What could be better than welcoming dark nights with good food and drink? The Feast Helsinki food year culminates in food events that bring warmth and atmosphere to the autumn. There will also be interesting fairs and festivals for food and drink lovers in the following months.
Helsinki is full of amazing restaurants and skilled caterers. The city has both Michelin star restaurants as well as more basic diners, traditional market halls and market squares.
Tastes and makers from Helsinki have been highlighted during the Feast Helsinki food year, which began in January. There are many kinds of food and drink events to choose from for the crispy weather and darkening evenings of autumn, all of which can be found on the city’s event calendar.
Autumn brings seasonal delicacies to Helsinki’s market halls and market squares – vegetables, berries and mushrooms. Halls and market squares invite you to explore the flavours of the harvest season and autumn events.
Arranged in the Old Market Hall near the Market Square on 19 October, the Saturday Market is a new event for all food lovers, offering top chefs’ tips, recipes, tastings, offers, interviews and interesting discussions.
During the day, the vendors of the Old Market Hall reveal their best products and tips as the chef and food designer Linnea Vihonen interviews the people in the hall. Chef Henri Alén makes inspiring portions of the raw materials sold in the hall.
In the food panel discussion, well-known gourmets, radio journalist, presenter Anni Ihamäki and food journalist Eero-Pekka Rislakki talk about food, hedonism and market halls, hosted by Food Camp Finland’s CEO Riikka Kannas.
More information: vanhakauppahalli.fi/en(Link leads to external service)
Horror event Halliween takes over Hakaniemi Market Hall on 26 October. The hall will be full of creepy vibes. The ghosts of the hall literally jump on the tables, as there will be a lot of delicious seasonal products and programme to celebrate the event.
In honour of the celebration, the hall will also receive lighting according to the theme!
More information: hakaniemenkauppahalli.fi/en(Link leads to external service)
Lovers of good food and drink will be pampered at fairs and festivals at the end of October. The Wine and Food Fair and Book Fair will be held at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 24 to 27 October, as well as the On the Plate Fair specialising in special diets from 26 to 27 October.
A Writer’s Dinner will be arranged in connection with the Wine and Food and Book Fair at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre’s restaurant on 24 October, featuring the Helsinki-based writer Outi Pakkanen. The dinner menu is designed to fit in with Pakkanen’s new detective story.
This year, the special menus of the Wine and Food Fair’s Piazza Wine&Food Top Restaurant area will also spread out to the city. You can enjoy portions developed especially for fairs, while listening to talks with authors at Elm, Wellamo, Scolare and Le CouCou Vert restaurants. Menus will continue to be available at restaurants even after the fair.
Le Coucou Vert and Scolare will offer the best bites of the fair and special offers to visitors with a fair ticket on 9 November. Restaurant Elm invites author Satu Rämö to appear in a literary evening with good food on 9 November. Rämö is a Finnish author living in Iceland who has captivated readers with a series of detective stories set in Iceland’s Westfjords.
More information: Wine and Food Fair(Link leads to external service) and Helsinki Book Fair(Link leads to external service)
Fans of liquorice and salty liquorice will have their lucky days when the Liquorice Festival will take place at Wanha Satama on 26–27 October. Finland’s first Liquorice Festival was held in 2014. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the festival allows you to explore the many uses of liquorice and enjoy unique taste experiences.
The highlight of the autumn for oyster lovers is the Oyster Fest, which will be held at the vaulted cellar of Agroksenmäki on 2 November. Oyster Fest 2024 is an oyster opening competition where industry professionals and experts introduce the world of oysters and showcase their skills. The guests of honour at the event are the multiple world oyster opening champion Anti Lepik and the multiple Finnish championship winner Johann Schlag. With their guidance, you will learn how to choose, open, prepare and enjoy an oyster.
Oysters can also be enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere with live music at The Plaza Helsinki Jazz & Oysters Happy Hours evenings held throughout the autumn.
For drink culture lovers, there will be tea walks offering more in-depth information on the brewing and history of tea, Canvas&Coctails painting workshops, distillery tours looking at the making of whisky and gin, as well as the Helsinki Drink Festival – Whisky Edition festival now arranged for the second time.
More information about the events on Feast Helsinki website.
Viaporin kekri festival is celebrated in Suomenlinna on the All Saints’ Day on 2 November. Kekri is an ancient Finnish festival at the end of the harvest season and the cycle of the year, celebrated with plenty of food and drink, honouring the dead and giving thanks for the harvest and the past year. Viaporin kekri festival has become a popular urban event based on old traditions, filled with light and introducing visitors to the culture and flavours of Suomenlinna.
Additional information at Suomenlinna website (Link leads to external service)
Helsinki’s Christmas season includes numerous Christmas markets, where seasonal flavours and drinks are tasted. The Christmas Market at Senate Square from 29 November to 22 December is Helsinki’s largest Christmas event, which also has a wide range of booths for various restaurants and cafes.
The immensely popular Christmas Market of Teurastamo will be held from 21 to22 December at Kellohalli, Palema and in the yard area of Teurastamo. This year, the market will be arranged just before Christmas, so the focus will be on small producers' Christmas table treats and delicious gifts!
Of course there will also be wonderful crafts, elegant design, art, home accessories and other great gift ideas on the market.
All the events of the Feast Helsinki food year can also be found in the FoodGuide app, which can be downloaded from www.hel.fi/foodguide. The free app shows all food year events conveniently on a map.
The application also includes honest restaurant recommendations from restaurant keepers in Helsinki. Among others, check out the favourite restaurants of Restaurant Muru’s chef or Kahvisiskot (Coffee Sisters) from Hakaniemi Market Square – and find your own favourites in Helsinki’s broad offering.
