Traditional Finnish Cuisine
Traditional Finnish Cuisine
Traditional Finnish Cuisine
R6813SA
June 2014
DESCRIPTION
Date of the bachelor's thesis
Traditional Finnish cuisine. Organizing the event “Days of Finnish and Russian cuisines” in the res-
taurant Talli.
Abstract
National cuisine of a particular country – is a peculiar a reflection of its culture. Finnish cuisine as
well as the cuisine of other countries has its own distinctive features and characteristics.
The purpose of this thesis is to learn more about the traditional dishes of Southern, Central and
Northern Finland, their preparation and using. I was interested in the organization of the events like
days of Finnish and Russian traditional dishes. It includes research about promotion and temporary
of extension the boundaries of food choice in the Restaurant Talli in Mikkeli. One of the objectives of
the thesis is to analyse and survey customer satisfaction with respect, awareness and attitude to the
national cuisine and their preferences with the use of the questionnaire.
The theoretical part includes general information about the Finnish traditional cuisine and its compar-
ison with traditional Russian cuisine. Also the theoretical part provides information about the service,
the main trends in the field of catering, segmentation, competitiveness and profitability.
The practical part consists of the following steps: planning, organization, preparation, carrying out of
the event, a survey among the visitors of the restaurant. After the event I collected and analyses all the
data. I was also held a brief interview with the manager of the restaurant.
Received results have been summarized. The Traditional day’s event was carried out successfully
enough according to the profit and survey responses.
Also, suggestions were made to conduct such events in future for a large public awareness of the tra-
ditional cuisine.
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1
2 METHODS .................................................................................................................. 2
3 FINNISH CUISINE ..................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Foodstuffs ............................................................................................................. 4
3.1.1 Fish .............................................................................................................. 4
3.1.2 Meat and game ............................................................................................ 4
3.1.3 Berries and mushrooms ............................................................................... 5
3.1.4 Vegetables and fruit .................................................................................... 5
3.1.5 Beverages and water ................................................................................... 6
3.1.6 Milk and dairy products .............................................................................. 6
3.1.7 Bread and bakery products .......................................................................... 7
3.2 Diet ....................................................................................................................... 7
3.3 Culinary calendar, festive meals. ......................................................................... 8
3.4 Catering Finland's population today..................................................................... 8
3.5 Example of traditional Finnish dishes .................................................................. 9
4 RUSSIAN CUISINE ................................................................................................. 11
4.1 Russian dishes and their history ......................................................................... 11
4.2 The neighbourhood areas of Russia and Finland ............................................... 12
5 SERVICE INDUSTRY ............................................................................................. 12
5.1 Customer satisfaction ......................................................................................... 14
6 PROJECT .................................................................................................................. 15
6.1 Restaurant Talli .................................................................................................. 16
6.1.1 Customer segmentation ............................................................................. 17
6.1.2 Equipment ................................................................................................. 18
6.2 Promotion of the idea ......................................................................................... 18
6.3 Planning the menu .............................................................................................. 19
6.4 Preparation of the event...................................................................................... 21
6.5 Organizing the event .......................................................................................... 23
6.6 Interview with the manager of the restaurant ..................................................... 24
7 SURVEY ................................................................................................................... 24
7.1 Questionnaire for customer’s feedback .............................................................. 24
7.2 Analyses and statistics of the questionnaire ....................................................... 25
7.2.1 Question 1 ................................................................................................. 25
7.2.2 Question 2-6 .............................................................................................. 26
7.2.3 Questions 7, 8 ............................................................................................ 28
7.2.4 Question 9 ................................................................................................. 28
7.3 Profit ................................................................................................................... 29
8 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 30
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 31
APPENDIX
1 First floor plan of the restaurant Talli
2 Examples of the calculation for one Finnish dish
3 Examples of the calculation for one Russian dish
4 Survey
5 Photos of various dishes
1
1 INTRODUCTION
The success of every business aims to meet the desires and needs of its customers in goods
and services. Nowadays the restaurant business is a very popular destination, so many new
cafes and restaurants are opening. Consequently, competition arises. Every businessman
wants buyers to be interested exactly in his product. Thus in order to attract customers and
increase profit there appears new forms of service as well as new dishes in catering.
People acquire new eating habits. Interest in new dishes, trying new food and experiencing it
is good, but traditions of the country you live should be remembered. Food is an integral part
of each person and his history. People of all nationalities have their own eating habits and
traditional cuisine. They start to forget their true national traditions and move away from
them. This thesis should help to raise the national cuisine to the proper level of development.
The main goal of the following thesis is to get more knowledge about the National Finnish
cuisine, about its history and distinctive features. The topic was chosen to go deeper through
this kind of cuisine and to get experience in cooking techniques and development in the
future. Special attention in this thesis work is given to the dishes of Northern, Southern and
Western regions of Finland.
The second target of this bachelor’s thesis project is to create and organize an event “Days of
Finnish and Russian cuisines” in the restaurant Talli in Mikelli. This thesis uses methods of
research, observation and survey to collect the information about preferences and habits of
local customers in food. The task of diploma is to determine how much national cuisine is
popular nowadays.
To achieve the desired results, the thesis is divided into several parts.
The first part provides general information about the traditional cuisine of Finland, particular
in its Southern, Central and Northern regions. The content of this section gives some
information about the style of cuisine, the history, cooking techniques and examples of dishes.
The sources are Finnish cookbooks and online sources. The second part of the thesis includes
general information about the service industry. The third part of the thesis includes gives
information about the dishes of Russian cuisine. This is necessary because in the practical part
2
of the thesis Finnish and Russian menu dishes are used. There also arises the question about
comparison of similar dishes of these two cuisines. For writing this part Russian Cooking
books and encyclopedias, as well as personal experience were used. In the fourth part there is
a description of the preparation, drafting menu, advertising, purchasing, process of cooking
and serving process in the restaurant Talli. It includes basic information about the restaurant
Talli, its personnel and equipment. The last fifth part contains opinions and feedback from
visitors of the restaurant Talli about the traditional cuisine and proposed food and service.
This part provides information and results of the survey. In conclusion, the findings of the
work are presented.
2 METHODS
This paragraph is based on experience of the lessons of Kushcheva N., Basics of Research and
Development Work, 2013. For writing this thesis methods of research and observation were
used. Method of research is a complex of theoretical and empirical methods. The essence of
this method is to determine the goals and objectives subject or object, the ways of observa-
tion, recording the required data, the processing of the information received. In this work the
observation can be described as a method of collecting social information through direct study
of human behaviour in the submitted conditions. It is necessary to survey among the custom-
ers in the restaurant Talli about their preferences in food. Communicating with people is a
very important element of any survey. Analysis of results of this survey helped to understand
people’s position in different questions. Literature review from different sources helped to
write the theoretical part of the thesis and to know more new information. Resources that
were used were in English and Russian language. Some Finnish Cooking books with language
translation also are used. By means of an interview with the manager of the restaurant have
been clarified necessary things. Using Excel the cost and weight of ingredients were calculat-
ed. All of the above methods are used in this work.
3 FINNISH CUISINE
Baltic Sea and its gulfs wash the shores of the country. Finland is situated in northern Europe
and has borders with Sweden and Russia. These two countries, as well as the other Nordic
countries affected on the development of the Finnish food culture. Major Russian features that
are presented in the Finnish cuisine are pickles, sauerkraut, beef stroganoff and pancakes. As
in Russia in Finland pancakes with caviar are becoming increasingly popular. Meatballs and
cutlets came from Sweden. Despite the impact of foreign cuisines, Finnish cuisine has re-
tained its own identity. Of course, Finland has a variety of dishes that were ”born” in this
country. Nowadays Finland's national dishes are rarely encountered in restaurants of other
countries. Finland is a very peaceful country in which live is pleasant. Finnish cuisine has
significant local differences: Western (Tornio-Muonio), Central (Ounasjoki - Kemijoki) and
district-Enontekie Utsjoki. In every region of the country people prepare their traditional
dishes, or there are some differences in the preparation of the same recipes. (Uusvirta 1982.)
1. Historical heritage, which was formed under the influence of harsh environmental
conditions. This is noticeable in every dish.
2. Predilection for simple and hearty "home cooking."
Despite the cold climate and the absence of southern vegetation, Finnish food is amazingly
diverse. For Finnish cooking main characteristic are flavor, freshness and purity of the starting
materials. The first edition of the cookbook in Finnish language was published in 1849. Finn-
ish recipes are very unusual. In one dish cooks can simultaneously combine both different
ingredients: meat and fish. This confirms the antiquity of Finnish cuisine, when there was no
difference between hunting and fishing. In Finland, the chefs use a lot of spices. There is a
feeling that this is not the Northern country, but some kind of an Eastern country. (Pokhlebkin
1982, - 72.)
As mentioned above, natural conditions in Finland are cold and not acceptable for many
greenhouse plants, so people had a limited variety of foods. They had to invent a variety of
interesting recipes from raw materials available. Nowadays it is not so, the world is develop-
ing and many foreign products have become easily available. In Finland local products are
changing from season to season. Finns found such processing methods that differ sharply
4
from other national cuisine techniques in using the same product. For example, in Finnish
cuisine a pearl barley is soaked in milk or curdled milk before cooking. This processing gives
a pleasant taste for porridge. Instead of frying Finns prefer to stew meat or fish. That is why
this cuisine is considered dietary. Many products help to improve health. Various studies have
shown that nutrition in Finland is at the highest international level. Thus, the Finnish national
cuisine demonstrates that not only available products constitute the cuisine of the country, but
also the technology of their preparation. (Tanttu 2007, 6 - 9.)
3.1 Foodstuffs
Finland has developed many food industries. This section covers items such as fish, meat,
poultry, dairy products, beverages, bakery products. The following sections are written using
the method of literature review.
3.1.1 Fish
Due to the abundance of marine waters and lakes fishing is very developed in Finland. Hence
hearty cooked fish dishes has become a tradition and it is a feature of Finnish cuisine. Numer-
ous variations of fish dishes have become a “business card” of Finland. Following fish species
have circulated: salmon, rainbow trout, Finnish cod, pike and herring, as well as bass and
multicolour small cod. In any restaurant chefs can cook fish in many different ways. It could
be fresh, smoked, dried, fried fish. In Finland chefs know how to cook delicious dish with
fish. It is used for salads, main dishes, casseroles, soups. Salad "rosolli", fish pie from unleav-
ened dough, milk soups with salmon named “lohikeitto and kalakeitto" are particularly popu-
lar. Besides of fish on sale caviar is supplied. There are some types of caviar such as salmon
caviar, caviar trout, whitefish roe caviar, caviar of freshwater fish (pike, perch, and walleye)
and others. Due to high demand, the price for caviar remains quite high. There is unusual way
of cooking caviar. It is mixed with sour cream and onions and served in a deep plate. (Tanttu
2007, 59 - 77.)
In preparation of the first and second courses Finns use not only fish, but different kinds of
meat too. In many dishes there is a combination of three kinds of meat: beef, lamb, pork. On a
par with home livestock the slaughter of game occurs. In northern Finland in the Lapland re-
gion residents eat venison every day. Dishes of venison are delicious and easy to prepare out.
Of the meat dishes there can be distinguished national stew of sliced venison, served with
mashed potatoes and lingonberry or poured overhead of cloudberry jam. From goose liver it is
traditional to make a soft pate, which is served on a piece of loaf with jam or smetana with
onions. (Uusvirta 1982, 42-60.)
In Finland people use a variety of gifts of nature food in cooking. This is the country of ber-
ries and mushrooms. Here cooks prepare delicious blueberry pies and a variety of dishes with
the addition of mushrooms. Berries such as lingberries and cranberry are actively used as in-
gredients for sauces for meat dishes and game. For example, pickled cranberries served with
traditional cereal sausage rice and pearl barley. Berries and mushrooms markets are organized
on city squares in the summer and autumn periods. Among the berries the most common are
strawberries, cloudberries, raspberries, cranberries and sea-buckthorn. The most popular dish-
es of them are: jelly, cereal berry, berry salads, jellies, frozen mashed potatoes, pies and
soups. Cloudberry jam has a great fame in Europe. The most popular mushrooms are chante-
relles and morels (Gyromitra esculenta), which is used to make excellent ragout (Finnish
korvasienimuhennos). White mushrooms and champignons are used for making creamy soups
and sauces. There are innumerous forests in Finland. Tourists come to Finland to wander
through the woods and gather some berries and mushrooms. Everything is environmentally
sound. (Tanttu 2007, 95 – 93.)
Vegetables and fruit from Finland have good quality, they correspond the EU standards.
Leader of fruit is apple. Apple trees grow well in this region. It is added to salads, desserts,
main dishes, drinks. Finnish apple can be eaten uncleansed, because chemicals or wax are not
used to reduce spoilage. Finland has a fairly highly developed gardening, but most of the fruit
is imported from abroad. A lot of attention is paid to methods of production, growth, breeding
6
of new species, protection, storage, freezing and quality of fruit crops. A lot of researches on
this topic have been conducted every year. (Food from Finland 2012.)
Finnish vegetables are available all year long. Products, which are mainly grown here, are
cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and lettuce. They are grown in greenhouses. Alko sprouts of
all kinds, beets, turnips and Jerusalem artichokes are grown. One of the dishes is warm sauer-
kraut, which is used as a side dish to many main dishes. Vegetables are usually baked or
steamed to preserve nutrients in them as much as possible. (Penfield Books copyright 2002,
55-60.)
The most popular drinks in Finland are beer and coffee. Finns prefer drinking coffee more
than tea. Coffee has become an integral part of the diet in Finland. Coffee is appropriate at
any time of day. Specific national alcoholic product is a Finnish liqueur infused on the wild
berries. Beer is appropriate for evenings or weekends. Alcoholic beverages are sold only in
specialized stores named «Alco». Like everywhere else people here drink clean water, juices,
and concentrated juices. The water in the water supply networks in Finland is clean and pota-
ble. So here the tap water can be drunk without danger. (Food from Finland 2012)
Milk is one of the most consumed beverages in the diet of local citizens. All schoolchildren
should drink milk every day. There is milk without lactose and with minimal content, as well
as different fat content. Lactose-free milk has a sweet taste. In all restaurants chefs also use
dairy products without lactose content in them for cooking, this is due to a large number of
people with disorders of the digestive tract and the perception of ordinary milk. It is also used
in the preparation of various broths, soups, stews and puddings. It is to mention the traditional
Lappish cheese. This cheese is baked in the oven in the shape of a cake, so it has a brown sur-
face. It has quite a soft texture and a sweet taste. It is served with cloudberry jam. Finland is
one of the largest suppliers of dairy products in Northern Europe. A huge variety of yoghurts,
kefirs, butter, cheeses are produced here. It is impossible to imagine a grocery market in Eu-
rope without dairy products of “Valio” brand. (Food from Finland 2012.)
7
Finnish cuisine is impossible to imagine without fresh baked bread. Finns bake different types
of bread from all kinds of flour: white, black, gray, corn, rye, wheat and so on. In bakery there
is a noticeable difference between the western and eastern Finland. In Southern Finland bread
should always be soft. To the east from Lappeenranta they bake a sweet pretzel for special
occasions. Also various cakes, cookies and biscuits are baked all around the country. For ex-
ample, traditional wicket with rice and egg and yeast rolls called “the pulla”. The rye loaf
with a hole in the center is getting more popularity. Interesting dishes are potato pancakes
named “perunarieska” that are served as a cold appetizer to raw red fish. There is also an in-
teresting sweet pastry. For example, berry pies, which are prepared with the sugary or quark
dough. All kinds of berries that grow in the forests of Finland can be filling for these cakes.
The top of cakes are covered with a cream or whipped cream. As in Russia in Finland there
pancakes are baked. In these two countries pancakes are different in their ingredients. Finns
use for their preparation rye flour (Finnish sultsina) and serve pancakes with cream, cinnamon
sugar and jam. (Mikkelinlahiruokatori.fi)
3.2 Diet
Finns’ working day begins early in the morning and ends after six o'clock. They prefer por-
ridge or muesli with milk for breakfast. In Finland people like to cook porridge from various
cereals and cereal dishes. Many people drink a cup of coffee for breakfast and eat a sandwich.
At lunchtime they tend to eat one dish. Most often it is a soup. There is also buffet served in
the restaurant in lunchtime. For lunch, they eat bread with butter and drink milk. At 14.00
they have time to drink tea/coffee. After a working day Finns have supper at home, because
8
most restaurants are already closed, this is clearly seen in small towns. (This section is written
based on the mode of restaurants in Mikkeli).
In Finland, as in other countries of the world, there are public holidays and special meals,
which are cooked in those days. For example, for Easter Finns prepare “Mämmi” - a thick
porridge made of black malt, rye flour, water and salt, seasoned with cream and sugar. In July
harvest season for chanterelle mushrooms starts, as well as catching cancers occur. House-
wives cook pies with some berries. National blueberry pie (for SOUTH Savo) made from rye
flour. In late summer and early autumn the hunt of small game (rabbits, ducks) and gathering
cowberry and cranberry begins. In October the country fish fairs are organized all around
county when the “queen” is a herring, especially the smoked one. (Finnish Touches: Recipes
& Traditions 2002.)
Top New Year's holiday celebrations begin in 1-2 months in advance. At Christmas Finns
traditionally serve baked ham or turkey; casseroles of turnips, rutabagas, carrots and potatoes;
herring with different sauces and vinaigrette. Desserts in Christmas time are some cakes, gin-
gerbread with cinnamon, gingerbread houses and hot beverage “Glögi”. This drink came to
Finland from Sweden. (Tanttu 2007, 108 – 119). This product can be made from red or white
wine and berry juices. The dish called “fish-cock” (Finnish Kalakukko) has a widely known,
including outside their country. This cake of unleavened rye dough, the filling is made of ba-
con and fish. Kalakukko can be served at Christmas and other holidays too. In February chefs
and housewives traditionally make special cake. It consists of milled cookies, sour cream and
jam. Also on various events accepted to cook soups from different ingredients. Guests always
bring different casseroles and cakes for a festive table. Without a doubt, a classic holiday meal
is a Karelian wicket with rice, butter and chopped egg. It is like a jewel of a celebratory table.
(Counties and Their Cultures. Finland 2014.)
Currently, traditional Finnish cuisine is not very popular among the population. Individual
institutions, which serve only traditional cuisine, practically are founded only in tourist areas.
9
In the menu of a respectable restaurant people can find a couple of traditional dishes. Many
traditional dishes have been also are modified and become more like the European dishes.
Mixing in one dish incongruous of products is still one of the main ways of cooking in restau-
rants and cafes. (Haaja, Jesse 2012)
This paragraph is based on my own observations and communicating with people living in
different cities in Finland. On the streets of cities the American fast food (burgers), Italian
food (noodles and pizza), Asian (sushi, noodles and kebabs) dominate. Since this is a quick
and easy way to eat. Fast food here may include Finnish features, such as kebabs with deer
meat. In supermarkets many ready-made frozen food, bread and different types of content are
sold, as well as the astounding variety of milk and dairy products. Today in Finland nonfat
and dry kinds of milk have taken the place of whole milk. Among young people skim milk
has a great demand as well as other products with reduced fat content. The older generation
adheres of proper nutrition. The biggest part of catering Finnish residential areas consists of
modern European food.
This part presents the most popular dishes from the Finnish national cuisine. During a search
for recipes of dishes through Finnish Cook Book, various internet sites and restaurant chefs’
councils were used. (Uusivirta 1982; Previdi 1995.)
Fish dishes:
Soups:
10
Meat dishes:
Bakery:
• Mustamakkara - grill pudding special dish in Tampere, usually is served with cranber-
ries
• Karjalan piirakat - Karelian wicket of rye dough stuffed with rice or mashed potatoes.
It is served like a hot dish with a mixture of hard-boiled eggs and butter.
• Pancakes with cloudberries
• Rättänä - traditional blueberry pie from province of South Savo
Desserts:
Beverages:
• Beer. The most famous brand is Lapin Kulta (Gold of Lapland) and Koff (the oldest
brewery).
• Homebrew - kotikalha (composition: water, maltose, sugar, yeast, containing a small
amount of alcohol)
• Vodka “Finland” (appeared in 1970)
• Liqueur made from cloudberries – Lakka. Lingonberry liqueur – puolukkalikööri.
Cranberry liqueur – karpalolikoori. Liquor from arctic brambles (rare berries, resem-
bling strawberries)
• Finnish champagne (of yellow currant and gooseberry one) - Kaveljeeri & Elysee.
4 RUSSIAN CUISINE
Russia is a very big country and has a long tradition. Today it is home for more than 180 na-
tionalities. Therefore, there is its own particular cooking in every corner of this country. There
are some dishes that are an integral part of Russian history, which create the image of tradi-
tional Russian cuisine. (Kovalev 1990, 69 – 90.)
As mentioned above Russia has many regions with rich and diverse nature and their own fea-
tures of cooking. Russian cuisine is based on customs, its meals are simple and does not re-
quire a lot of frills. Church has had a great influence on the cuisine. Many days in the year are
meatless. Table should be modest, some products are forbidden to use.
The Russian government pays great attention to agriculture. Cereals, vegetables and fruit form
the basis of nutrition. Products such as turnips, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, apples, pears
have the greatest distribution. Since the second half of the XIX century potatoes occupy the
leading role in cooking. Due to the numerous forests and fields, people eat a lot of various
berries and mushrooms. Cooking soups, dishes from cereals and pastries are an integral part
of Russian food culture. (Kostomarov 1868, 74.)
Traditional and most famous are such dishes as cabbage soup, borsch, rossolnik, soljanka,
ukha, okroshka, sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, cucumbers and herring. The most popular
12
desserts are pancakes, buns, brushwood fritters and soaked apples, jelly. Dairy meals such as
cottage cheese and cheese cakes as well as soups are filled with smetana. (Sutkin & Sutkina
2011, 262.)
As in Finland, in Russia there are many rivers and lakes. Therefore, fishing plays an important
role in the lives of citizens. Fish is steamed, grilled, boiled, stewed, baked. Caviar has always
been a special delicacy. Earlier in every village house people held domestic cattle and poultry.
Most meals are cooked in the village oven.
Russia is a neighbour for different countries. There was a mixture of cultural values that are
firmly rooted in the Russian tradition. Currently, half of traditional dishes are included in the
daily food intake of Russians. People relate to posts in food not so serious as before. Many
products become available and dishes become more diverse. There were changes in restaurant
business. In many restaurants and cafes foreign cuisine dominates, but there are also those
which specialize in the traditional Russian cuisine. Thus, the traditional Russian cuisine is
more home-made than a restaurant-served food. In general Russian cuisine has also under-
gone changes and innovations, but retained its traditional features.
Finland and Russia have a long common history. Over the long years of cooperation in the
sphere of catering certain mutually used cooking recipes were formed. Therefore, traditional
Russian cuisine has been taken for the practical part of the thesis. Since it is two neighboring
countries, preferences of people in their selection of food are similar. Long term communica-
tion allowed learning more about different types of cooking and shared experiences. At pre-
sent a large number of Russian people, leave and come to vacation every weekend. For exam-
ple, many Russian students are studying in Mikkeli.Comparison of two different, but at the
same time similar cuisines is interesting and relevant. Purpose of this is to attract more cus-
tomers of different nationalities. (Krivtsov 2009.)
5 SERVICE INDUSTRY
Catering service - it is called totality of actions that the restaurant staff or other catering estab-
lishments perform with a guest who uses the services of this company (ordering meals or lei-
13
sure activities). Quality of services should satisfy the needs of the guest. Along with this ca-
tering services must meet the safety requirements. Service must meet the requirements of aes-
thetics. This means that the interior of the restaurant should be harmonious and meet the
needs of consumers. Service industry is focused on providing services to the consumer. Cur-
rently it is developing rapidly. It has a significant impact on aspects of life of people. Manag-
ers of enterprises and the service staff are responsible for the quality of services, development,
standards compliance services institutions. The most common leisure services include music
service organization and concerts. (Balashova 2008, 104-108.)
• Nutrition
• Production of dishes
• Sales
• Organization of services (including leisure)
• Other services
You need to remember that the quality of customer service often consists of trifles. All these
rules are developed and tested in practice, tailored to the needs of buyers. Adhering to them in
all cases a restaurant can be sure that the guest will return to us again and again. It is the main
aim when working with clients. The buyer must be always in the spotlight of the waiter.
(Johnson, Herrmann 2008, - 224.)
Related to service in the restaurant, cafe, bar, coffee shop, club - the principles are the same:
According to Statistics Finland, turnover in service industries grew by 1.3 per cent from No-
vember to January from the corresponding time period of the year before. One year previous-
ly, it grew by 2.2 per cent from the corresponding period. (Statistics Finland 2013.)
An important element is to preserve the health and psychic well-being with the help of well-
managed food services. Finland gained fame for a well-organized system of public catering.
There are two major problems in dealing with clients of catering service: to attract and to
keep. To attract customers, it is necessary to interest them. Internal and external advertising
plays an important role. There to keep the guests service must to satisfy their needs. Visitors
appreciate the institution of a few basic items, which determine customer satisfaction:
• Kitchen (dishes)
• Bar (drinks)
• Interior
• Entertainment program (if available)
• Price policy
• Quality of service
(Karnauhova & Krakovsakaya 2012, 9 – 30.)
Customer satisfaction is the priori goal for any company, which works with people. It is the
key to higher revenue. The potential success of the event depends on it. Buyer should be satis-
15
fied with all, the service, the quality of food, etc. The first impression is very important. It is
much more difficult to correct the impression than initially achieve the desired result. (Kotler
2010.) Most customers mentions about the negative experience of the service rather than
about the positive. Employees of the restaurant must make the maximum effort so the client
leaves the place with a positive opinion. Satisfied customers return again and again. They are
also the source “free advertisement” to attract new visitors.
To attract new customers is much harder and more expensive than to keep “old” ones. Regu-
lar customers provide the restaurant a steady income, so always it is needed to pay due atten-
tion to them. They are not so affected by competition as new customers. Today many compa-
nies have their own strategies, loyalty programs to attract and retain customers. Customer’s
satisfaction should exceed their expectations. This poses a great influence on the development
of the company. (Thompson 2013.)
6 PROJECT
The practical part of my bachelor thesis is about consisted of the organization of Finnish and
Russian day’s event in the Restaurant Talli. Organization of the project is the totality of pro-
cesses or actions that lead to the formation the interrelation between the various parts of it and
to receive the desired result. (Big Soviet Encyclopedia 1978.) The targets of this part of the
work are described below.
Target:
Timetable:
6th of March- recipes for menu’s suggestion, calculate in program “Jamix” (for Hölttä Merja)
10th of March- provision of advertising for the restaurant “Talli”
11th of March-ordering products
17th of March- preparing for Finnish and Russian days
18th of March- providing a Finnish day in “Talli”
19th of March- providing a Russian day in “Talli”
This paragraph is based on information that has been gained while working in the restaurant
Talli in 2013-2014. Information was provided by the restaurant manager and staff. Restaurant
Talli is located in the Campus area of Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences. The restaurant
occupies a separate building (former stables). It is a spacious brick building. The restaurant is
open for visitors from Monday to Friday every week from 11 am to 3 pm. The restaurant has
its own website. The university advertises the restaurant via brochures, flyers and business
cards.
Atmosphere in the restaurant is calm. Interior is much of a Scandinavian style. The basic ma-
terials of interior are wood and stone. It has big windows on the first floor. For serving tables
personnel use napkins, paper tablecloths, glasses and utensils. The table decor elements, such
as flowers in the daytime (it depends of season) and candles in the evening, must be present
on the table always.
The menu of the restaurant Talli is based on Scandinavian cuisine, but they also use their own
recipes. Finland is one of the Scandinavian countries, thus food choice is obvious. These dish-
es are simple to prepare. Products are easily combined to each other. Dishes can be modified
depending on seasonal products. Restaurant Talli serves guests on two systems: buffet (lunch-
time, banquets) and A ’la carte. Customer can order a personalized meal, too. The bar is open
every day during the working hours of the restaurant. There are also organized evenings for a
17
group of people and served coffee and cakes in the office building Mikpoli. Cycle of the menu
is 6 weeks. The cost of lunch for customers is 10 euro and 8,20 euro for staff and students of
the university. The standard menu must include:
• 3 kinds of salad
• 1 kind of soup
• 2 types of garnish
• 2 types of main course
• 1 kind of dessert
• 2 types of bread
• Oil, sauces, dips, nuts, fried onions, butter
• Coffee/tea
All restaurant meals are made from products that do not contain lactose. The main cook
makes inventory and purchase 1-2 times per week, as required. Meals that do not contain glu-
ten (gluten-free diet), milk (milk-free diet), and products of animal origin (vegetarian diet) can
be made. Most of the products is ordered from local producers and Finnish partners, such as:
Ahdesalon maatila (meat), Coja Fishing (fish), Valio (milk products), Hirvosen Sienimö
(mushrooms), Mikkelin Vihannes Oy (vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, products from
meat, fish, products from fish), Atria, Wihuri Metro, PaTu. (Restaurant Talli’s Handbook
2012-2013.)
My predegree practice was carried out in the restaurant Talli, therefore this place was chosen
to have an event “Days of Finnish and Russian Cuisines”. It was coordinated with supervisor
of this work and restaurant manager.
Approximately 80-100 customers come every day for lunch to the restaurant Talli. The main
audience of the restaurant are students and teachers of Mikkeli University of Applied Scienc-
es, as well as residents of the city. The restaurant often organizes meetings for office workers.
Age of clients varies. The age of target group is 20 to 50 years with an average income level.
18
The survey submitted in section 6.1 showed that 80% of surveyed visitors of the restaurant are
Finns, 10% - Russian, the remaining 10% of the visitors belong to other countries.
6.1.2 Equipment
The entire range of equipment, used in the kitchen of the restaurant Talli is regularly updated
and replenished. The main supplier is the company “METOS”. The main feature of the
equipment in the restaurant is their versatility. Most of the samples are multifunctional; they
have affordable and easily comprehensive software, energy and water-saving, and easy to use
and clean. Also the following kitchen tools are used: cutting tables, boards, knives, cutlery,
glassware (glass, metal, ceramic), pans, pots, etc. For cooking dishes in time of the event
equipment was used which is located in two rooms: training kitchen and restaurant kitchen.
Detailed plan of the kitchen is in the appendix 1. (Tuovinen 2013.)
Plan to create advertisements of the events to attract visitors consists of the following steps:
View of promotional flyer was designed by me. Advertising was organized by the marketing
department of the restaurant. Leaflets were attached to the university website, social network-
ing site (Facebook) and to the information stands in the university buildings.
Drawing up the menu is one of the main stages of the event. Customer satisfaction will de-
pend on correct composing of the menu. Dishes in the menu should interest a buyer. Well-
designed and literate menu attracts more customers and leaves a positive impression, which
subsequently can bring success to your business.
The lunchtime menu for each day of my event was completely planned by me. All recipes of
dishes were taken from the collections of recipes, as well as electronic cook books. For two
days of the Finnish and Russian traditional cuisine dishes were presented as similar in compo-
sition of ingredients as well as various meals. In each dish the following items are indicated:
• MF - milk free
• LF - lactose free,
20
• LL - low lactose
• GF - gluten free
• V - vegetarian
These diet notes help customers to choose the suitable meal for themselves. (Standard menu
of the restaurant Talli’s 2014.) Drafting the menu included a selection of recipes of salads,
soups, main courses and desserts, which will be served during the event. It was agreed by
manager of the Restaurant Talli, when the menu list for 2 days was ready. The names of all
dishes are in tables 1 and 2.
starch
(Uusivirta 1982; Previdi 1995; Haaja, Jesse 2012.)
Usually 80-100 customers visit the restaurant Talli at lunchtime. There are also orders for
individual groups of people. For Finnish day staff had to prepare meals for 80 customers plus
5 persons (personal order). In Russian day also had to prepare meals to 80 customers, and also
there was a separate order for 72 participants. Therefore, in the second day of the event it was
cooked twice more meals than on the first day.
In developing the menu the number of grams of the meals for 1 person had been calculated.
Approximate weight of one portion of each dish is presented in table 3
The cost of lunch at the restaurant is 10 euro for customers and 8,20 euro for students and
university staff. The price of each dish also included the tax - 14%. During carrying out of this
event the price of lunch did not change. Revenue is divided into three components:
costs of the acquisition of goods should be not more than 33% of the profits per lunch;
another 33% go to the staff salaries and other expenses;
the remaining 33% - it is the restaurant’s profit.
10 euros - (33%+33%) = 3,3 euro - the price, which was spend on products for one portion,
including the VAT. Without VAT the cost of expenses on products is 2,89 euro.
23
80 customers * 3,3 euro = 264 euro (including the VAT) - roughly amount of money that res-
taurant must spent on order of products for the lunchtime in one day without extra orders.
Without VAT the cost of expenses is 231,2 euro.
There were two days of the traditional cuisine. To calculate the costs, I had received the fol-
lowing figures:
237 customers * 3,3 euro = 782,1 euro (without VAT - 685 euro) - the money resources,
which was spent to the event named “Days of Finnish and Russian traditional Cuisines”. But
this amount isn’t accurate, because the restaurant had some of the necessary ingredients in
stock at the time of ordering products.
The manager and the main cook of the restaurant constituted and sent the purchasing sheet to
suppliers. Order of products is done a week before the upcoming event. This is done in this
period of time to be sure that products come at the appointed time and will be fresh. One
product was brought from Russia, because it isn’t sold in Finland. It was buckwheat porridge.
All other products were delivered on time in the day of preparation (17/03/14). It was in the
proper quantity and quality.
On the day of preparation responsibilities were also distributed among the kitchen staff that is,
who are preparing which dishes. Desserts and one salad without dressing for the following
day were prepared beforehand. Raw main meals were made beforehand too. That gave more
time to prepare other meals on the next day.
The event “Days of Finnish and Russian cuisines” was held during a regular working day of
the restaurant Talli. 18/03/2014 –Finish traditional cuisine; 19/03/2014 – Russian traditional
cuisine. It was important to introduce the menu for staff and organize the workflow before
starting the event. It included distribution of work between the staff, checking availability of
necessary products, etc. The situation in the kitchen and the dining room was calm. Each par-
ticipant of the event engaged in their job.
24
The menu of lunch was presented in two languages: English and Finnish. All meals were
served at the buffet in due time. Dishes were replaced in time. Customers were interested in
components of some dishes. Both days of the traditional cuisine went well.
Interview with the manager of the restaurant Talli took place after the event. Before the event
manager approved the idea and holding the event “Days of Finnish and Russian cuisines”. She
was asked a few questions about the event. Manager said that the event was quite successful
and she liked almost everything. She noted that it would be better add more spices to Finnish
meatballs. Perhaps the restaurant will use presented national dishes in the future. Manager
reported that 1000€ is a normal profit for lunch time in one day, but it is not enough for good
further work of the restaurant. Therefore they are engaged in selling coffee, tea, beer, special
orders for a large number of customers, take-out orders for Mikpoli. In general the manager
gave a positive assessment of the event.
7 SURVEY
Survey was conducted among visitors of the restaurant Talli. Questionnaires were put on the
table in the hall. Survey was performed directly on the paper version. In this restaurant 2 days
25
of traditional cuisine was arranged. Finnish cuisine and Russian cuisines have been selected
for the event. The second cuisine was chosen because Finland and Russia are large trading
partners and many Russian people work and live in Finland. Questionnaires included simple
questions, such as whether: customers are satisfied with quantity and quality of food, service,
and choice of food and so on. Task of this organization is to find out people's preferences in
food, their habits, and their knowledge about the features of traditional cuisine. Example of
questionnaire is in appendix 4.
These statistics are needed for the restaurant Talli to determine various items of its work. It
could help make more favourable changes in restaurant. Statistics of customers’ answers on
the questions is listed below.
7.2.1 Question 1
The results on attendance of the restaurant are present in diagram 1. Most buyers visit the res-
taurant Talli in lunchtime every day. Hence they are frequent visitors who bring a steady in-
come.
DIAGRAM 1. Attendance
26
Buyers were asked to rate the importance of and their satisfaction with various services in the
restaurant. Answers of visitors are presented in table 4.
1 - not important
2 - is not critical
3 - needs attention
4 - important
5 - very important
1 - frustrated
2 - satisfied is not enough
3 – satisfactorily/ neutrally
4 - satisfied
5 - very satisfied
importance satisfaction
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
0 3 8 7 2 décor, atmosphere 0 0 3 4 12
1 0 8 16 6 service 0 0 8 15 7
0 0 17 6 3 value for money 1 0 7 17 4
taste and quality of
0 0 1 8 20 1 0 8 15 6
food
0 0 2 2 12 cleanliness 1 0 1 9 15
27
The obtained results of customer survey were processed, as well as were made the necessary
calculations. Points (from 1 to 5) were multiplied by the number of votes for a particular item,
then all expressions are summarized. For example calculation of satisfaction of service:
These data are in table 5. On the basis of it the diagram 2 has been constructed. Diagram 2
shows the ratio of the importance and satisfaction of customers in different items.
On the diagram 2, we can see that the taste and quality of food are the most important for cus-
tomers and the smallest meaning have atmosphere and decoration. Visitors are approximately
identically pleased with all items. It should be noted that the importance of eating is more than
the satisfaction gained from this.
customer's opinion
160
140
120
100
80
60 impotance
40
satisfaction
20
0
décor, service taste and value cleanliness
atmoshere quality of for money
food
7.2.3 Questions 7, 8
The majority of respondents have not tried new dishes; others noted the novelty of Russian
dishes.
Preferences of people in the national cuisine are submitted in the diagram 3. The survey was
conducted in the Finnish restaurant, where the overwhelming numbers of customers are Finns.
However according to the survey, Italian cuisine had the greatest result. Most likely this is due
to the fact that it is easy to prepare and it is more accessible for the most of the population.
This shows that the Finnish food isn’t a priority in Mikkeli. After talking with the customers I
concluded that they are aware of the traditional Finnish cuisine, but not enough. Also in a
choice of food, most of the respondents give their preference to foreign cuisine, rather than
their own.
Italian
6%
Finnish
7%
7% 33% Asian
8% Mexican
Greek
3% 17% American
13%
3% Russian
3%
Spanish
Georgian
7.2.4 Question 9
The wishes of customers to improve the performance of the restaurant are presented in dia-
gram 4. In general visitors are satisfied with the work of the restaurant and with the event, but
basically they required to improve service and food quality (for example, people would prefer
having Finnish tomatoes than the Spanish, which are used for cooking more often). Some
customers of the restaurant said that it would be nice to conduct such days of traditional cui-
sine.
29
nothing
smth else
food quality
service quality
DIAGRAM 4. Suggestions
7.3 Profit
Profit - it is the difference between the sales proceeds and total costs and expenses of the en-
terprise. (Lopatnikov 2003, – 350.) Profit was calculated for the past events. Table 6 provides
information about the cost of meals during lunchtime. 237 visitors came in the two day event
at the restaurant. Total revenue per lunchtime turned out 2182,2 €, without vat this sum is
1876,7€. It’s a normal profit for lunch time (section 5.6). Total income for the two days, in-
cluding coffee and various other orders amounted 6861,3 €. Amount of the proceeds was
enough to cover all costs. The net profit of the restaurant after deducting all expenses and tax
was 638 euro.
TABLE 6. Prices
8 CONCLUSION
Finnish national cuisine is a huge story that is impossible to reach at all. It is the one of Scan-
dinavian countries, thus food choice is obvious. These dishes are simple to prepare. Products
are easily combined with each other. Traditional Finnish cuisine combines of incongruous
things. These combinations are very tasty and unusual. Here meat and fish are connected in
one dish. Such dishes as game dishes with dressing from berries or milk soups with fish are
prepared there. The sophistication of these dishes amazes. The Finnish national cuisine
demonstrates that the cuisine of the country constitutes not only available products, but also
the technology of their preparation. Only environmentally friendly products are used. Meals
are prepared in various ways, in some of the most common ways of cooking - baking and
steaming. Meals of the same products as in the rest of the world are prepared differently there.
For example, Lapland cheese is fried and served with cloudberry jam. The main dish on the
Finnish table is fish with many variations of cooking. This is due to the natural environment:
many rivers and lakes.
It was very exciting to have the event “Days of Finnish and Russian Cuisines”. Using the
methods of research and observation a survey among the visitors was carried out. Making it
was interesting and hard. Conducting the survey was successful. Questionnaire was drafted in
English language; therefore not all visitors were able to give their answers. The research re-
vealed that consumers were fairly satisfied with visit to the restaurant Talli. Buyers prefer
eating foreign cuisine, but they were pleased to eat the traditional Finnish cuisine more often
too. Most of the surveyed customers talked about improving the quality of the service. Now
the management of the restaurant is thinking about introducing new loyalty programs for their
customers. Extension of the range of the menu would be a good solution to attract new visi-
tors. All research results will also be sent to the restaurant manager.
Today Finnish traditional cuisine is not so popular among young people. Many citizens prefer
foreign food. People prefer innovation and new interpretations of old dishes. At home and on
holidays Finns always prepare traditional dishes such as wicket with rice, blueberry pie and
fish pie. They honor their traditions. Unfortunately Finnish cuisine does not have sufficient
development abroad. The quality of goods and services attracts new partners in the foodser-
vice industry. Dairy products by company “Valio” have worldwide fame.
31
Doing this work, I learned a lot of new interesting information for myself. To try the national
Finnish cuisine, you need to come to this country. Finnish dishes are like nothing on earth,
and understand the nature of Finland you to fully definitely need to try them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hölttä, Merja 2014. Interview 19.03.2014. Days of Finnish and Rusian cuisines. Talli’s res-
taurant manager.
Johnson, M. & Herrmann, A. 2008. Customer Orientation - a key factor in the success of the
enterprise. Problems of the theory and practice of management.
Karnauhova, V. & Krakovskaya, T. 2012. Service activities. Rostov: publishing center ”Mar-
ta”.
Kostomarov, Nikolai 1868. Essay on domestic life and manners the Great Russian people in
the XVI and XVII centuries. Moscow.
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Kotler, Philip, Bowen, T John, Markens, C. James, 2010. Marketing for Hospitality and Tour-
ism. Academic Internet Publisher.
Kushcheva, Natalia 2013. Lectures from Selling and Customer Relationship Management. .
Lectures from Basics of Research and Development Work. Mikkeli University of Applied
Sciences.
Rautiainen, Teija 2012. Lectures from Basics of Research and Development Work. Mikkeli
University of Applied Sciences.
Syutkina, Olga & Syutkin, Pavel 2011. True Stories of Russian cuisine. PDF document.
http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4142782 Updated 2012. Referred 25.04.2014.
Tanttu, Anna-Maija 2007. Northern Flavours. Food from Finland. Keuruu Finland. Otava.
Thompson, Lynne 2013. Lessons of Services Skills. Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences.
Tuovinen, Tiina 2013. Lessons of Equipment Technology in Service Industries. Mikkeli Uni-
versity of Applied Sciences.
Uusivirta, Phillka 1982. National Finnish Cuisine. (Translated Pokhlebkin. Light Food Indus-
try.) PDF document. http://bookiland.com.ua/kulinaria/3059-hilkka-uusivirta-finskaya-
nacionalnaya-kuhnya-1982.html Updated 2011. Referred 16.05.2014.
APPENPIX 1
First floor plan of the restaurant Talli.
APPENPIX 2
Appendix on several pages
Examples of the calculation of Finnish dishes.
How to make:
Mix flour, sugar and baking powder (20 tsp).
Add the softened butter and knead the dough.
In a baking form spread the dough with your fingers tightly clutching to the edges and bottom of the baking form.
Add blueberries to sugar and starch (20 tablespoons).
Put the mixture into the mold on top of the dough.
Roll out of the remaining dough and cover them cakes .
Bake in the oven for one hour at 200C.
Serve with creamy sauce
Name of Cook date Name of the komponent
11.мар F Salmon soup "lohikeitto"
How to make:
cook fish broth of head / tail / fins, water + peppercorns, bay leaf (40 minutes).
filter the broth
add the diced potatoes and carrots and onions. Boil for another 15 minutes.
cut salmon into cubes and into pot.
Reduce heat to medium, add the cream, dill and salt to taste. Boil until cooked 10 minutes.
Name of Cook date Name of the komponent
11.03.2014 F meat patties Chattbullar
How to make:
Beef, veal and mutton mince mix
Add seasonings to taste. Gradually add sour cream, water, rusk crumbs and egg yolk.
From the resulting viscous mass form small balls and fry them on a butter
APPENPIX 3
Appendix on several pages
Examples of the calculation of Russian dishes.
How to make:
dough:
Warm up milk. Add yeast and 5 tablespoons sugar.
Add 1/3 (750g) flour. Put the bowl in hot water for 15 minutes.
Pull it out. Add eggs, butter, sugar, salt and stir.
Add the flour and knead the dough. Put it in a warm place and let it rise (30 minutes).
Crumple the dough and allow to rise again.
filling:
Cottage cheese mixed with sugar and vanilla sugar
Add sour cream.
form tortillas and lubricate it with eggs.
To lay out stuffing. Put it in a preheated 180 ° C oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Name of Cook date Name of the komponent
12.03.2014 R cabbage soup
How to make:
Boil beef bouillon, strain. Meat cut into small pieces 1, tbs paper
Sauté chopped onion
Boil sliced vegetables.
Sorrel put in broth and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and boiled egg.
Name of Cook date Name of the komponent
12.мар R "Pozharskie" cutlets
How to make:
Cut the butter into cubes 0,5 x0, 5 cm and put it in the fridge.
Grind the chicken fillet in a meat grinder. Add spices to taste.
1/3 of white bread soak in cream.
2/3 of white bread cut into cubes 0.5 x0, 5 cm, and cook in the oven for 15 minutes at 150 C.
Slice the onion and fry. Give it to cool.
Mix chicken fillet soaked bread, onion. Grind the everything in a blender.
Add butter to mince, mix and put it in the fridge.
Cutlet mass divided into portions and roll in breadcrumbs.
Fry cutlets on a frying pan with oil.
Put it in a preheated oven 180 ° C - 10 minutes.
APPENPIX 4
Survey
APPENDIX 5
Appendix on several pages
Photos of various dishes from the event “Days of Finnish and Russian cuisine”.