Summary
About half a year earlier, [Silvio Berlusconi] had boasted that Parma, Italy was selected as host of the EU's new food authority, rather than archrival Helsinki, because of the superior quality of Italian food. The Italian leader complained that in order to win support from other European countries, he had to first "endure" Finnish food. French President Jacques Chirac, presumably incited by the wit of his Italian counterpart, added fuel to the fire a few weeks later by suggesting that the only food worse than British is Finnish.
These undeserved insults directed against Finnish cuisine by two major European leaders did not go unnoticed in Helsinki. Planning had already been under way for over a year for a major campaign to promote Finnish food. The stinging comments from both Berlusconi and Chirac gave the Finnish government added incentive to generously support the Finnish food promotion project called "Eat and Joy," which took place Sept 22-26, and was organized by Viisi Tähteä, a trade magazine for the restaurant industry. This correspondent was one of the lucky beneficiaries.The organizers of the Eat & Joy extravaganza made sure we sampled all sorts of culture, including several karaoke bars. It is perhaps best to say as little as possible about my enthusiastic rendition in one karaoke bar of "Twisted Love" by Marilyn Manson. But a late night in one of Helsinki's myriad karaoke bars -- where the bartender sometimes has to forcibly stop guests from dancing on the tables -- is definitely an experience one won't soon forget....although one might wish to do so.See the full content of this document
Extract
Heaven in Helsinki
Some 80 journalists from 17 countries visited the Finnish capital late last year in order to experience the best food, design, fashion and nightlife Helsinki has to offer. We dined like kings in two-Michelin-star restaurants, sang our hearts out in rowdy karaoke bars, basted in smoke saunas, danced the night away in clubs and visited islands in the Helsinki archipelago where we could pick wild berries and mushrooms.
In short, we enjoyed a wonderful week, and part of the credit goes to gaffe-prone Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Thanks, Silvio!About ha...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
