Finland is a country synonymous with northern lights, saunas and happiness. After all, it has been named the happiest country in the world for nine years in a row. Now the Nordic country is hoping that travelers will come to associate it with something else: really good food.
Visit Finland recently announced Finland’s Official Tasting Table. This is a new culinary tourism initiative that aims to bring 16 travelers to Finland this September for an immersive, all-expenses-paid four-day dining experience centered around Finnish cuisine, local food traditions, and the landscapes that shape them.
The campaign invites travelers to apply for one of two regional itineraries designed to showcase different aspects of Finland’s food culture. One experience takes you to Finland’s coastal and island regions. The region is a vast coastline of the Baltic Sea dotted with thousands of pine-covered islands and historic seaside towns in the southwest of the country.
The other takes place in Lapland, Finland’s northernmost region known for its arctic landscapes, reindeer culture, and northern lights.
Eight guests will be selected for each itinerary.
Each region’s tasting menu is designed by a renowned Finnish chef and inspired by crowdsourced responses from local people, including fishermen, farmers, and home cooks.
The Coast & Archipelago experience will be led by Erik Mansikka, founder of Turku’s Restaurant Kaskis, which received a Michelin star in 2022 and a Michelin Green Star in 2025, and was awarded Finland’s Chef of the Year in 2013.
The Lapland menu, on the other hand, will be created by Joëlle Manninen, a rising star in Finnish cuisine who won the Finnish Young Chefs Championship in 2025 and later won a silver medal at the Young Chefs World Championship. He is the head chef at Sky Kitchen & View, a scenic restaurant atop Rovaniemi’s alpine peaks.
While Visit Finland doesn’t reveal exactly what kind of food guests will be eating, the tourism board hints that the menu will be heavily influenced by the landscape surrounding each experience.
Along the country’s coasts and lakes, menus often focus on smoked fish, shellfish, potatoes and hearty rye bread, while further north in Lapland, menus include reindeer, arctic char, wild berries and foraged mushrooms. Finland also has one of the strongest coffee cultures in the world (the country consistently ranks among the world’s highest in coffee consumption per capita). So it’s no surprise to see caffeinated beverages appearing alongside cardamom-flavored pastries.
But the experience is much more than just sitting down and eating a delicious meal. Visit Finland said that besides courses and tasting menus, travelers can also take a crash course in the Finnish way of life, including sauna sessions, nature tours and local sightseeing.
How to apply
Applications will be accepted worldwide through HaveSomeFinnish.com until June 9th (11:59 PM ET). Interested (and hungry) travelers can sign up for either the Coasts and Islands itinerary or the Lapland experience by posting a short introductory video on Instagram or TikTok explaining why they “want to eat Finnish food.” Entrants must use the hashtag #HaveSomeFinnish in their posts and also use the tag Visit Finland.
Selected participants will be announced on June 29th and will travel to Finland in September. For more information on the itinerary and application process, please visit the official Tasting Table website.