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Much of Europe is known for its world-class food that people travel from around the globe to sample, but Finnish cuisine isn’t quite in that bracket – yet.
Visit Finland is keen to change that reputation and is inviting 16 participants to try the best of the Nordic country’s food. It’s hoping to add “Finnish” to the long list of European cuisines… think Italian, Greek, Spanish and French.
This September, the tourism body is hosting the lucky guests, serving up “Official Tasting Menus”, which will showcase the best eats from the country’s different regions.
The tourist board asked residents from across the world’s happiest nation which dishes and flavours they believe best define Finland and its unique areas.
After conducting the tasty research, they called on some of Finland’s best chefs to come up with the tasting menus.
Choose between two Finnish regions with distinct cuisines
There will be two events held, for eight people in two destinations – one in the Coast and Archipelago region, and another in the wilderness of Lapland.
In the Coast and Archipelago region, the menu will be created by Erik Mansikka, whose restaurant, Kaskis, in the city of Turku, became the first restaurant outside Helsinki to receive a Michelin star in 2022, followed by a Michelin Green Star for sustainability three years later.
In the Lapland region, chef Joel Manninen will take the reins. He’s the head chef at Sky Kitchen and View, a panoramic eatery on the Ounasvaara fell in Rovaniemi. He scooped the prize for the Finnish Young Chefs Championship in 2025 and, the following year, won a silver medal at the Young Chefs World Championship.
People who wish to join the special occasions can choose between the two regions, and the winners will receive an all-expenses-paid, four-day trip to the area they’ve applied to.
Each trip will include a full itinerary of activities and, of course, plenty of food during the stay, before culminating in the once-in-a-lifetime tasting dinner.
Be in with a chance of sampling Finland’s official tasting menus
To be in the running for the experience, aspiring guests have a few hoops to jump through.
Those keen to head to Finland must post a short video on either TikTok or Instagram, and answer just one question: “Why do you want to Have Some Finnish?”
Applicants, who are welcome to apply alone or as a pair, then need to use the hashtag #HaveSomeFinnish and tag Visit Finland’s accounts – @ourfinland on Instagram and @visitfinland.com on TikTok.
Applications opened on 18 May and close on 9 June, and the winners will be announced on 29 June. To apply, visit the visitfinland.com website.
