The Hotel and Restaurant Museum, Taste Matters

Many museums rely solely on the senses of sight and hearing. When walking through an exhibition, we look at objects, which are often inside glass display cases. Auditory experiences are usually provided in the form of a digital audio guide or a guided tour. The Hotel and Restaurant Museum, located at the Cable Factory, is in a good position as a museum because it engages more senses. Taste, scent, and taste memory can emerge, for example, when recalling childhood Christmas foods or grandmother's baking. The potential for an impactful experience is favorable; all of us have some connection and relationship with food and drink, and the memories and experiences associated with them

You can read this text in Finnish from here

Menu, Pohjanhovi, Rovaniemi, 1947. Hotel and Restaurant Museum

The National Museum of Finland will be closed for several more years (according to the plan, until 2027) due to major renovation and expansion. One might not first think of the Hotel and Restaurant Museum as a replacement for the National Museum, but with its exhibitions, it actually creates an interesting general presentation of Finnish history and a connection to Finnish culture through a historical overview of food culture. So, if you are interested in a general overview of Finnish history, right now in Helsinki there might not be another museum where you can better examine the cultural history of Finnishness from the Stone Age to the present day.

The Hotel and Restaurant Museum is located at the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) in Helsinki. The Cable Factory was founded in 1943 by Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy, a subsidiary of Nokia. The building is located in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, next to the West Harbour (Metro Ruoholahti, or tram 8). The building was completed in stages in the 1940s (architect Wäinö Palmqvist). Originally, cables were processed in its long halls. Industrial activity slowed down in the 1980s, and the building was transferred to the City of Helsinki. Kaapeli is one of Finland's most significant cultural centers, according to Wikipedia, the largest cultural center in Finland. In 2021, the Dance House (Tanssin talo) (JKMM Architects and ILO Architects) was completed next to the home of three museums and numerous other cultural operators.

The picture shows the Cable Factory in 1945. Photo by Foto Roos. Helsinki City Museum, Finna

The Taste Matters exhibition highlights the rise of the Nordic welfare state—in this area, particularly the state's guiding role through welfare policy and dietary recommendations. It also reveals that, for example, the food favored in the recently published 2024 dietary recommendations are not entirely new in Finland. Broad beans (härkäpapu) have been eaten in Finland since at least the 600s–700s and were one of the most common vegetables in Finland until the late 19th century. Fava beans were used in many ways: in soups, porridges, stews, and patties.

The state's influence is particularly strong in our alcohol culture. Among other things, the Alko store reconstructed to look like it did in the 1930s in the exhibition, as well as the alcohol ration card (viinakortti), tell of the strict and regulated sales culture of the post-Prohibition era

Guilty-looking Finnish man, round stamp. Important proof for acquiring alcohol. Store certificate or alcohol card, Pori, 1960s. Hotel and Restaurant Museum, Alko collection

In the exhibition, museum objects, old photographs, art, and technology, as well as play, have been smoothly combined. However, it is evident in places that more money could have been used for the exhibition technology, for example, in the multimedia space that starts the exhibition.

Lighting is a factor in museum exhibitions that can add power and impact to the presentation. The lighting itself is well-designed, but the luminaires may not be the best in museum technology.

The museum also highlights the current restaurant scene in its exhibition, probably due to its background communities.

The raw walls, floors, and exposed building technology of the old cable factory are not inherently a weakness for the museum. There's no need to be careful with the walls, as in the historical National Museum on Mannerheimintie, but creating a cultural history exhibition in such a space is not easy or cheap.

The Taste Matters, or Taste Memories, exhibition tells about the places where food culture is shaped: restaurants, school canteens, and cafés. The conclusion is that food and drink culture does not stay still; it changes all the time.

Many sections of the exhibitions are based on interaction with the public; a survey related to food traditions is utilized in many places. We learn food traditions by observing and participating in cooking. In the past, instructions were passed on orally. Women have especially taught food traditions. They previously generally had the main responsibility for food preparation at home. Men, on the other hand, have taught things like fishing, hunting, and the related foods.

For many, eating with family or friends is an important tradition. Time is spent together over food, talking, and exchanging news.

"The smell of roasted meat always makes me happy; it reminds me of parties, family, and fun. All my life, it has been the food of birthday parties, family, and celebrations spent with close friends." – response to the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's Food Tradition Survey (2023)

"As a child, I hated the annual Christmas ham vigil and the strong smell of Christmas ham that took over the house, mixing with the scent of candles and my own nausea due to too much chocolate. In the morning, the situation was saved by rice porridge and the lucky almond. I have continued both traditions in my own home, even though I don't eat ham and still hate its smell." – response to the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's Food Tradition Survey (2023)

"Food traditions related to festive days came from my grandmother, with whom I lived as a child. Otherwise, I have mainly followed TV cooking shows and magazine recipes. Also, if there is food I like at a party or visit, I readily ask for the recipe. I teach traditions to my 12-year-old son, who is gradually becoming interested in cooking." – response to the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's Food Traditions Survey (2024)

"I find Syrian food to be varied and delicious. In Finland, I try to preserve our own food traditions and pass them on to my children. It is good for children to know the flavors of the year and get used to them. It's a kind of preservation of the Arab identity." – response to the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's Food Traditions Survey (2024)

The Iftar meal offered when the fast ends at sunset. Photo by Yasmin Ibrahim. Hotel and Restaurant Museum

Food traditions are part of the national identity. The exhibition states that there is no single food tradition that has existed in the same form throughout the area of present-day Finland. Food traditions change as people and culture change. However, some food traditions persist for a long time. Why is pea soup eaten on Thursdays? You can also find the answer to this at the museum. In Finland, pea soup was eaten on Thursdays and on Shrove Tuesday as early as the Middle Ages, between the 1200s and 1500s. Back then, as part of the Catholic Christian faith, before the fast, one had to eat food like pea soup. According to the museum, the tradition of "Pea Soup Thursday" has survived thanks to, among other things, restaurants' lunch offerings. And it seems the tradition of a Thursday pea soup day is still alive even in the military.

While the National Gallery Ateneum's permanent exhibition highlights art as a builder of national identity, the Hotel and Restaurant Museum refers to food culture as a builder of nationality. Foods discovered to fit this description include talkkuna (a type of roasted flour mixture) and mämmi (Finnish rye pudding). According to the museum, talkkuna was originally eaten in Eastern Finland and Häme, while mämmi was eaten in Western Finland. The nationalistic upper class elevated these foods to national dishes for all of Finland in the late 1800s.

Mämmi containers, 1930s. Aarne Pietinen, History Image Archive, Museovirasto

Neither of these are my personal favorites, but I can well imagine, for example, Akseli Gallen-Kallela working on his Golden Age paintings with a container of mämmi nearby. But, in any case, I suppose the concept of Finnishness was consciously constructed with the help of food, too.

According to the museum, items like coffee or Emmental cheese were also perceived as Finnish foods, even though their raw ingredients or preparation methods originally came from elsewhere. And even today, some products are considered particularly Finnish, such as Koskenlaskija cheese spread or Elovena oatmeal.

What, then, do Finns consider to be their national dishes? In a poll held for the centenary of independence in 2017, the candidates included cured fish, pea soup, fish soup, Karelian stew, Karelian pies, liver casserole, vendace (small fish), blueberry pie, mämmi, pizza, rye bread, and viili (a type of curdled milk).

Rye bread won the vote.

What about other national food designations? The EU can grant a food product the right to use the "Traditional Speciality Guaranteed" (TSG) label. The prerequisite for this is that the food product has been produced for at least 30 years. The designation was granted to sahti (Finnish farmhouse ale) and kalakukko (fish pie) in 2002, and to Karelian pies in 2003.

It is often thought that traditional foods should be made from scratch. However, the museum points out that many labor-intensive traditional dishes have actually been preserved thanks to the food industry. Food industry products can also be sold over a wider area than earlier, paid traditions allowed.

Karelian stew

In an exhibition of this type, one feels like trying the foods that have been featured. As yet, the museum does not have a café or a restaurant, but recipes can, of course, be tested at home.

Here is a recipe for Karelian pies picked up from the exhibition.

This was also a favorite for Emma Thomson, who was filming Dead of Winter in February 2024 near Joensuu. "Thompson mentions that she 'lived on' Karelian pies and took time to enjoy the North Karelian outdoors in between shoots."

The oval-shaped pie containing rice became familiar throughout Finland when refugees from Karelia moved to different parts of the country after the Second World War. The Karelian pie first became common at coffee and party tables. Nowadays, it is a standard product at in-store bakeries. The picture shows pie preparation in 1929.

The picture shows the preparation of pies in 1929. Tyyni Vahter, Ethnographic photo collection, Museovirasto

Rinse the rice and add it to boiling water. Once the water has been absorbed, add the milk. Cook at a low heat into porridge, stirring occasionally. Finally, add salt and butter, and let it cool.

Roll the dough into a log and cut with a knife into 20 pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and press them flat. "Drive" the pieces into dough cases (crusts) as thin as possible using a pie rolling pin (pulikka). The rolling pin is rotated so that the case rotates under the pin. Use plenty of (coarse) rye flour on the table so the dough does not stick to it. Stack the finished cases on top of each other and sprinkle flour in between. 

Cover the stacks with a cloth or plastic to prevent drying. Spread a tablespoon of filling on each case and spread the filling almost to the edges. Crimp the edges using your index fingers. Bake at 275–300 degrees Celsius for 15–20 minutes. Brush the finished pies with a mixture of water and butter. Cover with baking paper or a cloth.

Crimping the Karelian Pie

Start crimping from the end of the pie.

Press the tip flat so it doesn't burn in the oven.

Seal the edges by crimping with your index fingers. Wipe away any excess filling if necessary.

Crust

A batch of rye dough

Filling

A batch of rice porridge

For brushing

1 dl water

50 g butter

Tip

Sprinkle a little rye flour on the baking tray and place the pies side by side. Do not use baking paper for baking, as it can catch fire in an oven above 250 degrees.

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Taste Matters. The exhibition is open until further notice

Images from the exhibition by the author, unless otherwise stated

Exhibition texts are in Finnish, Swedish, and English

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Museums webpage

Temporary exhibition (Turbulent Decades. The exhibition consists of 65 photographs from the 1960s and 1970s)