're gonna have a.

Well, you can hold me now otherwise I'll be.

Yeah! I'll be in Sweden.

It must be a nice feeling when they hit the net?

Yeah. Come on!

Okay, now you got fish.

Ooh!

Come on!

Okay, now you got fish.

GORDON I'm on the Tornio River,

and I've finally caught something.

It's a fish, right, Marku?

No, not fish, but...

...stone, there are only stone there.

Damn! I though I had one then.

Yeah. Come on, baby!

GORDON The river is clearly not in a giving mood.

Maybe today is not my lucky day.

Yeah.

Listen, what I'd love to do.

If you don't mind, is taste one.

Yeah, and we have a special way to cook this whitefish.

That's hard. Yeah.

A lot harder than you think.

Yeah, exactly.

It's quite unique to be given a chance to fish with

this family, because only a few families have the rights

to fish along these banks, so a unique experience.

I just hate going home empty-handed.

GORDON Marku has asked his friend, Kimmo,

to teach me the traditional way to cook whitefish,

and, this being Finland,

it obviously involves a very warm wooden hut.

Hello! Hello!

How are you? Oh, Kimmo.

Kimmo. Nice to see you. Gordon.

Wow, this is beautiful.

Yeah. Oh my God!

So, traditionally they're all cooked on sticks like that?

Yeah, this is traditional way...

...couple of hundred years.

GORDON The fish are rested for 24 hours before they're cooked,

and then put on this open fire to roast.

He's turning them round every what?

Every three or four minutes? Once they're colored?

Yeah. Yeah.

That's amazing.

And what are you seasoning them with?

What's the seasoning?

Just natural, nothing before.

Nothing at all. Wow!

Wow! That's golden from.

It's ready.

It's crispy.

What's he putting in there?

Yeah, this is... What is that?

Very strong salt water.

And that's the only way you prepare it.

And after it's fully cooked.

Wow! So he cools them down in the salted water?

Yeah.

GORDON The salt water prevents them from

cooking any further and flavors the fish.

What an amazing technique.

They look incredible. The smell.

Yeah. Is amazing.

Kimmo, how do you know they're cooked?

He has a thermometer on his finger.

Right. He's got a therm.

You've made the skin almost like bacon. It's crispy.

Not too hard, but not too soft.

No. No. But beautiful color.

Crispy.

GORDON Maybe it's the chef in me,

but I can't stand by and watch Kimmo doing all the work

without offering a hand.

Kimmo, do you want them turned?

Yes.

Yeah? Which ones?

This. Turn that one.

And this. Man.

Ah. Into the water.

It's OK. In? And next one?

Jesus Christ, you've gotta move fast,

'cause all of a sudden.

This here. This one?

You start off with nothing and then they're all going.

This one?

Check.

Gordon? Yes?

Fast, fast!

Fast, fast. Coming now. Coming now.

Oh! That one. That one.

Go, go! Go, go!

Shit. Go, go! Fast!

This one?

Oh, shit, hell! Shit. Last two.

Kimmo, two to go, yeah?

One each, 'cause you've done no work.

You just stood there.

Yeah. Yeah, I've just. Yes.

But I am the fisherman, so...

Yeah, bull shit. Really? Seriously?

Last one! Look at that. Great!

Kimmo?

Yeah?

Please may we eat now? Yes.

Thank you! Oh, look how white that is.

Huh?

Uh-huh. There's no bone.

Mmm! He's the maestro.

Oh my goodness me! Mm-hmm.

It doesn't need salt. Kimmo, it is really delicious.

Honestly.

It's the only village you can get it in the world.

Really? Yeah. Yeah.

I've eaten a lot of fish in my life.

Sometimes with chips.

But that, on its own, is delicious.

No.

It's given me a lot of inspiration for the final cook

at the end of the week, and I'd love for both of you to

join us at the final cook.

Really? OK.

Now, will you do me a favor and go out and get some

fish for the cook at the end of the week?

I do immediately after this.

Will you catch any this time?

Yeah, for sure!

Delicious! Thank you! Great job!

Thank you!

What an amazing fish! Delicious!

It's definitely given me inspiration now for the final cook.

Don't get too clever with this whitefish.

First of all I'm gonna have to follow that technique and cook

it over wood, otherwise if you start filleting it,

cooking it skin side down, non-stick pan,

you're gonna get absolutely slaughtered,

so keep it simple.

But a nice little find, the whitefish.

I'm surrounded by the most amazing,

beautiful forest, lakes everywhere, swamps.

hell! And huge potholes.

Jesus Christ!

GORDON And with only one day left until the cook,

I'm headed to meet a man named Rasmos,

he's promised to help me source a final ingredient that

could only be found deep in the wilderness.

What a beautiful forest!

Ah, nice to see you!

Oh my goodness me! A pleasure meeting you, too!

Yeah. Are you good?

Yes.

Now, I'm here to catch a lift to go and taste that

incredible delicacy.

Kim told me to get deep into the forest.

Yep.

How far in are we going?

Two kilometers this way.

Right.

Conditions-wise, what's it like?

Yeah, bad conditions.

You have to leave your car here.

Right. And now we have to take these ATVs.

You can take my second ATV.

Amazing! I'll follow you, right?

Yeah, follow me.

now, really?

Oi! Santa Claus! Wait for me!

Oi, Viking!

Jesus Christ, not so fast!

Slow down, you Muppet!

GORDON Before I know it,

I'm back in the heart of Finland's swampland.

And it seems the only thing I'll be eating on this

culinary excursion is mud.

Oh

GORDON I'm on a wild ride through the uncharted swamplands,

ready to taste a unique delicacy,

as well as several liters of Finland's finest mud.

Oi!

GORDON Finally, we arrive at our destination.

That was crazy!

Nice!

You are mad, you know that?

Yeah. Thank you!

OK, but I have to go.

Good job! Be safe!

Yeah. See you!

Oh my Lord! Gentlemen, how are we?

Ah, good, good. And you?

Good to see you. Well, thank you!

Good to see you, too!

Oh my Lord! What a journey!

How are you, sir? Nice to see you.

He's Erki, I'm Ilpo. Nice to meet you both.

And welcome to see our traditional Finnish tar burning.

Tar. Yes.

Now, Kim told me this was a unique process.

It is.

And so I'm dying to learn, dying to taste it.

GORDON Tar was traditionally used to waterproof ships

and as an insect repellent, but the Finns,

AKA the people who brought you edible ant's piss,

also like to eat it.

I've never seen this process ever before.

Yeah.

I've got a big cook at the end of the week.

I'd love to take just a small bottle of tar with me and try

to incorporate it, to keep it authentic. Could I?

OK.

Yeah, but you have to work a little bit now,

because we to do something like four years for this

moment, so you have to work also a little bit.

Oh, Jesus!

GORDON Making tar is a long, slow process,

and I'm beginning to regret that the

sun doesn't set in this part of Finland in the summer.

So we jam it in there?

So it's level. Yeah.

GORDON First, we take wood that has been

processed for four years, and pack it into a barrel.

Then, it is then heated at a high temperature.

As the pressure builds, liquid tar is released,

which can take over nine hours.

What a process.

Huh?

Speed, speed! Speed up! Speed up!

Yeah. There you go.

OK. Be careful with this.

It's a little bit hot.

Gotcha. But we tip it up, no?

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, now it's going better.

You sure we won't get arrested in the woods here?

There's not a moonshine factory?

OK. Yes.

Ah!

I feel like we're doing an episode of Breaking Bad.

Little bit same.

He's gonna pick out some wood.

Is that. Pss! Is that where he lives over there?

Yeah. Yeah. He lives?

He looks like he lives in the woods.

Yeah, he do.

Finnish hillybilly.

Hillybilly. Man!

Next. Matches.

And where's this going now? Underneath?

Down, down.

Drop it down?

And now four or five hours and we drink vodka and making piss.

Ph!

GORDON I don't have time to hang around for

hours with these hillbillies, but fortunately they have some

tar for me to try.

And oh my God! Tar vodka?

You can do it. Thank you!

Ooh, no, that's enough! Jesus!

That's not too much. It's not strong.

This is only 20%.

Ooh! Oh my God!

I'm trying to understand, can we cook with this?

Cheers! Cheers! Good health! Good health!

This is very good with fish.

Salmon.

Oh!

Shit.

It's like an alcoholic cough medicine.

Ah, no! No, no, no, no!

GORDON I'm not sure about this tar liquor.

It's such a strong, smoky flavor,

but the locals love it, so I need to find a way to use it,

even if it's as mosquito repellent.

May I take some tar for the final cook?

Of course! That's it?

Thank you so much! Man!

It's not that strong.

Ph! Ph! Stop!

Oh my God! So, if I use it for the cooking,

tiny little droplets, right?

Exactly.

You can use it little by little.

That's gonna last me a lifetime.

Thank you! Good job! Amazing!

Thank you so much! Thank you!

Oh my Lord!

That was quite an extraordinary experience with the Finnish hillbillies.

This tar, prr! Super-strong.

Is this a brine?

Is this a sort of a marinade that I brush over that whitefish?

I don't know yet.

But it's certainly got me going.

I'm on my way to the final cook.

It's Finland!

Of course I'm arriving by boat.

Now, honestly, I think I've learnt enough to give Kim a

serious run for his money.

Kim!

Gordon!

Good morning! Good morning!

How are you doing?

Are you ready? I'm ready!

Are you good? Yeah, I'm good!

How are you doing?

Oh, man! Thank you.

Are you ready for this? It's amazing, huh?

This is incredible!

Look at that. Let's get cracking!

GORDON We're preparing a feast for some of the people

I've met this week, so the pressure is on,

because Kim is as competitive as I am.

What an incredible week.

Honestly, from a culinary perspective,

one of the most exciting, weird weeks of my entire life, OK?

Yeah?

But weird in a nice way, OK?

Like an Uncle?

Yeah, sort of like the Uncle you see just on

Christmas Day only.

Sounds like you had like a lotta fun?

The magical part for me is what happens in the summer, right?

That's the essence, yes?

Yeah. Yeah, that's the key.

I mean.

Are you drinking?

No. It's for the reindeers.

GORDON As Kim prepares his boozy reindeer stew,

I'm trying to recreate Kimmo's flame-grilled fish

cooking method on my grill.

What I was blown away with.

Yeah?

Was this baby here, the whitefish.

That's good, huh?

I mean, delicious. That was tough, by the way.

Have you seen the method?

Yeah. Yeah. Honestly.

But you didn't get any fish?

Is that what you're saying?

Did I get that right?

I know, I know.

But hold on, the river was running high, OK?

Oh, let's see how many excuses I get to have when

we're finished with this cook.

Cry me a river.

Are you ready to serve alright?

Are you kidding me? I've just sliced my onions.

It's not a race!

GORDON I'm fixing the whitefish to a wooden board

so that I can flame grill it over the fire.

Pinning my fish to the mast.

So I guess Finnish food has changed for you a little bit, huh?

You have definitely, definitely ascended.

Not on your shit list anymore?

No!

Come on, it was never on that shit list.

Well, that's gonna look good.

How long are you gonna cook it for?

Well, about 35 minutes.

Oh, man!

If you nail that, I'm in trouble.

Are you getting nervous, big boy?

Oh,

GORDON Well, at least Kim will be happy,

because I definitely didn't nail the fish.

Oh thing.

Forget the board. The fish is too small.

Damn!

Right, I'm gonna revert tactics.

I'm gonna change direction and literally start again.

Oh shit.

GORDON I'm in Finland, going head-to-head against

Michelin-starred Chef, Kim Mikkola,

and since I just fumbled my fish, he's got the advantage.

Oh Forget the board. Damn!

GORDON I need to salvage my fish dish and I'm running out of time.

Start again. We've all been there, right?

Yeah.

The fish is too flaky to hang on that board,

so I'm just gonna pan sear it.

OK. Yeah?

GORDON But first I need to start cooking my reindeer.

Literally this is just gonna need a quick sear.

Oh, man! Huh?

I wanna give you one advice.

Please.

Don't rest it.

Don't what?

Don't rest it? It needs to squirt.

So?

It needs to be, like runny, from the inside.

Oh, really? Yeah, yeah.

Wow!

Then it's gonna be nice and fresh,

but if you let it rest, it's gonna start turning to liver

straight away.

You tell me now? Yeah, sorry, mate!

Bloody hell!

If I win today, I'm gonna make T-shirts and I'm gonna

give that to everybody I know.

"I beat Gordon Ramsay." I love that!

OK, black pepper. I think that's it.

Right. Then we're there.

OK.

I would kind of like to challenge you for, uh...

Go on?

...to bring me some berries today.

GORDON What Kim really means is he wants me to

pick the berries he needs for a sauce to serve with his flatbread.

Hold on a minute.

Now you want me to go and get you berries?

I mean, really?

I mean.

It's a sort of chef against chef.

I'm not your sous chef.

I'm not your bitch!

Oh, well. Oh, so this.

This is where we're going, huh?

I am not your bitch, man!

Oh! Oh! Can I cook, please?

Right, where do I go to get these bloody things?

The blueberries? Yes.

Just around here. Everywhere.

Man! He's on fire, trust me.

And, look, he's right, they're everywhere. bloody hell!

How's that berry picking?

Yeah, it's going well, thank you.

I'm not your sous chef.

I wish you were. I would be doing swede.

So. Little Honestly!

Hey, you wanna taste that?

What is that?

That's salted blueberries with a brown berry.

Ah, you've got blueberries?

Yeah, I went to pick them!

Mmm!

Are they pretty good?

That's nice! Are you OK?

Yeah, I'm good.

I don't like it when you go quiet.

No, I just got to focus here for a second.

Are you getting nervous, big boy?

No!

Do you need some suncream or?

'Cause you've got the, I mean, I don't.

No. No, this is me tanned.

I don't want you getting a little bit.

Let's put a bit of oil on there.

There you go.

I don't want you getting sunburnt.

Your Mom's gonna kill me.

Oh, that's amazing!

OK?

There you go. That way.

You're not gonna burn on the back, OK.

Now I'm gonna cook that fish.

Yeah, I'm getting nervous, as well,

'cause I need to cook the fish, as well.

GORDON Second time around,

I'm keeping it simple and just grilling my fish,

glazed with a little bit of Erki's tar.

Kim has stuffed his whitefish, and he's barbecuing it.

That's beautiful, that fish.

Love that.

Yeah, I wanna keep it, like, so it doesn't cook too much,

so I would keep the onions and stuff.

That's beautiful. Like that, a bit raw.

Right. And you're using charcoal butter there, right?

Yeah, the charcoal butter.

Yes.

Are you going for that booze?

Oh, no!

Come on. Taste it. Come on!

GORDON Ilpo gave me a bottle of his delicious

berry vodka to use for the cook.

How nice is that?

It's a lot more sweet than I thought it was gonna be.

Whew! I'll say!

Are you trying to get me drunk?

And then it's, like, "Oh, cooking's not gonna work?"

Oh, I see how it is.

I'm getting nervous about how good your fish looks.

Please drop it.

Yeah, I'm gonna. Don't worry about it.

Don't worry, mate.

Hello! Hello, guys!

Hello, Borum.

You're welcome!

Hey! How are we doing?

Great, thank you! Nice to see you!

Hello!

Hi, there!

Katariina, nice to see you with clothes on.

Exactly! First time ever!

Good to see you.

Right.

I think we need to start speeding up.

I've made mine.

Where are you going?

Are you sure that's cooked, 'cause to the naked eye,

I've cooked 50 of those things in a hut.

It doesn't look cooked.

I think it is. No!

No, you don't think so? Look inside.

You don't think so? I think it is.

You see? Just, yeah. It's gonna be nice.

You gonna serve it pink?

You lift that up there. It's not coming off the bone.

Yeah, no, it is. Oh!

Oh, it's gonna be good.

Oh, two more minutes on there.

You think so? Yeah. Oh, yeah!

OK. OK, I'll give you two more minutes.

You're trying to ruin my fish, are you?

No, no, no, no! 90 seconds more.

Remember that if you win that vote.

Remember.

Yeah, yeah. OK, here's mine.

I just need to do this.

Oh shit hell!

Now my heads fallen off.

What is happening to my fish today?

Jesus Christ!

Was that the head? Honestly! Yes!

Oh, no!

Now, this fish is gonna literally need 90 seconds each side.

Hey, I'm competitive, OK?

I know you are. I know you are.

I mean, don't get too relaxed about that teamwork thing though.

I'm still gonna kick your ass.

Yeah?

Right, can I start plating now?

Yeah, sure. You should.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I'm, like, I'm ready to go.

You said that half-an-hour ago.

RTG. Oh! Oh, looks good, huh?

That fish smells incredible.

Yeah. That looks very, very nice.

Huh?

Second time round, I hope so.

Yeah, we're keeping these guests waiting though.

Yes, well, you sent me foraging, huh?

OK, I'll need two minutes now.

Two minutes?

And you? Yes. Yep.

And you? I'm ready.

Seriously? Yep.

Kim, seriously, are you nervous?

Me?

'Cause I could do with a new chef in my kitchen.

Oh, man, this is beautiful.

Just come over in a minute and have a look at this

Yeah?

Just savor this moment.

Savor this moment. Stand there.

Pretend you cooked that.

Are you? I thought you were gonna say that.

Oh, yeah!

Come on, man! That looks incredible!

Yeah, it looks good! It looks tasty.

Are you ready?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

GORDON It's time to serve up our feast to all

the people I've met this week in Finland,

but will my dishes impress the judges enough to beat Kim at his own game?

Now that smells incredible.

There we are. Amazing!

Let's get one thing clear, there's nothing from Sweden over here, OK?

Great, Thank you!

It's important.

I'd like to start off with the most amazing whitefish

from these rapids.

So, that's been cooked over the grill with a little bit o' tar,

served with a sort of Finnish potato salad.

Next to that, we've got the reindeer,

which is done with a little gastrique,

almost like a sweet and sour, from the local berries,

and then, of course, these beautiful wild mushrooms,

chanterelle, from the forest.

I've finished them with pickled mushrooms,

as well, and lots of fresh thyme.

I've the same kinda fish.

I cooked it over coals, stuffed it with onions and a

little bit o' limes, and I made a paste out of ants and tar.

So the ant's piss meets the tar's piss.

Little bit of potato flatbread,

herring caviar and a reindeer stew.

I'm sorry, this is not a chef's pissing contest,

by the way.

Please enjoy.

Yeah,

Thank you, Gordon and Kim!

So we may start?

Now, they're digging in.

Yeah.

Is this a traditional way of eating,

where they don't talk much, or are they just?

That's when you know the food is good though.

Right. Interesting taste this.

Yeah, we have this saying in Finnish that if

something is really good, you can't speak.

Mmm.

Our reindeer dishes.

I mean, you've gone for that beautiful stew.

I think your reindeer was amazing,

and I think the stew, it's a stew,

it's a very classic thing.

Right.

Like, I think the fish is gonna be the decisive factor

today, I think so.

Yeah.

Comparing these ones, I like a little bit better this one.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's more. It's actually more.

Unique. More. Yeah.

Clearer or something more unique.

This is quite unique. It's unique.

Yeah, it's unique, yeah. That's true.

I must agree with Jacob.

Like you said, this is more traditional way.

Yeah. Yeah.

It looks like they've finished.

Are you ready?

I'm. Yeah. I don't know.

Got your tissues ready?

Oh!

First of all, you look very happy.

Yeah.

We are.

And I'm sorry there's no alcohol.

Yeah, well, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Ah, there you go! There you go!

Always! Always, always, always.

GORDON I'm grateful to Ilpo for loosening

the judging panel with his tar vodka.

Now, how was lunch?

It was very tasteful.

Let's start with the stew and the reindeer.

They are both very, very good.

Right.

In my opinion, I really liked, you know,

the way the potato mash and the reindeer stew,

it mixes really well.

It had a nice taste, and nothing overpowering.

And the fillet, maybe I got pieces that weren't that

well-seasoned, so I.

Right. Touch more seasoning.

Some more taste on it.

I prefer this. Fillet.

Fillet, actually. It was tasteful fillet.

One-all. Right!

GORDON With that split decision on the reindeer,

it's a close contest.

Now, the whitefish.

Two completely different styles.

One was stuffed, one was cooked skin side down.

Actually, we came in conclusion that both are

very good and tasteful.

Even they are not as good as we do the traditional way, but.

So they won. So they won, we lost.

They know how to cook fish properly.

Me and Kimmo was saying that this...

...traditional looking thing is quite good.

But, when we have votes in the group...

...this was the better dish.

What I'm gathering, they're saying that my food

was better than yours though.

Well, first of all, the reindeer was a draw,

and then the general consensus across the table with the fish is that.

No, no, that said that the home one was better though.

No.

The two men said that it was better,

and the table preferred the flatfish.

What? What are you talking about?

No, no!

I'm not.

Do I have to send you to Sweden?

Is it fair to say it's a draw then?

Yeah. It is.

Today's not about winning.

What do you mean?

You've been, like, setting this up all week that you need to, you know.

I've been, like, taking this all seriously.

It's been an amazing week.

I couldn't have done it without this one, trust me.

So, I'm gonna take that as a draw.

Are you happy with that?

Yeah, I'm very happy with that.

That means we have to do it again.

Yeah, exactly. Maybe I'll come to England?

There you go. An extraordinary experience.

Chef.

Ah, thank you very much! Well done buddy.

And good luck with that second star.

Thank you very much. It's coming soon.

Hopefully. OK? Take care, bud.

Bye! Thank you very much!

Thank you! God bless!

I've learned so much this week about those incredible

ingredients on offer from the swamplands,

played soccer with the ladies, extracted and tasted tar,

foraged in the most amazing swamps,

and even literally baked in the sauna.

But the most important thing for me is I've actually

unearthed the secrets of true Finnish summer cuisine,

and now on to my next adventure.

Captioned by Cotter Media Group.