Hangar-7

Up in the far Northern parts of the world, the trend towards regional cooking is totally relaxed, as indulgence expert Trettl discovered on a visit to Helsinki

Finland’s only 2-star chef, Hans Välimäki of Helsinki, is a friendly soul. Relaxed and chilled out, he always has something cool to say! And it didn’t take long to decide upon the menu for his guest appearance at Hangar-7 in October. Borscht will feature in particular. But Välimäki doesn’t want to give away the exact recipe until later – maybe not until he starts cooking!

The changes which have taken place in Hans Välimäki’s life are reflected in the name of his restaurant – “Chez Dominique”. The name has never been original but at least appropriate at one time, as the restaurant started out with classic French cuisine. Hans then developed his talent, just as the top cuisine of the entire Northern region developed. It all culminated in a great “show of new Nordic cuisine”, a phenomenon to which chef Hans Välimäki was one of the main signatories. The conclusion was that it was time to concentrate on regional cuisine. Reindeer instead of Wagyu beef. Fir shoots instead of Thai cress. Fresh creativity rooted in the chef’s homeland instead of the blind processing of classic cookery. The founding father or Nordic cuisine shies away from any hint of stubbornness, a trait which also defines his culinary business card: roast pigeon breast with a triangular brique pastry parcel stuffed with chopped pigeon and foie gras, a pistachio cream, crispy pigeon skin, black salsify vanilla cream and braised onions. “Wow” is the word that comes to mind when you read the details of this dish and “wow” is certainly what you say when you eat it.

The pigeon provides exemplary proof that Hans’s primary goal is to find ideal combinations of taste and texture. As a result, he can casually overlook the fact that Finnish pigeon cannot actually be obtained for this purpose! So what – never mind! Pigeons from France will do just as well. Hans Välimäki’s reference to the long hard Finnish winter is put into perspective with an emphasis on local produce. Välimäki introduces a regional slant with reindeer pudding, cranberries and barley. Or with exquisitely marinated herring with new potatoes and butter as an amuse-bouche. He may be patriotic to Finland but he is also open-minded: “Our land was occupied by Sweden for 600 years and by Russia for 100 years. It’s clear that I also play on this part of our history in creating my food”.

It certainly is clear. Just as it is clear to Hans Välimäki that he still doesn’t know how he will cook his borscht at Hangar-7, after 100 years of Russian influence.

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Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus

Preview
Guest chefs 2012 /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/preview-guest-chefs-2012/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2012

Pino Lavarra /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/pino-lavarra/

Trettl meets Pino Lavarra

Pino Lavarra
Italy /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-pino-lavarra/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2012

Tanja Grandits /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tanja-grandits/

Trettl meets Tanja Grandits

Tanja Grandits
Switzerland /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-tanja-grandits/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: February 2012

Tim Raue /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tim-raue/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2012

Ryan Clift /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Ryan Clift

Ryan Clift
Singapur /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Tim Raue

Tim Raue
Berlin, Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-tim-raue/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: January 2012

Nuno Mendes /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/nuno-mendes/

Trettl meets Nuno Mendes

Nuno Mendes
Viajante, London /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-nuno-mendes/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: December 2011

Daniel Redondo &
Helena Rizzo /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-redondo-helena-rizzo/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: November 2011

Björn Frantzén &
Daniel Lindeberg /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/bjoern-frantzen-daniel-lindeberg/

Roland Trettl on tour

Helena Rizzo & Daniel Redondo, São Paulo, Brazil /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-helena-rizzo-daniel-redondo/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: October 2011

Xavier Pellicer /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/xavier-pellicer/

Roland Trettl on tour

Xavier Pellicer,
Barcelona, Spain /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-xavier-pellicer/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: September 2011

Alvin Leung /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/alvin-leung/

Roland Trettl on tour

Alvin Leung,
Hong Kong, China /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-alvin-leung/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: August 2011

Ikarus Team /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/ikarus-team/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-and-the-ikarus-team/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: July 2011

Peter Goossens /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/peter-goossens/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-peter-goossens/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: June 2011

Emmanuel Renaut /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/emmanuel-renaut/

Roland Trettl on tour

Emmanuel Renaut,
Megève, France /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-emmanuel-renaut/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2011

Anatoly Komm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/anatoly-komm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Anatoly Komm,
Moscow, Russia /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-anatoly-komm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2011

Daniel Humm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-humm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Daniel Humm,
New York, USA /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-daniel-humm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2011

Claus-Peter Lumpp /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/claus-peter-lumpp/

Roland Trettl on tour

Claus-Peter Lumpp,
Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-claus-peter-lumpp/