Last modified 15.3.2011 at 13:24

Food brings people together

Text: Riikka Pehkonen Photos: Milan Kolarovic

A Slovakian exchange student Peter Krácik has eaten a lot of soup in the Raahe School of Engineering and Business. At first he was surprised by the Finnish way to serve soup as the main dish. International cooking evening taught him more about local food habits – and not just the Finnish ones.

– At first we had a plan to make food only for our exchange students. But then the happening became so popular and because it was so nice to make food together, we decided to ask all international students to join, Tiina Ovaska, Co-ordinator of International Relations, says.

By now the international cooking evenings have been arranged for six years. Every evening has its own theme. Reindeer, elk and salmon have been offered. Last Christmas they offered "rosolli" salad to the students and in Easter the Finnish national specialty called "mämmi" which is a rye pudding dessert.

– Sweet pies are the best in Finland. And a pastry called "karjalanpiirakka" (Karelian pastry) is one of my favourites, a Slovakian exchange student Viktor Porvažnik says.

Let mama help

Not just Finnish food, the students prepare national food for teachers and each other.

– There has been food from so many countries starting from African countries like Gambia and Ethiopia all the way to China – everything! It has been wonderful to see when students called home to their mothers and grandmothers to find out their special family receipt. They wanted to prepare something original for us, Tiina tells with satisfaction.

Raahe school has a little kitchen in the meeting room. Sometimes students cook in their own apartments and bring the food to the school. All necessary equipment is available. Sometimes students have looked for a real wok-pan or gas-oven to get higher cooking temperature.

Where are all the spices?

Finnish food stores have a large variety of different food ingredients. You can buy almost everything here. But spices can be a problem.

– Nepalese food is like a mixture of Indian and Chinese. We use lot of spices: many types of chilies, curry powder, cumin, and coriander powder. Sure they have these spices in the markets but they are not so hot as in my country, Niwesh Pradhan says.

– In Slovakia we don´t use so much spices but different types of cheese. Almost 70% of our traditional food is based on special types of cheese. Those are not sold here in Raahe, Viktor continues.

– Chinese always add a lot of spices in their food. When I first time made food for my friends, they thought it was like a hot poison. Much water was needed, Chenjia Lai tells.

International food evening has received plenty of positive feedback from the participants. It brings international students together. It also offers a good chance to taste food from various countries. Wang Han readily agrees and says that he feels lucky having had such a good chance to learn cooking. At his home in China his mom does not even allow him to step into the kitchen.

Keywords: