KEY POINTS:
I love food.
Not all food, of course. Obviously, Brussels sprouts are inedible. I don't like boiled potatoes either, especially when I am not allowed to leave the table before finishing them.
Otherwise, food and I have always had a great relationship.
I think about it every time
I leave the house. Whether deciding to visit a friend or a foreign country, my choices are often influenced by my stomach.
As I was contemplating whether or not to move to Finland late last year, food was an important consideration.
Yes, my Finnish girlfriend Sanna is a nice person, but do they have good bakeries in Helsinki? I wondered.
My initial research uncovered some troubling controversy.
In 2005 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that Finnish food was something he had to "endure" when visiting the country.
Finns, he said, eat marinated reindeer and don't even know what Parma ham is.
On this basis, Italy's richest man claimed that Italy was a more suitable location than Finland for the site of the European Food Safety Authority.
The criticism didn't end there. Concerned that Berlusconi's gaffes might help Italians to usurp the French as the most unpopular nationality in Europe, President Jacques Chirac of France stated that the only country with worse food than Britain was Finland.
I was becoming nervous. With all this smoke, was there a fire in the Finnish kitchen?
According to Wikipedia, there is some historical basis for these remarks. Years ago, the range of food available in Finland was limited. This is partly because most fruit and vegetables can only be grown for three months of the year in Finland's harsh climate.
Instead, Finns traditionally relied on staples such as tubers, potatoes, dark rye bread and fermented dairy products.
Making matters worse, other than salt, very few spices and fresh herbs were available for seasoning purposes.
Unflavoured potatoes, tubers and "fermented dairy products" - whatever they are - did not excite my palate.
Variety is okay, but I'm a firm believer that spice is actually the spice of life. Perhaps Berlusconi had a point. I read on.
Apparently, even with the development of modern transportation and agriculture the prices and selection of food did not improve immediately in Finland.
Heavy tariffs and bans on certain imported products restricted the range and affordability of food right up until Finland became a member of the EU in 1995, at which point the situation improved.
Obviously, given I am writing this blog, this improvement was enough to convince me to take the chance and move over here.
Now, after four months, I am prepared to submit my preliminary findings:
For a start, quite apart from traditional Finnish fare (thanks to globalisation) in Helsinki it is possible to survive entirely on foreign cuisine.
From the two Michelin starred restaurant chez Dominique and the "ethnic" food stores in Hakaniemi, to the Greek cafe opposite my apartment, there is no shortage of great international food.
Of course, I don't have the time, money or the inclination to eat in restaurants all the time. Thankfully, there is no need. I don't know what food was like here in the past, but today Finnish food is delicious.
Bread is a good place to start. More than any other food, in my experience, bread turns people into raving nationalists, fiercely loyal to what that they grew up with.
London provides a good example of this. I noticed while living there that in areas where there are a lot of New Zealanders - such as Clapham - supermarkets would stock Vogel's bread. Unlike in the advert, there is actually no need to take it with you on the plane. I ate it every day.
But even if they sold Vogel's in Finland, I wouldn't buy it. In my opinion, Finns make the best wholemeal and rye breads in the world.
Every supermarket has an enormous selection of white, wholemeal, rye, dark, crispy and full grain bread. A type of muesli rye bread is my current favourite, although on special occasions the home-made rye bread that all Finns over 30 seem to know how to make is unbelievably good.
I publicly challenge Jacques Chirac to find a better example in a French bakery (I hear he never says no to a dare).
Amongst other foods, Finns also eat a lot of smoked and pickled fish (such as salmon, perch and herring), seasonal berries and a selection of unique bakery food. By and large, it is all excellent.
They also have an obsession with salty liquorice which I don't quite understand, but enjoy nevertheless.
Finally, when Santa's reindeer become too old to pull the sleigh, they are smoked and not marinated, as Prime Minister Berlusconi claimed.
Although Italy won the right to host the Food Safety Authority, in 2008, Finland had the last laugh.
In New York, before impartial judges, Finland met Italy in the final of the America's Plate International pizza contest (France did not make the final).
The Finish pizza - which I sampled on Saturday - was a tasty combination of cream cheese, red onions, mushrooms and smoked reindeer on a wholemeal crust.
"Pizza Positano" from Italy featured fancy imported "oo" flour from Naples, finest Italian peeled tomatoes, fresh calamari, mussels, shrimp, clams, cherry tomatoes and extra-extra-virgin olive oil.
In the end, there was no contest.
"Pizza Berlusconi" from Finland was declared the best pizza in the world.
Unusually, the Italian Prime Minister has not made any comment.
- Matt Kennedy-Good
Pictured above: The award-winning 'Pizza Berlusconi'. Photo / Matt Kennedy-Good
