barcelona-helsinki-barcelona

Hyvää torstaita (thursday_dijous) kaikille!

"Last Friday Catalonia held the first official event to celebrate Finland’s centenary: a Finnish dinner entitled ‘Syödään yhdessä’ (Let’s Eat Together) made by Jani Paasikoski at COOCCIŌ, in Barcelona. _Divendres passat va tenir lloc el primer esdeveniment oficial de les celebracions del centenari de Finlàndia a Catalunya: un sopar finlandès anomenat Syödään yhdessä (Menjem junts) a càrrec del xef Jani Paasikoski a l’espai gastronòmic COOCCIŌ de Barcelona.

The dining event, which was sold out, was from 7 to 11 pm. It seemed people would arrive gradually because of the hours, but a few minutes past seven the place was already full of people and all tables were taken. The atmosphere was very nice and Finns and Catalans were practically equal in number. _El sopar, amb totes les entrades venudes, era de 7 a 11 de la nit. Tot feia pensar que l’arribada de gent seria esglaonada tenint en compte l’horari, però passats pocs minuts de les 7 el local ja estava ben ple de gent i no s’hi cabia a les taules. L’ambient de sopar de germanor era molt maco i hi havia finlandesos i catalans pràcticament per igual.

The dinner went like this: at the entrance we were given a ticket for each dish of the previously published menu and we were free to pick our dishes whenever we wanted. Drinks were bought separately in a bar zone of the hall. _La dinàmica del sopar va ser força curiosa: a l’entrada et donaven un tiquet per a cada plat del menú que dies abans s’havia anunciat i cadascú s’anava a buscar els plats quan li venia de gust. Les begudes es compraven a part en una zona de bar que hi ha al local.

As first course there were Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pasties) with munavoi (egg butter), along with bit of smoked salmon made by Järvi Soikkeli. Such a tasty combination, and the salmon... wow! The second course was called ‘creamy salmon soup’. The soup had some light cream and fennel, and there were pieces of salmon, potato and carrot. Delicious! _De primer es van servir els típics Karjalanpiirakka (pastissets de Carèlia ) amb una mica de munavoi (d’ou cuit barrejat amb mantega), juntament amb una petita degustació de salmó fumat a l’estil finlandès de Järvi Soikkeli. Boníssima la combinació, i el salmó... buf! El segon plat portava el nom de “sopa cremosa de salmó”. El caldo portava una mica de crema de llet i fonoll i tenia trossos de salmó, patata i pastanaga. Exquisit!

There were two desserts: red fruit soup with whipped cream and korvapuusti (cinnamon rolls). The soup resembled marmalade in taste and it had some berries. The korvapuusti were delightful too. _De postres hi havia dos plats: sopa de fruits vermells amb nata muntada i korvapuusti (pastissets de canyella). La sopa recordava una mica a una melmelada però amb un sabor més suau i tenia trossets de fruita. Els korvapuusti, una altra delícia.

Besides the menu, we were also served sima (fermented lemonade), rye crisp bread and coffee. _A banda dels plats del menú, també es va servir sima (una llimonada fermentada), pa cruixent finlandès i cafè.

Around 9:30 there was a raffle and the prizes were Finnish products of different kinds and a dinner for four by Jani Paasikoski. The whole hall was in expectation and the prize-giving was exciting and funny because it was done in a mix of Spanish and Finnish. _Cap a les 21:30 es va realitzar un sorteig de diversos productes finlandesos i d’un sopar per a quatre persones també a càrrec de Jani Paasikoski. Tota la sala estava expectant i l’entrega dels premis va ser molt emocionant i divertida, ja que es va fer en una barreja d’espanyol i finès.

The event probably went on until 11 pm, but once the raffle was over many of the attendees started leaving. The evening had been lovely and it was a pleasure to be able to enjoy a cuisine we can hardly enjoy here. It would be so nice if more dinners like this could be organized. _L’esdeveniment segurament es va allargar fins les 11, però un cop acabat el sorteig molts dels assistents vam començar a marxar. Va ser una vetllada molt agradable i va ser un plaer poder gaudir d’una gastronomia de la que no podem gaudir gaire habitualment aquí. Tant de bo es poguessin fer més sopars com aquest.

Congratulations to the chef and all the volunteers who made it possible for such a unique and special event to take place! _L’enhorabona al xef i als voluntaris que van fer possible aquest esdeveniment tan únic i especial!"

Thanks to our "Suomen kieli koulukaveri" and friend Paula Oliva for this wonderful and "delicious" post!
(all images src Paula Oliva)

Nauttikaa! Enjoy_gaudiu!
MOI, MOI!