Finland prepares culinary wonders for presidency
TERESA KÜCHLER
17.05.2006 @ 09:57 CET
Finnish cuisine, the subject of many a harsh joke, is to show its best side as the country takes over the EU presidency in from July with forest delicacies and multi-cultural food to be served to visitors.
Advocates of Finnish food and Finnish food culture have joined forces with the help of the Finnish Food information Service as Helsinki prepares for its presidency stint, Helsingin Sanomat reports on Wednesday (17 May).
The closeness to nature is a theme in Finnish cuisine (Photo: EUobserver.com)
A booklet will be released explaining the nature of Finnish cookery, with emphasis on the clean and natural foods used in recipes, in a country with over 100,000 lakes and immense forests full of healthy products.
"A typical characteristic for us Finns, which distinguishes us from others, is that by European standards we have much nature, and we are close to it", it says in the booklet.
"Food in Finland can be praised for its purity, and for the nature of the north that one can - possibly - taste in it. Even the cows give the purest milk in Europe," it goes on.
In order to impress international guests, the menu planners have opted for international cuisine made out of Finnish seasonal raw materials.
A sample dinner involves whitefish and wild mushroom salad, roast lamb, farm cheese, apple pie, and cinnamon ice cream brought to a stylishly set table.
Southern European food-chauvinism
Recent debate on EU food safety and labelling has led to petty bickering between European leaders, defending their food identity and culture as the best in Europe.
French president Jacques Chirac was invited to taste British and Finnish cuisine by politicians from the two countries after the French president's condescending comments on Finnish and British food were overheard at meeting with Moscow and Berlin in Kaliningrad last year.
"One cannot trust people whose cuisine is so bad", president Chirac was quoted as saying in hushed tones to laughing German and Russian leaders, bashing in particular his neighbours across the English Channel.
"After Finland, it is the country with the worst food".
"The only thing they (the Brits) have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow disease", Mr Chirac continued.
Food was also the subject of another diplomatic gaffe, when outgoing Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi last year criticised Finnish cuisine while discussing the EU's food authority.
Both Italy and Finland fought to house the agency, with Mr Berlusconi memorably describing Finnish food as "disgusting". The agency eventually went to Parma.
Mr Berlusconi's comment created shockwaves of indignation in the Nordic country, with Finnish agriculture unions calling for a boycott of Italian goods, such as olive oil and wine.
The Finnish president Tarja Halonen, however, reacted with calm indulgence to her colleague's rude remarks.
"Finnish food is good. You would love to eat it," the president said.
