Celebrating The Finnish Food Culture And Culinary Pleasures With An African Twist

Amazing Moments Of The Finnish Cuisine And Culture Held In Kenya By The Finnish Embassy

The Finnish Embassy was very excited to host a culinary event in the beginning of February, whose goal was to celebrate the Finnish food culture. Ambassador of Finland to Kenya H.E Pirkka Tapiola together with his wife Olga Tapiola Invited guests for a dinner at their residence which was organized by a team of three Finnish chef students, three waiter students, and their two teachers where they also visited two Kenyan hospitality colleges (The Kibondeni College & The Boma International Hospitality College) and learned about the Kenyan vocational training system and Kenyan Cuisine. The Invited guests got to experience culinary pleasures from Finland with an African Twist. Finnish food is often described as authentic, pure, delicious, and innovative; something that they are genuinely proud of. Finnish culinary culture is influenced by international trends and other cultures and it is also famous around the world. The program included: seven-course dinners on Tuesday the 7th and Wednesday the 8th and a three-course dinner on Friday the 10th of January. The Invitees included a Kenyan state secretary, top business leaders, ambassadors, and media influencers.

The aim of the visit was to promote the Finnish culinary culture and also learn from the Kenyan Culture. The visit also had a European twist and was supported by the ERASMUS+ Programme.

Here are the sharing moments

So what was on the menu on 10th February

Starter- Rye Panzanella, Choux, and Jerusalem artichoke

Starter- Smoked vendace and picked potatoes, Cured sole, and dill sour cream

Main meal- Beef sirloin and dark Cranberry Sauce

Dessert- Finnish Berries and White Chocolate

The Team

The team of chef and waiter students and their two teachers were from two different Finnish vocational institutes: The Raisio Regional Education and Training Consortium (RASEKO) and The Turku Vocational Institute (TAI). Both Raseko’s and TAI’s students compete actively international level where they have been very successful and participated as part of the Culinary Team Finland. This is Finland’s national team, which represents Finland in international culinary competitions.

Here Is a Brief Description Of The Two Schools.

Raisio Regional Education and Training Consortium

Raisio Regional Education and Training Consortium is an Institute located in Southwest Finland. The Institute provides vocational education and training that offers vocational upper secondary qualifications, further and specialist vocational qualifications, preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification, topical seminars, and other collaboration with local and global working life.

At Raseko, you can study for a new profession or supplement your existing skills! Our offer includes basic, professional, and specialized vocational degrees, individual parts of the degree, workforce training, and seminars.

Raseko takes part in developing operations of the Young Chefs Club. The club offers upcoming chefs a good way to get to understand competitive activities where the students compete actively in an international level where it represents Finland in International arenas.

Turku Vocational Institute (TAI)

Turku Vocational Institute – is a multi-disciplinary provider of upper-secondary-level vocational education and training. With over 10 000 annual students and a turnover of 48 million euros, it is the largest VET training center in South-Western Finland and one of the largest in the country.

TAI is a public vocational school maintained by the City of Turku since 1998. We operate in six campuses within the city offering training in 28 basic vocational qualifications and 35 further and specialist vocational qualifications in the fields of:

Technology, communication, and transport
Social Services, Health, and Sports
Tourism, Catering, and Domestic Services
Business and Administration.

The students at the Turku Vocational Institute have been successful in this year’s national Taitaja2022 competitions and have achieved 7 medals in different fields. Especially their restaurant and catering students as well as the patisserie students have been successful in competing. This year our students will be taking part in the WorldSkills.

Turku Vocational Institute presentation

The team also visited different restaurants in Nairobi and two hospitality colleges (The Kibondeni College & The Boma International Hospitality College).

Here are moments of the Teams Visit to the Boma International Hospitality College.