Taste of Helsinki

 I don't often go to festivals but if there's food involved I wouldn't want to miss it in the world. Taste of Helsinki is probably the best event ever. It's a food festival, which has been arranged already for years by Barry and Mira MacNamara, where some of the top restaurants from Finland and even this year Estonia participate. It's amazing to be able to enjoy food from 10 different restaurants all in one day. It's a 4 day event...and I already thought I would miss it this year for the first time ever. Lucky for me though I managed to come home late on Saturday and got the tickets online before going to bed :)
Even if I didn't have anyone to go with I didn't care because I was sure to meet loads of old colleagues from the times when I used to work in the restaurant business. I grabbed my camera and my best friend....flake salt with me. Flake salt! Why the he** you ask? Well being a pro at eating at these events I have sometimes been missing salt in some of the portions...well this time I came prepared...and honestly, it was also the first time no salt was needed :D (better safe than sorry).

The restaurants involved this year were:
Ask, Sinne, Toca, Hella & Huone, Bistro o Mat, Muru, Pastor, Restoran Ö, Grön and Kolmon3n.

I've had dinner at almost all of these restaurants but was looking mostly forward to trying out the dishes of Grön and Restoran Ö (from Estonia). The reason being that Grön has long been on my list of wants but just haven't had the chance to go yet and Restoran Ö because I just came from Tallinn last week and had hoped to have had one more day to visit this restaurant. May I say...Neither one was a disappointment. These two ended up being on my top list accompanied with Ask.

I started off by buying some Marks. Chips used instead of real cash at the event. 1mark =1 euro. (I think I spent approximately 80€)

I then headed off to the champagne tent where I was poured a glass of lovely dry Champagne from André Clouet.

André Clouet Champagnes

Now I was ready to eat! I started at Ask because it was closest to me. Went to greet some friends I knew and had their starter; Chargrilled organic salad from Ahlberg , vendace roe and Chives.

It was a nice start for the day. I really liked the taste of the salad being Chargrilled and think I will try that in the grill this summer. The salad was accompanied with a creamy vendace roe emulsion and a bit of Roe vinaigrette. The flavours reminded me a bit of a salad I had just eaten in St.Pete which I liked...although this one was much better :)

Organic Ahlberg salad with Vendace Roe from ASK

Next I headed towards the tent with the two restaurants I was longing to try. I started of with Grön's signature dish; Dry aged beef with garlic mustard, cabbage and acidulated creme fraiche.
The dish was a quite generous portion compared to many of the others, which I didn't mind because it was really good. At first glance you could only see all the different shades of green and I thought to myself aargh where's all the tartar....However underneath all the crispy kale, crunchy cabbage and wild garlic mustard was a lot of the really tender beef coated in a really punchy acidic vinegary creme fraiche. I love acidity in my food and if I had to choose one dish I'd have eaten again and again it was definitely this one. I loved all the different textures and the strong flavours. I was so happy I could have clapped my hands.

Staff from Grön, The food was so good even I wanted to clap my hands :)

Heavenly tartar from Grön

Under all those lovely crispy greens was loads of mouthwatering tartar in an acidulated creme fraiche

Happy staff @ Grön

Next I headed next door to try Restoran Ö's signature dish. Also a tartar but oh so different. This one was a tartar of Elk meat from Saaremaa, black garlic sauce, ramson stems and cladonia. This one was  almost like paint on an artist's palette. The dish was really good but I noticed a big mistake I did (even after being warned), I should've eaten this one first and then the one from Grön. After all the acidic flavour still lingering in my mouth this one didn't taste as much. However in Ö's portion the flavour of the meat itself could be tasted more, but not sure I liked the texture because it was a bit pasty. However, I did like this dish both visually and to taste and definitely didn't disappoint. The colours and the crispy cladonia (which I had never tried before) came out as a quite playful dish....even after scraping the plate was it a pice of art.

Tartar from the Estonian restaurant Ö

Even after emptying my dish it still was a piece of art

I wanted to head back to Grön after hearing a lot of praise about their main course. Burnt and caramelised onions with salted pork, wheat and smoked bone marrow sauce. It was again a portion so full of flavour. The smokiness and saltiness in the dish was mind-blowing. A bit over salty probably for some, but then again, remember I was carrying a mini-grip bag of salt with me :D so to me this was just delish. Grön got my approval once again and left me craving for more. Especially the sauce was so good I could've drank it.

Caramelised spring onion and salted pork

Taste of Helsinki isn't only about eating and drinking, they also arrange workshops, cook offs and have lots of products related to cooking to buy from the small shops. I watched the cook off between Top Chef and amateur cook and it was quite hilarious to watch because didn't seem they were really competing against eachother more like cooking together :)

The cook off...amateur vs top chef 

I'd say they both did quite well :)

Unfortunately it wasn't a sunny day, but atleast it wasn't raining like the previous days

Okay, time to fill up the glass again with some Riesling and try one of the dishes I had heard a lot of good comments on. The Pike burger vol. 2 from Bistro o Mat. The Pike patty was nice but otherwise not sure this was my cup of tea. I was expecting a bit more. I mean in no way was it bad, but compared to my previous dishes I was missing a bit more taste and definitely sauce. I felt the brioche was quite dry and therefore I only ate half the bread.

Pike Burger vol. 2 from Bistro o Mat

Time for risotto. Muru is one of my all time favourite restaurants in town. Both for their really good food and the lovely staff. It's definitely a restaurant worth visiting. The dish was a Parmesan risotto with Helix escargot and parsley jus. I usually love the food in Muru, but this time I was a bit disappointed...I think I wanted a bit...or lots more cheese. You could taste the parmesan but the texture was a bit too loose, a bit watery. Don't get me wrong, by no means was this a bad dish...I would gladly scoop spoonfuls of this on a rainy day...but didn't exceed my expectations.

Parmesan risotto with Helix Escargot and parsley jus

Time to start with desserts :) I think there won't otherwise be room for any.
Back to the first tent and restaurant Ask. A beautiful and generous portion of Organic Elderflower cream and Red summer berries.  This was a really nice and refreshing dessert which brought me right back to our garden at our summercottage with the taste of fresh redcurrant from our bushes.

Elderflower creme and summer berries

Next up was a dessert from Sinne. This one I didn't eat a whole portion of but just stole a spoonful from a friend of mine. It was okay but I didn't feel like I needed any more. The portion tasted strongly of rosewater or similar, which I am not a big fan of. I think it's a flavour that should've been mentioned in their menu.

Sinne's Braised Rhubarb, Roasted White Chocolate & Yoghurt Mousse

Kolmon3n's sweet mess (sekamelska) was a dessert I heard many people talk about.so I felt like I needed to try it too.The portion was really small. It was a good dessert...but if I'm really honest...although I remember that I liked it...I cannot really remember this dish. Be it in good or bad.....I guess it wasn't either. It didn't surprise...

Kolmon3ns sweet mess

However, next dish was a nice surprise. Again I went back to Grön for what I thought was my last dish. I had their ice cream sandwich (parfait) with spruce shoots. I have to say this dish was so clever in many ways. First of all the size was really good. The layout looked nice with the fresh twigs of the pine tree. Also it was a clever dish for an event like this. It was really easy to eat which meant you could have your glass in one hand and the ice-cream sandwich in the other :)
Did I also mention this was my favourite dessert.. Grön did it again :)

WILD- Parfait Flavoured with Spruce Shoot vinegar, Spruce shoot Caramel and Rye

I was still left with some chips(coins) in my pocket so I decided to use some on one more dish which had been voted by the restaurants as the best starter or vegetarian dish of the event.
I didn't use to be a big fan of celeriac before....but a lot of restaurants have proved me wrong and taught me that even this knubbly root is really tasty and sweet when prepared well. Especially this dish from Ö restaurant was really delicious, however full I was, and seriously couldn't fit any food into my tummy anymore....I just couldn't stop...and didn't have the heart to throw this dish away. The caramelized butter was so good and complimented the taste of the celeriac perfectly.

Salt baked Organic celeriac, caramelized butter and whey and celery leaves

Really pleased with the food at this event. And after 10+ dishes I was really full and couldn't have indulged anymore.
A perfect ending to this day was a positive new find. I was introduced to this amazing biodynamic white wine (or should I call it orange wine) which had the most stunning vibrant hue of orange. The taste was so breathtakingly complex that I think I fell in love with this Italian stallion. The wine is made with a selection of handpicked Catarratto grapes from Sicily and has no added sulphites or selected yeasts making this a wine full of personality. I hope I can find this love again :)

The best wine I had at this event :) what a perfect ending!I want more of this!