Sasu´s Chef & Sommelier

“Tartar of ‘Löyly’-kyyttö”. Tartare of ox with grilled onions, parsnip, and shavings of dried meat.

I am super late on my Helsinki posts, but better late than never! As you guys have already read, I went on a Birthday/Couple Trip to Helsinki last summer. I was very lucky to be able to eat at the Micheln Star Restaurant Ravintola Ask, found the secret Helsinki Bar (sorry no cameras allowed) and even got to find the Best Coffee Spots in Helsinki.

When we were planning this trip all things came together, One of them was Anders meeting Sasu Laukkonen Chef from the 1 Star Michelin restaurant Chef & Sommelier during our Trip to Stockholm. Sadly Sasu couldnt be there that evening, but we were hosted and treated amazingly.

The menu of the evening.

The first thing that impressed me, was the size of this nordic decorated place, it was tiny. But that made it even more friendly and cozy, it was indeed warmer than the average fine-dining restaurant. This restaurant was in a posh residential neighbourhood just in the middle of apartment blocks. With barely space for 20 people and an open kitchen, we felt almost like sitting at a friends dining room.

Butter with birch leaf salt to the left. Glutenfree bread in the back with rosemary & sunflower seeds. Rye bread and sourdough on the right

They were very well prepared for the evening, I had a gluten-free alternative for every dish, including bread...delicious gluten-free bread! Actually one of the best I had in a restaurant until today.

Hervé Villemade Cheverny Blanc. Our sommelier explains that they are not dogmatic on nature wines, but they like to cooperate with small producers

“Nettles and cheese”. A cashew pie with a nettle cream, with buckwheat and spinach. Very subtle flavors!

You can see through the menu, that Sasu is passionate about the food that C&S serves. Everything is carefully chosen organic and wild plants foraged in the surroundings. They grow their own vegetables and herbs, and I read they know by name every farmer, fisherman and cheese maker who delivers to them.

It reminds me a lot to Noma in Copenhagen and Maaemo in Oslo, where the passionate chefs deliver dishes to the tables themselves and explain the ingredients and techniques that were used.

“Wild herbs and egg”. Slow poached egg with wild herbs like ramson, garlic mustard, fireweed, nettle, wood sorrel, spruce and meadowsweed. A pesto of garlic mustard and sunflower seeds

“Sunchoke and dill”. We learned that Jerusalem artichoke can also be called sunchoke, here fermented, salted and topped with orpines, cucumber and dill

“Parsnip and grains”. Parsnip grilled in the big green egg, topped with quinoa, dried parsnip and emmeret grains. A rice polenta flavored with the common polypody root and a sauce of smoked brown butter and apple vinegar.

“Pike-perch and horseradish”. Different parts of the pike-perch wrapped around each other. In the middle is a mousse of the leftovers, which we found ingenious! Crispy skin of the same fish, birch leaves, yellow carrot, horseradish and potatoe puree

The cheese selection with plum compote and crispbread. The most interesting cheese was the Finnish blue cheese “Selin”, which is made as a school project in the private secondary school of Ahlman, in Tampere city. The cows are a typical Finnish breed, and our waiter told us that the cheese they produce are not always good.

A wood sorrel sorbet, yogurt meringue, wood sorrel and rhubarb. A great dessert!

Parsnip sorbet

Meadowsweet and plum kernel ice cream which tastes of bitter marzipan, topped with brown butter cookie crumble

The final coffee snack. A sea buckthorn gel with raw liquorice powder

Good Life Coffee! Ethiopian Wottuna Boltuma

 I am very happy Anders wrote every ingredient and detail of the whole menu, I was in awe enjoying the food and capturing the beauty of all the dishes.

This place is worth flying to Helsinki alone, and I can't think of anything negative to say about it. Get on a plane to Helsinki and experience it.