In Finland, we have begun to think about what kind of food image we want to show to the world.
Veera Valtonen’s view of fish soup. Eeva Paljakka
– Absolutely the best in the world, says Kespron’s Head of Food Development Harri Veckmanwhen he talks about Finnish early potatoes.
In addition to the early potato, Veckman praises Lapland’s woodpecker, which gets to enjoy the brightness of the nightless night. The amount of light in Finland is exceptional.
According to Veckman, Finnish potatoes can’t even be compared to, say, potatoes sold at the market in Nice.
– It’s a different product. The Finnish potato is completely in its own class. There is nothing like it anywhere else.
Veckman has been part of the working group that has thought about Finland’s national menu. It is a collaboration between Kespro and Visit Finland, which has brought together ten key dishes, ingredients and taste worlds of Finnish food culture. The goal is to strengthen the position of Finnish food in restaurants, tourism and in building the image of Finland.
Veera Valtonen and Harri Veckman encourage restaurants to challenge themselves and think about what the Finnish food or ingredient on their menu is like. Eeva Paljakka
Kitchen manager at Basbas Kulma from Helsinki Veera Valtonen was one of the restaurant industry professionals who participated in the working group.
According to Valtonen, in his own workplace, Finnishness is most visible in the raw materials. Tourists ask a lot about Finnish raw materials.
– For example, for American tourists, a lot of food here in Europe is new and wonderful. They are more interested in the ingredients than the food portions.
Valtonen has noticed that Americans are always surprised by the freshness of Finnish ingredients.
– In my opinion, it is perhaps the biggest thing in Finnish food, Valtonen says at the press conference of Finland’s national menu.
Reindeer is the only raw material that tourists are suspicious of. Tourists from the UK in particular are wary of it.
Potatoes and reindeer can be offered in this form as well: chips and dried. Eeva Paljakka
– Even Finns don’t eat reindeer very often, but tourists seem to enjoy it. Reindeer is easy to approach because it is fat-free, tender and, as a game, has a rather mild taste.
Finland’s national menu
Announcing the Finnish national menu is part of strengthening Finnish food culture.
The national menu, aimed at restaurants, chefs and operators in the tourism industry, responds to this by assembling the foundations of Finnish cuisine into a clear whole.
– Restaurants in Finland make enormously good food, but we haven’t always been able to make it recognizable enough. The national menu compiles the story of Finnish food so that restaurants can continue it in their own style, Veckman explains.
The national menu has been put together by the Passion Working Group, which campaigns on behalf of the restaurant industry and convened by Kesko, which includes chefs, restaurateurs and other operators in the restaurant industry. In addition to Valtonen and Veckman, it includes, among others Hans Välimäki and Tero Mäntykangas.
Veera Valtonen of Basbas Kulman loves early cabbage in all forms. Grilling is great for cabbage. Eeva Paljakka
The national menu is based on the idea that Finnish food culture lives in time and changes with it. The purpose of the list is to encourage restaurants to update familiar flavors to look like their own cuisine.
– There are many things in Finnish food that we ourselves consider ordinary, but which are really interesting for those coming from elsewhere. That’s exactly why classics should be updated, challenged and reinterpreted, says the chef Hans Välimäki.
Valtonen and Veckman wouldn’t do anything for one dish on the national menu. It’s great just the way it traditionally is. In their opinion, it is not worth updating the Karelian pie to something new, but to offer specifically the original Karelian pie with a syringe.
– I always recommend Karelian pie to my friends from abroad. A genuine, fresh, corn-filled Karelian pie needs nothing more than egg butter, Valtonen says.
Finland’s national menu
Fish soup and rye bread
Finnish fish dishes
Reindeer and game
Karelian pie
Coffee and bun or seasonal pastry
Wild berries
Finnish porridges
Early potatoes and Lapland’s Puikula
Mushroom dishes
Cabbage dishes
In January, together with the Passion Working Group, Kespro published the first food strategy for restaurants in Finland, with which they want to make the sector flourish in the coming years. The national menu is one of the measures to strengthen the growth, visibility and success of the restaurant industry.