Things to do when you visit Finland! Nature, culture, sport, history, activities…
I speak to internationally recognised culinary authority and TV host, Kristina Vänni, who is also a food writer, TV host, recipe developer, cooking contest expert. We discuss her upcoming cookbook, Homefarm, but also her Finnish roots in Peräseinäjoki, Etelä Pohjanmaa.
She tells the the story of her Great-Grandmother, Josefiina Pitäkranta’s emigration to the USA in 1899 and how Kristina came to connect with her distant relatives, her ‘return’ to Pitkäranta Farm and the inspiration for her book.
During summer 2016, I had the opportunity to visit the wilds of Eastern Finland, near to the town of Kitee. I was invited to join Satu at her Grandparents’ old home, right on Finland’s border with Russia. During this trip, I found myself saying ‘yeah, I know about this, I covered it in the podcast’, for example; sauna with vihta, foraging in the woods, the evacuation of Karelia and Finnish ice cream.
I thought I’d share with you some pictures of these activities, and the podcast episodes they came from.
This week I get to sit down with Miia Keski-Nikkola and talk food, which is no hardship for me; busting some myths, discussing Mother Nature’s offerings and looking at traditional Xmas Food.
Päivi explains how ice cream is made at Wirtalan Jäätelö and gives a surprising answer to the question ‘What is South Ostrobothnia’s favourite flavour?’ You’ll never guess.
Restaurant Day (Ravintolapäivä) originated in Helsinki, so I travel to nearby Vaasa, with my daughter Evie, to visit some of the pop-up restaurants and speak to some of the restaurant organisers about their experiences.
