Finns angry after France, Italy food jibes

Finland, with its rye malt porridge and blood sausages, may be an easy target for leaders of Europe's gastronomic centres -- France and Italy.But while French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stick in the knife with their culinary jibes, locals and visitors say fish and good, fresh food were typical of the Nordic country."We make ravioli ... but our Finnish meat and macaroni casserole is just as good as that Italian food," said Tuula Sundell, a restaurant owner in central Helsinki."And Berlusconi and Chirac are always welcome to taste our entrail dishes," she said of a meal considered a delicacy in both France and Italy.Chirac was quoted telling German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that "after Finland, (Britain) is the country with the worst food".Many Finns found Berlusconi's comments offensive when he said last month: "I have been to Finland and I had to endure the Finnish diet."Traditional food like kalakukko -- fish and bacon baked in a loaf for 20 hours -- is rarely found on menus where lightly salted salmon and fresh potatoes are more typical in summer.
"All the new vegetables, the new potatoes, are wonderful because we have so much sunlight in the summertime, and of course the fresh fish is excellent," said Jarmo Vaha-Savo, head chef at Helsinki gourmet restaurant GW Sundman.

wugsy...watch what you are saying and where you say it.
or say it on a crypto line :-)