Plating up, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Tomi Laurila’s Finnish lunch

ByQin Xie 05/10/201321/09/2019

Menu from a lunch with Finnish chef Tomi Laurila to learn about typical Finnish cooking (rough English translations bold and in brackets):

Valdemar-juusto salaattia lime balsamico kastiketta (Valdemar-cheese salad with lime balsamic dressing)

Paahdettua kuhaa, lämminta perunasalaattia ja basilika kastiketta (roast pike-perch, warm potato salad and basil sauce)

Ruisjäätelöä ja mustaherukkamelbaa (ryebread ice cream and berry sauce)

Making reindeer rolls, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Reindeer rolls, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Chef Tomi Laurila, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Valdemar cheese salad, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Roast pike perch, potato salad, basil sauce, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

Rye bread ice cream and berry coulis, Finnish cooking with Tomi Laurila, Helsinki

The lunch with Finnish chef Tomi Laurila was designed so we can learn about the typical dishes cooked by the Finns at home.

We took part in the cooking as well as of course the feasting.

Although many of the ingredients were distinctively Finnish, the pike perch for example, the cooking method was perhaps not too dissimilar to other parts of Europe.

Qin Xie

Qin Xie is a London based food, wine and travel journalist and trained chef.

When not infiltrating Michelin restaurants as a kitchen tourist, she writes about food, drink and travel. Her work has appeared on Yahoo, FT, The Times and CNN.

Her first cookbook, co-authored with YS Peng at Hunan Restaurant, is out March 2014.

According to friends, her watch is always set to UTC -- ready for the next big adventure. In reality, she is happiest at the dinner table or by the sea.