Madrid-based journalist Susana Blázquez, who covered Chefs and Friends for Elle Gourmet. Says that in Helsinki, warmth comes not only from people, but also from the table.

That spirit defined the gathering. Over three days, nine chefs – five local, four international – cooked, foraged, shared ideas, and dined together. In doing so, they showed what makes dining in Helsinki unique: open, collaborative, and rooted in nature. It was a dialogue across cultures, and a reminder that the influence of the Helsinki food scene now reaches well beyond the city’s borders.

Female chefs redefining Helsinki’s restaurants 

The lineup of chefs was remarkable not only for its talent but also for what it represented. In an industry still largely defined by male leadership, in Helsinki as elsewhere, Chefs and Friends brought together nine women leading kitchens in Helsinki and around the world. From Helsinki came chefs Maud Saddok (Maukku), Fanni Polón (Nokka), Ina Niiniketo (Canvas Canteen), Maija Kyyrönen (Demo), and Karoliina Narkiniemi (Muru). They were joined by international voices – Lana Lagomarsini (New York), Alexandra Strödel (Berlin), Ana Ortiz (Somerset), and Bérangère Fagart (Paris) – each bringing distinct influences that sparked new dialogue at the table.

At its heart, the gathering reflected themes central to Helsinki – a city that celebrates collaboration, creativity, and equality. In kitchens and conversations alike, Chefs and Friends made those ideas tangible, showing how real change can take root around the table.

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Food from the Forest

Foraging in Helsinki reveals how closely the city lives with nature – not as a backdrop, but as part of daily life. On the first day of Chefs and Friends, chefs and visiting media joined wilderness guide Anna Nyman on a mushroom-picking trip in Helsinki Central Park, just twenty minutes by tram from the city centre.

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Thanks to Finland’s Everyone’s Rights  — a law that allows anyone to freely forage in nature — the harvest belongs to everyone. After foraging, the chefs cooked a mushroom stew on portable stoves in the forest. A group of schoolchildren on a day trip wandered over, curious, and were soon sharing the meal with the chefs. The moment captured something essential about the Helsinki food scene: here, food, nature, and community are inseparable – foraging is not staged but woven into everyday life.

This connection to nature also defines Helsinki restaurants. Many local chefs draw inspiration from the surrounding forests, using seasonal wild herbs, berries, and mushrooms throughout their menus. Visitors can experience this same closeness through local operators such as Anna Nyman’s Foraging in Finland, which organises guided foraging tours in the city — offering a direct link between forest and table.

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Naturally pure: the taste of Helsinki

Back in the city, the same ethos continued at the historic Hakaniemi Market Hall. At Kuurnan Kasvispuoti – literally “Kuurna’s vegetable shop” – co-owners Laura Styyra and Tom Hansen presented biodynamic vegetables destined not just for fine restaurants but for everyday households. Visitors passing through can even pause here for an espresso by the small counter – a simple reflection of Helsinki’s easy, everyday charm. Here too, as in the forest, local and seasonal ingredients are part of daily life.

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The story of Helsinki’s flavours isn’t told only in markets and restaurants, it’s also distilled into bottles. At the Helsinki Distilling Company – located in the city’s former meat-packing district, just a few metro stops from the centre – the chefs tasted local whisky, gin, and the classic long drink, first mixed for the 1952 Olympics. Like the city itself, even its spirits have a quiet strength: water so pure it can be used directly in distilling. Is that the secret to Finland’s happiness? 

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Later, the chefs visited Kuurna, the bistro that helped define dining in Helsinki. In the elegant, quaint neighbourhood of Kruununhaka near the harbour, the restaurant, a sister to Kuurnan Kasvispuoti, sits on the ground floor of one of Helsinki’s oldest residential buildings, dating back to 1874. Inside its candlelit walls, biodynamic produce from the market finds its way straight to the plate – a full circle from farm to stall to table. The menu changes every other week, always rooted in simple, honest ingredients that reflect the rhythm of the city’s seasons.

The Helsinki food scene

In Punavuori, Helsinki’s bohemian design district, the chefs were welcomed by Ina Niiniketo – one of the Chefs and Friends participants – and her partner, Roni Kerttula. Together they run Canvas Canteen, where a weekly 50-kilo delivery from Santa Dorotea biodynamic farm shapes each week’s menu – sometimes as a pop-up, sometimes as a neighbourhood lunch. For diners, it’s an ever-changing experience that captures Helsinki’s casual creativity: a space that feels more like a friend’s home than a restaurant. 

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At Aoi, another stop during the program, the chefs experienced how dining in Helsinki often blends Nordic ingredients with global inspiration. The restaurant’s menu reflects this approach – local produce meeting international flavours. Visitors can expect a relaxed but refined atmosphere, where creative cooking meets Helsinki’s hallmark warmth – playful, open, yet confidently grounded in place.

Chefs and Friends showcased a taste of what Helsinki restaurants are at heart: grounded and confident, where excellent produce meets equally excellent technique. Visiting chefs remarked on the quality of cooking in the city, describing it as unmistakably Helsinkian – connected to nature, precise yet unpretentious.

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A celebration of international flavours in Helsinki 

The three-day journey culminated at the Culinary Institute of Helsinki, where all nine chefs came together to cook a meal from produce gathered at Hakaniemi Market Hall.

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The collaborative dinner captured the spirit of the event – a celebration of international flavours in Helsinki and a portrait of how the city brings people together through food. Each dish became a dialogue between cultures, where global techniques met local ingredients with creativity, respect, and trust. It symbolised what makes dining in Helsinki remarkable: openness, collaboration, and a quiet confidence that continues to shape the city’s vibrant restaurant scene.

Helsinki, a food destination full of openness and quiet confidence

Chefs and media alike recognised Helsinki restaurants as a rising force in the Nordic culinary scene, noting the city’s distinct calibre despite its modest size. Among them was Norwegian-born, Malmö-based food writer Alisa Larsen, who lived in Helsinki over a decade ago and still returns regularly. She described the city’s food culture as effortless and natural, free from gimmicks, marked by identity and openness – a freedom from rigid traditions and a willingness to blend influences while staying true to place.

Today, that same openness, connection to local produce, and quiet confidence defines dining in Helsinki. For visitors, it means access to restaurants that blend Nordic roots with international flavours – confident, creative, and steadily shaping one of the most exciting food scenes in the Nordics.

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