[mellow synth rock music playing]
-Ah. -[man] Oh, hello.
I can tell by the hat you're serious about fish.
This, I heard, is the best thing in Finland.
Traditional Finnish fish called muikku.
[Phil] Muikku?
[man] Yes. Looks good but tastes even better.
I think muikku should be the national fish of Finland.
-Bless you, thank you. -Thank you.
I declare the muikku the national fish of Finland!
Exactly.
Mm!
Get in on some of this.
Do it. It's fantastic.
Well, here, you didn't get that. Get it. Get in there.
[laughs] Matty, Todd, where are you?
It's like feeding the seals at the zoo.
[imitates seal barking]
[opening theme song playing]
♪ A happy, hungry man's ♪
♪ Traveling all across the sea And the land ♪
♪ He's trying to understand ♪
♪ The art of pasta, pork Chicken and lamb ♪
♪ He will drive to you ♪
♪ He will fly to you ♪
♪ He will sing for you ♪
♪ And he'll dance for you ♪
♪ He will laugh with you ♪
♪ And he'll cry for you ♪
♪ There's just one thing He asks in return ♪
♪ Somebody feed, somebody feed ♪
♪ Can somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil ♪
♪ Somebody feed him now ♪
[Phil] There aren't many countries that can boast having
some of the cleanest water, air, and pristine forests in the world.
But this place can.
I'm in Finland. And it's really wondrous.
You know Santa Claus has an official address here?
And this is its capital, Helsinki, and it's simply gorgeous.
Finland is situated between Sweden and Russia,
and both these countries occupied Finland for many years,
and so the identity of the Finnish has some Sweden and some Russia.
But in 2021, when we're here, there's a distinct Finnish identity.
It's shaped by the people, said to be the happiest on Earth,
even if they don't show it on their face all the time.
And it's shaped by their food.
What better way to dive into a new city than to taste its classics at the market?
[jaunty string music playing]
This is Markus Hurskainen.
He's taking me to the Old Market Hall, which was opened to the public in 1889.
Oh, this is ideal.
[Markus] This is actually the oldest market hall in Helsinki.
This used to be the place where all the exotic things came.
So it's part of Finnish history.
[Phil] Markus owns the Story Café,
which is smack in the middle of the Old Market Hall.
And the nice thing about knowing the owner of the café,
you can take your cup with you.
Hello. I'm Laura.
Very nice to meet you. What a beautiful shop.
-Oh! Well, thank you. -Yeah.
-It's awesome. -Look how happy you are.
I know!
Don't you love a cheese lady?
However, I didn't know how I would feel
when she asked me to dip my cheese in my coffee.
Coffee with cheese?
Yeah. Exactly. You just dip it there.
This I've never done.
I don't think it's gonna be your last time.
It's very high protein, low fat, and low salt, so we have it every day.
Who thought of this?
-I don't know. Maybe Santa. I think. -Yeah, might be, might be.
All right, here I go. It's a little, uh…
-[Markus] Dig in. Yeah. -It's odd to me, but…
[whimsical music playing]
You like it?
-I do. I'm doing it again. -Okay. [chuckles]
-This is why you travel, right? -Exactly.
Some cheese in your coffee.
And the next one is like a grilled cheese,
but it's gonna kick your grilled cheese ass.
[laughs]
-[Laura] I promise. -[men laugh]
-She's pretty violent for a cheese person. -[Markus] She is.
I'm proud of my cheese. [chuckles]
Mm. Mm!
My grilled cheese at home just got its ass kicked.
Told ya.
[chuckles]
-You're kicking a lot of ass today. -I know.
-[Phil chuckles] -It's my day.
[jaunty music playing]
[Phil] Smoked salmon.
You gotta love it.
It's my first day in Finland, and I found Zabar's.
How long have you been doing this?
Twenty-one years.
-That's all? -Yeah.
-[Phil] Product looks beautiful. -Thank you.
-Cheers. -Cheers. Enjoy.
I'll take three-quarters of a pound, sliced thin.
You really like your charcuterie, don't you?
-Yes. -Of course. You are in the right place.
[Phil] Oh! There's charcuterie.
I'm seeing some meats I-- I haven't seen before.
This one, uh, is cold-smoked reindeer.
[chuckles] I'm a little bit nervous. This is my first reindeer.
[Markus] First reindeer?
Mm!
Wow. Heavy smoked but--
[Markus] With no fat.
Like a great Italian bresaola or something.
-[Markus] Hmm, it is. -It's fantastic.
So far, I'm a reindeer fan.
I'm trying things that I never had. Dried reindeer. Reindeer moose?
-Not reindeer and moose? Reindeer moose-- -Cold-smoked reindeer moose.
-Then we still have one salami left. -[Phil] Please.
This one, it's bear.
[Phil] Dried bear?
Where am I?
-Another first for me. -[chuckles]
Yeah.
This, I'm not even afraid anymore,
because everything else has been delicious.
[Markus] Yeah.
Mm!
-Bear. -Quite easy.
-I don't feel as guilty eating bear. -Mm.
-'Cause he would eat me. -[Markus] Yeah.
[pensive synth music playing]
In America, we say sauna.
In Finland, they say "sow-na."
It's a big part of life up here.
Almost every home in Finland has one.
But when you want to venture out somewhere special for a sauna and a meal,
you go to a place called Löyly.
-Who's this? Is this your dog? -Yeah. She's Taiga.
Taiga! Hi!
This is owner Jasper Pääkkönen.
In addition to being an entrepreneur,
he's also the most famous actor in Finland.
He's worked with Spike Lee a bunch of times.
Here at home in Helsinki, he's giving the people what they want.
I've seen videos on YouTube of this place,
where people go in the sauna,
and then they walk out here and jump in the water.
-Yeah. -Right? Yeah, I'm not doing that.
-Because I tried it… -[laughs]
I tried jumping in the water
-off the coast of Ireland… -Uh-huh.
And it was so cold, and I'm assuming this is gonna be colder, right?
Yeah, yeah, it's colder, but, you know, you're visiting Finland now,
and it's not a real visit to Finland unless you do a sauna
-and jump in the Baltic Sea. -We're not using that.
-[Richard] Yes. He's absolutely right. -[laughing]
We will not be using that,
because I don't want the audience to be very disappointed.
[Phil] Quick, change the subject.
Jasper has a recipe for a salmon soup that's almost as famous as he is.
It's probably the most traditional Finnish homestyle meal you can have.
The secret of Jasper's salmon soup is that it's not salmon.
We want to make it as environmentally responsible as possible,
hence, no salmon.
It looks like salmon.
Yeah, it does. It's rainbow trout.
-Ah! -Which is a great substitute for salmon.
That's… that's phenomenal. Oh my God.
-[slurping] Mm. -So this would be comfort food,
Finnish style.
[jaunty music playing]
My parents tell me that when I was less than two years old,
-they took me fishing on a lake… -Yeah.
…with a worm and a hook, and, uh, I caught some perch.
And I was so excited about it that when I-- when we came home,
I was fishing from the toilet bowl and the kitchen sink, and…
What'd you catch?
[Jasper and Richard laugh]
And, uh…
-You know, the little puddle in the yard. -Yeah.
And they try to tell me there's no fish there.
But I didn't care. It wasn't about catching fish.
It was the experience of fishing that compelled me.
That's the thing. You have to be at one with nature, right?
You have to just enjoy being out there.
-Yeah. -Even if you catch nothing.
-Exactly. To be active-- -This is a lot like my career.
Is that.
[laughs]
What is so terrible about fish farming?
Because on the surface, we think that's gonna be the sustainable way.
-Right. -Right?
But farmed salmon is an ecological disaster.
Every year, 50 million adult salmon die in the process of farming them.
-Another 80 million juvenile salmon. -Why?
You've got hundreds of thousands of fish swimming in a little pod.
They're a breeding ground for different diseases.
And that's all happening under the surface, so nobody sees it.
-Literally. -Yeah, exactly.
I had no idea.
And there are sustainable ways to farm fish as well,
so I'm not talking all farming is terrible.
-Yeah. -Just Atlantic salmon farming
is a-- is a big disaster.
I didn't know Jasper would be such a downer.
[Jasper and Richard laughing]
Oh, goodness! Look at this.
[Jasper] Reindeer filet.
I had some dried reindeer yesterday at the market.
-Mm-hmm. -And I thought it was fantastic.
But everything I read about this, it's very good for you.
Way better for you than-- than beef, right?
Oh, yeah. I don't eat beef.
-Never? -No.
I don't eat chicken, pork, or beef, but reindeer is something I-- I love.
That's just a great steak, really.
It's really good. It's really tender.
-Wow. I love it. -Mm.
Now, children here grow up with the Santa Claus legend, as we do?
-Do you know where I'm going with this? -[laughs]
-I-- I have an idea. -[Richard laughs]
[Jasper laughs]
[Phil] Okay, I didn't sauna at Jasper's, but I was persuaded eventually.
[Phil] Ooh! It's cold outside.
-Yeah. -[Phil] It's warm in here.
-This is warm. -[Phil] I like it.
I like warm.
Listen, do you really want to see me with my shirt off more than once an episode?
Joining me for a little steam is Kenneth Nars.
He's a food writer, and he created an app called World of Mouth,
which gives you recommendations all over the world of where to eat.
Right up my alley.
You know what happened in the Sauna World Championships about ten years ago?
-There's world championships? -Yeah.
-For who can take it the hottest? -Yeah.
-What happened? -In the finals…
-Yeah? -…a Finn and Russian came in.
Yes?
Both were carried out.
The Finn passed out, the Russian died.
That's true.
This is the, uh, dumbest sport I've ever heard.
It is, actually, yes. Yeah, I agree.
It should only be nice, right?
[hissing]
And this is actually when you-- when you feel the heat.
[Phil] I feel it already.
[cameraman] Guys, stand by. Stand by for a minute, please.
[Phil] Oh, yeah, 'cause it's gonna fog up now. Of course.
'Cause we're in a sauna.
[chuckles]
The gods had mercy on me today.
We didn't crank it too high because there were cameras in there,
and if you make the sauna too hot, the cameras fog up, and you get nothing.
Do you need my help?
Kenneth wanted to show me something called a sauna sausage.
-No jokes. -[Richard chuckles]
No jokes.
-Oh, look! -Presenting the sausage.
[Phil] Presenting the sausage. The sauna sausage.
Thank God this is what it was.
[laughs]
[Kenneth] So we'll wrap this here.
Oh, you put it right in the fire.
Oh boy.
Here I thought that we would be steaming things out in the open
and it would be flavored with our juices as well.
And I was getting a little nauseated. But this seems very nice.
[Kenneth] Yeah.
While our sausages sauna, Kenneth offers up some snacks.
Oh my God. This is the nicest spread I've ever seen in a sauna.
I can imagine.
[Phil] This looks like egg salad.
Yeah, this is like a hard-core egg salad, because it's chopped egg and butter.
Mm!
So which one is better?
You prefer egg salad or egg butter?
Mayonnaise or butter?
Well, this is creamier and more delicious.
Yeah, yeah, I imagine.
Sorry, mayonnaise.
-[Kenneth] Wow. -Wow!
Mm!
That's serious.
Ow. It's hot. It's really hot.
[Phil chuckles]
[Richard laughing]
-[Kenneth] Grab a fork. -Yeah, good idea.
[Richard continues laughing]
[Phil] I thought I would be in a hot box, and, uh, it's not so appealing to me…
[laughing] …but, yeah, I saw the charm of it.
It's very cozy for two in here.
And we have four in here
if you count these guys with their giant cameras.
[giggles]
-[ethereal music playing] -So, it was warm…
I'm starting to feel it. I'm just gonna step out for just a second, just to…
I'll stay here.
Just to cool-- cool off for just a second. And then I'll come back. I'm with you.
See you in a while?
[cameraman laughs]
[music continues]
[Phil] Oh, I forgot to mention, this sauna is on a boat.
[Phil] It's-- It's very cold outside.
[sliding door shuts]
[classic rock music playing]
[Phil] Oh, hi.
-Hello. -How you doing?
I'm good. How are you doing?
[Phil] There's a chef here in Finland, Kim Mikkola.
He used to work at Noma, the best restaurant in the world!
What's he doing now?
[Kim] I told everybody when I was in Noma that I was gonna do a chicken joint.
-[Phil] Yeah? -Everybody thought that was a good joke.
-[laughs] -[Kim] But, uh, when, you know,
-restaurants closed down last year… -Yeah.
…I decided, "Why not?"
Figure out how we're going to sell something for people for very cheap.
-Yeah. -'Cause, obviously,
-it's been financially pretty difficult. -Of course.
So we basically designed the whole van to do one thing, the chicken burger.
It's one of my favorite things, is when somebody who's studied
and really knows the craft focuses on just something of comfort.
-Yeah. Are you ready for it? -[chuckles] Yes.
This is like a mix between like a Nashville Hot chicken…
-Excellent. -…meets Korean fried chicken.
All the ingredients are from Finland. And we sell these for five bucks.
Phenomenal.
Which, in Helsinki, is probably the lowest price you could go.
[Phil] Wow, what are you putting on there? What's that?
[Kim] I can't tell you.
-[Phil] Oh, okay. That's the secret sauce. -[Kim] Yeah. [laughs]
That's the naughty sauce. It drips everywhere.
Naughty sauce! Oh, right away, the bun is really soft.
Oh my God.
-Yeah, it's like a potato bun-ish. -Yes.
[Kim] And we steam it instead of toasting it.
Who's excited?
-[man chuckles] -[sandwich crunches]
[whimsical music playing]
[Kim] Is it good?
Come on!
That's good.
I learned this stance from an old friend in Chicago.
[man chuckles]
This is three Michelin star… chicken sandwich.
And I'm in a van by the river!
-[chuckles] -[jaunty music playing]
You'd think the "$5 best fried chicken sandwich you ever had" truck is enough,
but he went one step further.
He created another food business, called Koti,
which delivers delicious meals right to people's homes.
Here again, each meal costs five bucks.
Kim gets a good number in his head, he sticks with it.
[Kim] So we have, uh, different varieties. And it's pretty simple.
This is called Steak Wallenberg.
It's made out of pike with bread crumbs, and then you fry it.
I think everybody should have the experience of having delicious food.
Isn't this great, the way he's looking out for other people
who may not have the budget to eat at Noma,
let alone all the other fancy-schmancy restaurants in the world?
This is for them.
And it's for me, today.
Look, they're steaming. So good.
Yeah, that's comfort food.
That's like the Finnish soul food.
This is not $5 good, this is…
This is "any" good.
Yeah, but we sell it for five.
All right. I love a bargain.
[laughs] That was good.
[Phil's voice] Food this amazing deserves an equally amazing view.
[Phil] I like your style, man.
Let's walk to the dock, and I'll finish this.
[Kim] Yeah, yeah, for sure.
[Phil] Look at this idyllic setting.
[Kim chuckles] It's pretty cool, huh? The best part about Helsinki is this view.
Can I treat you to a, uh, 30-cent potato?
[Kim laughs] No, I'm-- I'm good.
You need to bulk up for that SoCal winter, huh?
Yeah. When it gets down to 60.
[chuckles]
I think this is so delicious,
and I'm so glad that we can show everybody what you're doing.
And I just wanna say, René Redzepi,
maybe you hang on to your people a little harder.
[all laughing]
Oh, he's gonna call me now.
Oh no.
[dramatic classical music playing]
[Phil's voice] Near the center of Helsinki you'll find Sibelius Park,
and its massive steel sculpture
dedicated to Finland's greatest classical composer, Jean Sibelius.
With over 600 hollow pipes, we can all make a little music of our own, right?
[music continues]
Whoo! Whoo?
Whoo-hoo?
[clanging softly]
[music crescendos]
I think I'm stuck.
I'm going fishing. I'm going fishing with an expert.
This is Antti Zetterberg.
He's the editor-in-chief of a famous Finnish fishing magazine.
He knows his stuff.
He's taking me on his speedboat,
and since I'm going to be out on the cold water,
Richard thought I should wear this.
Hello, I'm Phil.
-Hi. Nice to meet you, guy. -Ready for my mission.
Yeah. Yeah. Come on board.
[Phil's voice] Antti's taking me to an island
that's part of the public park system here in Helsinki.
It's called Snake Island.
Why is it called Snake Island? I don't want to know.
-How fast can this boat go? -Uh…
["Flight of the Valkyries" by Wagner playing]
[Phil] Cool!
I lived!
[Antti] Yeah. So, you're gonna cast from the shore.
-[Phil] Nice. This is gorgeous. -Yeah.
All right, so bring it back like this?
Yeah, and with two hands.
-Two hands? Got it. -Yeah.
So, look at me, I'm a fisherman!
I'm going out there.
-Yeah. -[pleasant accordion music playing]
-Whoa! Yeah, it's… -[lure plops into water]
-[chuckles] Ah. -[Richard laughs]
[Phil] And then let it go.
-[Antti] Where'd it go in? -Where'd it go?
I got something!
Yeah.
-It's a rock! -It's earth.
[both chuckle]
And how many fish did I catch?
None!
[Phil chuckles]
Luckily, Antti had caught several fish.
Why? Because he's a fisherman.
-[Antti] Ooh! It's showing its fin. Yeah. -It's a little angry.
-[Antti] Yeah. Yeah. -I understand. I would be too,
if I was about to be lunch.
You don't need to see the death of the fish.
-[villainous music playing] -I'm not watching this part.
If you want to hear it, here's what it sounds like.
-[knife clacking] -[Phil's voice] Oh, but-- Oh, oh, oh!
[knife continues clacking]
It's funny, my-- my wife does that to me right before we go to bed each night.
She doesn't want no trouble.
By the way, this cabin, even this firewood,
it's all free to the public, and it's paid for by the government.
They pay for your recreation. How awesome is that?
I thought it was gonna be, you know, some Bear Grylls moment.
You know, here's the fish, we eat it like animals.
No. He's a chef.
So he fillets it and he puts it on the cedar plank and leans it up.
In the ancient times, there were no-- no kind of really--
-No grill. -No.
[Phil] Okay, so we're old-schooling it.
He doesn't stop there.
He's also picked wild chanterelle mushrooms.
My father would have loved this.
These beautiful pfifferlinge, that's what they call it in German.
This was his favorite thing, pfifferlinge.
So much so that that's all he wanted for his birthday,
was-- were these mushrooms.
These you found here in-- in these woods.
-Uh, the neighboring island. -Uh-huh.
And there's no poison mushrooms on the island?
There are poison mushrooms, but if you know the mushrooms well--
-[Phil] And you know them very well? -Not very well. I'm just, you know--
I know you always have to be careful with the mushrooms.
-Welcome to what's possibly my last meal. -[Antti] Yeah, yeah.
[Phil] He chops them up, he puts a little cream and butter,
he sautés them.
He puts a little parsley on top, and now we're at a fine dining restaurant.
Because your father was a big mushroom fan, so I give you more.
Thank you.
Mm.
Wow, Antti.
Oh my God. Well, it doesn't get fresher…
-Yeah. Yeah. -…or more delicious than that.
[Antti] And mushrooms and, uh, fishtail, very nice combination.
[Phil] Very nice.
Yeah. There's more salt if you need to add--
-I have to tell you… -Yeah?
…you seasoned it perfectly.
Your mushroom sauce is world-class.
Your fish is world-class, and, Antti, you are world-class.
-Oh, I'm very happy to hear that. Yeah. -[chuckles]
I live here now.
-With Antti. -Yeah.
[giggles]
[pleasant music playing]
-[woman] Have you rode a boat before? -[Phil] Have I rode a boat before?
-[woman] Yes. -[Phil] I have. Have you?
[woman] I have! Should we go that way?
-Go anywhere you want. I'm happy. -[chuckles]
Sara La Fountain is a Finnish TV personality and a famous cook here,
and she agreed to meet me at the most adorable Café Regatta.
Look at how you get to this restaurant.
This might be slippery right here. Let's not fall.
-Yes. Let's go easy. -[both chuckle]
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
It was a lovely ride.
Yeah! Should we get some coffee?
We should get coffee, we should get pastries.
They might even have a hot chocolate. Let's do it.
They might not have marshmallows on the top, but let's see.
-[Phil] No? Then I turn this place over. -[chuckles]
-[Phil] This is so nice. Come on. -Isn't it?
You don't even feel the-- the Finland.
[laughs]
-[Sara] So this is butter eye. -[Phil] Oh…
I love this one. This is-- We call it voisilmäpulla.
It's like sugar and butter. The center is the best.
Look at the butter oozing out!
-I know. -Come on.
-You take the eye. -No.
You need to have the eye. That's like the bull's-eye.
This is why we like Sara. Here.
-Right there? -Yes.
Oh my God, that's so good. That's so good.
I want to know all about you.
I read that your parents met at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid?
Is that right?
My mom actually came from Finland to organize the winter Olympics.
-Yeah. -And my dad had a restaurant.
-All the food stuff came from my dad. -You have a food show!
Yeah, I've been doing cooking shows for the past 15 years.
Finland, it actually gives me a little of inspiration because of the nature.
-We're so around it, you know? -It's so incorporated into the city.
-Yeah. -Like this is in the city.
-This is in the city. -We're in the city.
And, uh, in ten minutes, you're, like, in the deep forest,
-where we can go foraging. You know? -Yes. Right.
Yeah. In the summertime, I love to go Jet Ski.
-Yes. -I would pick you up with a Jet Ski,
and we would go all over the city and then go for drinks after.
You've mistaken me for a much younger man.
-You've been here your whole life? -No.
-I've been living in New York… -Oh!
…and also in Finland.
But I-- I love Finland. It's something that is very dear to me.
-Where do you spend more time? -Oh, come on, I love New York.
-Central Park… -My favorite.
My favorite, too.
-Yes. -Oh, you're gonna get me teary-eyed.
-But don't forage there. -No, no, that…
-You're not gonna find it. -[laughs] That's not a good idea.
[Phil] And speaking of foraging…
[jaunty music playing]
You would think we have to drive far out of the city
to find the woods, but we don't.
We just have to pull over.
-You must be Sami. -Yes.
Sami Tallberg is a great chef, and he's famous for being a forager.
And he's meeting me today in the woods.
Camouflage. Are you a hunter as well?
I don't actually do hunting. No, foraging. I'm a forager and chef.
And you want the mushrooms not to know you're coming.
-Just a joke. -I've never thought that! [laughs]
Are you familiar with foraging?
[Phil] In supermarkets.
-[chuckles] Yeah. -I look for bargains.
-[laughs] -I'm a bargain hunter.
[Sami] If you want to dive a little bit deeper in foraging,
it's basically eating.
These are all super delicious.
-This is all stuff you found in this area? -Exactly.
-You like garlic? -I do!
-You like mustard? -Yes.
Then we both love garlic mustard. It tastes just like garlic and mustard.
-I'm going in. -Yeah.
[whimsical piano music playing]
[Sami chuckles]
What kind of mustard do you have here in Finland?
[Sami chuckles]
Not as delightful as it could be.
-[Sami] Do you like mushrooms? -I love mushrooms.
-[Sami] Let's look for mushrooms. -Oh, yeah?
[Sami] Here we have some Russula.
-They are all edible. -Yeah. Really?
-[Sami] Yeah. -Beautiful red color.
Yeah, beautiful color like red wine. A bit like burgundy red.
-Yes. -Yeah.
Here we have pied-de-mouton.
And let me see if there's any worms now.
-Cut it in half. -Yeah.
This how you make sure you're the only one who's eating them.
[both chuckle]
[Phil] I'd like to flash a disclaimer now across the screen.
[chuckling] Do not try this without Sami Tallberg
or somebody else who's an expert at foraging, because, you know,
if you pick the wrong mushroom, you're dead.
We are basically opening a new restaurant next week.
And I'm just sampling the recipes.
So would you mind tasting the mushroom soup?
-I'm your guinea pig. I'm happy to… -Good. Good.
I trust you. I want to try anything you've got going.
A little soup, a little garnish.
Easy-peasy, huh?
So he gathers these mushrooms.
They're beautiful. He cleans them with his little thing.
He cuts them, makes sure there's nothing wrong.
He starts chopping them up in the bowl.
The other thing he does, because he's a genius chef,
is he adds cocoa nibs to it.
I would never have thought of that. You?
This looks like dirt to me, but…
[chuckles]
And then he's made some mushroom soup, and he pours it over the fresh mushrooms.
And I've also added a good splash of medicinal mushrooms.
-Medicinal mushrooms? -Yeah.
-Chaga and reishi. -But what are they gonna do to me?
[exhales deeply]
You'll know in 45 minutes.
[both laughing]
What we should also do is finish it…
-Yes? -…off with some wild sorrel.
What? It's just right there?
It's just coincidentally right there?
The more time you spend in nature, the more edible you start seeing.
What looked like just, you know, stuff growing on the ground,
and he just picks it from the earth and sprinkles it in my soup.
[sputters]
So there you go.
Soup, seven mushrooms, and wild herbs with cacao nibs.
[mellow guitar music playing]
[Phil] Mm!
Mm!
Spectacular. I want that soup.
Can-- can we get cans of that soup?
-[Richard laughs] -[Phil] Can I take that home?
Sami, you want to send me some cans of this soup?
All right, I'm coming back to eat at your restaurant.
You could just put chairs out here.
[both laugh]
[dramatic drumbeat playing]
There's some big news in Finland, just when we're here.
Just a few days ago, the Michelin stars came out,
and the only new restaurant to get a Michelin star
in all of Finland is Finnjävel.
The chef here is Tommi Tuominen.
He took the food that they used to eat in the school cafeterias,
which everyone hates…
[chuckles] …and made it fantastic.
What I love about it, and I was talking to our fixer, Satu,
right as I was entering, she said,
"A lot of Finns don't ever consider their own cuisine
when they go out to eat," right?
That's exactly the thing.
That's the reason why we started this restaurant.
And one of the dishes that I'm going to serve you now
is one of the most hated dishes in schools.
Fantastic. I love things that people hate.
[chuckles]
Satu, you know, she got so excited by the news of the place,
she said, "I soon have to come here."
So Satu…
I'm inviting our fixer Satu to join me.
I need someone who's experienced Finnish school lunches firsthand
to taste the difference.
So, I want to start you off with a very different version
of really, really traditional Finnish food, which is the pea soup.
Yeah!
As Satu probably knows that pea soup is one of the most common things
that you could have.
-Really common. Yeah. -Like in America too.
-Right? It's in every diner. -So…
[Phil] Wow. Is that gorgeous?
-You taste it first. -I do the honors.
-[Phil] Tell me if it's any good. -Please do.
It tastes a little better?
I would say it's from another world, to be honest.
-[laughs] From another world. -And you should scoop
all the way through the middle,
so it's basically all the same ingredients.
It has a little bit of smoked pork, some mustard cream,
some béchamel and ham sauce.
Oh!
[Tommi] So, the next course, let's go even further back.
[Phil] This is celeriac. Would you ever order it by looking at it?
This is not, uh, sex appeal, you know?
This is just-- looks like a boulder on your plate.
And then you cut it open,
and it's this tender, nutty, delicious, juicy thing.
-We serve it with pickled lingonberry… -[Phil gasps]
…and some butter.
[Phil] It's one of the great vegetables, I would say.
[Tommi laughs]
So much flavor.
And so simple. There's nothing to it.
[Phil] It looks like maybe it's a potato,
or like it might taste like cauliflower, but it doesn't.
-It's so much better than both. -And way more intense.
Way more. But I love this. That was good.
Yeah. Brilliant.
Tell me about the name. I wanna say it right.
-"Fin-ya-vel"? -Finnjävel.
"Fin-yay-vel"?
Which means "Finnish devil."
This was a derogatory term.
It was like a really bad word for decades.
But we wanted to take it from the Swedes
and turn it into something good to make it our strength.
-Ha-ha, Swedes. -[both laugh]
Let's go to the next one.
-That was good. -[Satu] Yeah.
-Which is our version… -Oh!
…of the school dish I was mentioning.
Tilliliha.
You know that one.
-Yeah. The most terrible food there is. -Dill meat.
Actually, in some point, it was so bad that it got voted out of the schools.
Old traditional version is a sauce, uh, some meat, hopefully veal,
but normally it's just whatever you can get.
It could be kind of like…
-Tough. -…stringy and long
-and, you know, this… -Right.
-Sounds like my house growing up. -And then you-- Yeah.
You have nightmares of this?
-Mm. -Okay.
So, please, enjoy.
-Travel back to-- -I'm the test animal, yeah?
Yeah, travel back to the childhood you never had.
-[Satu] Yeah. -[Tommi laughs]
It's the childhood trauma kicking back, you know, right?
[laughs]
I have no childhood trauma, so I'm going in big.
Oh, look at that. You know this is gonna be amazing.
[traditional string music playing]
Satu!
[Satu and Tommi chuckle]
-Come on. Get a little hardy. -We're gonna fight over this.
[Phil] Yeah, fight me a little.
Finnjävel.
If this was my school lunch,
I would have been an excellent student instead of what I was.
Satu, that was delicious. What'd you think of that meal?
Well, I think it was great.
-Yes! -Yes.
It realigned your childhood, didn't it?
Yeah. It cured me. It cured all my traumas.
Very good. The magic of food, people.
-Richard. -[Richard] Yes?
-None for you. -[both chuckle]
Feeling sorry for you, Richard.
[Richard] Thank you.
You can say what we say in the show all the time.
-You want to both say it? -[Tommi] Yes.
-[both] Poor Richard. -[Phil laughs]
That makes me happy.
[mysterious jazz playing]
[music stops]
[slurping]
[music resumes]
Okay, now we're gonna do something that we've never done on the show.
We're gonna meet a-- a world leader.
The prime minister of Finland has agreed to meet me for coffee
on one of the hundreds of islands all around Helsinki.
And this is the island of Lonna,
and there's one café on Lonna, and that's where we met.
-Prime Minister! -Hi!
-It's very nice to meet you. -Very nice to meet you.
-How are you? -Fine. Thank you for asking.
It's an honor for me to be with you today.
This is Sanna Marin.
She was the minister of transport before this.
And at 35 years old,
she's one of the youngest leaders in the world.
-It's so nice to have you here. -I love being here.
It's a lovely island you have here, as well as a beautiful city and country.
-It is. -Do you know every island?
No, not every. But I've been here before. There's a great sauna here.
-Oh, really? -Yeah, public sauna in the evening.
-Saunas are everywhere. -Yeah. They are.
I was on a sauna on a boat.
-Did you swim? -No, I'm not crazy.
[chuckles]
It's not that cold yet.
You would jump in that water right now?
Uh, not right now, because we are doing the show, but…
No, no, I think we're gonna change the show.
We're gonna have the prime minster of Finland jump in the water.
Well, I'm here as a tourist, and I love what I see.
I see beautiful, clean air, water.
Everyone is happy in Finland.
This is what I read. You are the happiest people on Earth.
Is that right?
Oh, well, yes, uh…
It's not that we are always cheerful,
it's to do that we have a good society that is safe and secure…
-Yes. -…and that everybody has possibilities,
and we have good public social and health care system.
That's why we are the happiest nation in the world.
It's a deeper happiness, not just superficial.
Exactly.
I know that this is important to you, the environment.
It is. Humankind's biggest challenges,
it's climate change and loss of biodiversity.
We want to be the world's first climate-neutral welfare society,
and we aim to be climate-neutral by 2035.
-Amazing. -Which is quite fast.
And actually, the most important thing
is that it's not a project for the government.
-Right. -It's not a project for politicians.
It is a project for the whole society.
If we don't do this change, then nothing else matters.
If it was up to me,
young people would have more positions of power in the world.
Sorry. I was speaking a lot.
-No, that's what we like. -Okay, that's good.
It's better than me speaking a lot.
You know, I find if I'm with a prime minister,
you should let them speak more than you.
-[chuckles] -Do you have a family?
-I have a husband and a small child. -Yes.
Oh, how-- how old is your child?
My daughter is three-and-a-half years old.
-Oh, that's great. -Yeah.
I read that you were a baker.
-What? -In college. Is that true?
-I worked… -You worked in a bakery?
…one summer in a bakery. Yeah.
-Oh. -When I was 15. I'm not a baker.
That's why you wanted to meet me.
-To bake you something. [laughs] -That's it!
I heard she was making cookies. I was misled.
It's time for the splurge.
We're going to maybe the national restaurant of Finland,
located here in Helsinki.
It's called Savoy. It's been open since 1937,
and Kenneth is taking me there to meet Chef Helena Puolakka,
and she's got some special things for us.
We are actually having vorschmack.
Vorschmack is our most traditional dish in Savoy.
[Kenneth] It's a chopped herring dish that has a majority of meat in it,
and it's served warm.
[Phil] I've never had it. Sounds a little Yiddish.
-[Kenneth] It is. -Really?
Yeah. Basically, it means "appetizer."
Yes. When I first started here,
our regular customers were all asking that,
"You can't touch vorschmack. You can't remove it from the menu."
"Can't change it. It needs to be exactly how it's been."
Figured it's the history of Savoy.
Savoy's original vorschmack recipe came from Field Marshal Mannerheim,
who was a very big figure in Finnish history.
He served as top military leader and was later president of Finland.
So, when a guy like that asks you to make his favorite recipe, vorschmack,
you should do it.
[Helena] I came across with the idea that why don't I do a vorschmack pelmeni?
And that can be a sort of more elegant way of serving vorschmack.
Is what's inside the traditional dish…
Vorschmack. Yes.
It's just your presentation.
[Helena] Yeah.
Oh, this is-- this is fancy-schmancy now.
-[Helena] Bon appétit. -[Phil] Look how beautiful that is.
-What do you think? -Okay, that's-- that's amazing.
The first thing I tasted was the herring.
Kind of a vinegary, pickled flavor mixed in with this braised beef,
and it's so delicious, my mouth is watering talking to you.
That's a kind of a special effect.
It is. I think that it's quite interesting how the herring comes directly.
But then the comfort of the meat right behind it.
It's like you're having multiple courses in a bite.
[giggles] Kenneth, look at us.
-[Kenneth] Chopped herring. -Amazing, right? Simple.
-Mm-hmm. -But you made it, uh, fancy-schmancy.
You look so happy. I'm happy when you are happy.
[Phil and Kenneth] Thank you.
So they have Mannerheim's table where he sat, here. Can we--
-[Kenneth] His regular table? -Yeah.
What a beautiful restaurant. Look at this view.
[Kenneth] And here you have the Marshal.
And his phone.
-Really? -Yup.
Oh, it's ringing.
Hello? Mannerheim.
[chuckles]
Nope, I'm having vorschmack.
They can wait.
[all chuckling]
[whimsical polka music playing]
[Phil] Hey, Google, video call Brad.
[video call chimes]
-There he is! -[Brad] Hello.
-Look at that! -How are you?
-Handsome! [giggles] -Uh…
-Is it okay? -The wig is good.
Is this better? Good to see you. Where are you?
Helsinki.
[music continues]
-[laughs] -That's where the…
-That's where the vampires… -No.
-The vampires are from there? Helsinki? -You're thinking of Van Helsing
in the Dracula movies, no.
Helsinki is in Finland, my boy.
Oh! Must be-- I-- I hear it's incredible.
Nobody looks like you. [chuckles]
Well, you're the third one to say that tonight.
-Or me, by the way. That's right. -Yeah, we look like we don't have long.
[Richard laughs]
Some of the guys-- Like, I met a guy, the sweetest, most lovely guy.
He took me foraging for mushrooms in the woods.
-[chuckles] -Let me tell you, Phil…
-Yeah? -That's how they get you.
They take you foraging, the next thing you know, you're…
-You're with the mushrooms. -How's the food?
-Hello. Can you see this? -What do you got, blintzes?
Wow! Pastry?
Yeah, beautiful pastries, like the world's best, uh, cinnamon buns. Unbelie--
-Brad, come on. -No, good? Good?
Yeah, reason alone to come here.
So, Brad, you know when I call the greats, like you…
-Yeah. -…I ask for a joke for Max.
Okay.
Do you have a joke Max would have enjoyed?
[smacks lips] Oh, oh, okay, uh, well, you know, I adored Max.
He was the father I always wanted.
'Cause you know, you met my dad. He was a little, boop!
-[laughs] -So--
But, uh, so in honor of Max, uh, I have a joke.
These two firemen are… [bleeps] …in a smoke-filled room.
-[Richard laughs] -Okay? And…
-Let's cut. -Hello?
Okay.
-You don't want to hear the end? -Do you have something else? [giggles]
Yes, I do.
These, uh-- These two… [bleeps] …they're fighting over… [bleeps]
-And-- Oh, okay… -[laughs]
-I think this is over. -[laughs]
Okay.
-I have HR on the line. I have HR. -Yeah, of course you do.
Okay, here is my joke.
I love you.
This joke is in honor of Max, who I adored, Phil's dad.
These three Jewish women are sitting on a bench in a park,
and they're all talking how they have the best son.
And the first Jewish lady says,
"My son is the best! I get flowers on every Shabbas!"
And the second lady says,
"Well, I have to tell you, my son
is the best because he calls me three times a week."
And the third Jewish mother goes,
"Well, I have to tell you, my son is the best."
"He goes to therapy five days a week,
and all he talks about is me."
[Phil and Richard laughing]
That's so close to the bone.
-[giggles] -[rasps]
Philly, I love you. I love you.
What time is it there in--
It's 8:00 a.m. in Helsinki, and in L.A. it's like 10:00 p.m.
the night before, right?
-Yeah, 10:00 p.m. -Yeah.
Yeah, the wife's in the bed, going…
[imitates snoring]
[Phil and Richard laughing]
-I know. I know. -The ghost of Don Rickles.
It doesn't get hackier.
-Is she there? She standing right there? -Yeah.
-Phil said hi, honey. -Hi.
-Get over here. Get over here! -[laughing]
-Give me a minute. Get over here. -[Richard laughing]
Come over, he's got a lot of money, Issy. Come over here.
Look at Phil. Look at Phil. He's the reason you have a ring.
-Say hi to Phil. -[laughs]
Oh, look how beautiful! Hi, Issy! Hi!
Isn't she ama-- Look, look, it's incredible, right?
-Let's have dinner. -I'm breaking up.
You know what? She doesn't… She gets cranky.
I'm not talking to you, Brad.
-Oh, oh, right. -[both laugh hysterically]
You still got it!
[Brad laughs]
-All right, buddy. Shalom! -Love you. Be well.
-Bye. -Shalom.
Uh, my funny friends.
[mellow blues music playing]
For my last stop, we're going for barbecue,
in Helsinki.
B-Smokery co-owner Karri Niinivaara promises some savory treats.
[all greeting]
Hey, Sami!
[all greeting]
Here are my new friends Sara, Kenneth, Sam, and Kim.
What a time I had with these people.
-[Sami] You're having a gin? -[Kim] Yes.
[Phil] Not only having gin, very, very good gin.
-[Sami] You good? -Yeah. Good to see you.
-[Sami] Good to see you. -All right, calm down over there.
[laughs]
To my new friends in Finland, and to Helsinki,
and to the wonderful time I've had because of you.
[all] Thank you.
-Thank you for coming. -Thank you.
-So good to have you here. -[chuckles]
It's good to be had.
-Oh, here we go. Oh! Oh, oh! -[Kenneth] Check it out.
-[Kenneth] Pickles. Funky Pickles. -[Phil] Now it's a barbecue.
Look at these ribs. Look at this brisket.
If I wasn't sitting in Helsinki with my Helsinki friends,
I would swear I was in the southern part of the United States.
-We got the beers? -[Sara chuckles]
Savage. Get a sip of gin and he's like, "Can we have beers?"
[Kenneth] I'm trying to make it Finnish.
[Sami] Chef, the brisket is amazing. Thank you.
Whoo!
Everything. Everything.
[laughs] I really like this, like, change you brought in.
Also, like, the crew is amazing as well. There's just a good vibe.
-This crew? -Yeah! Awesome crew!
[Phil] I don't--
Look at this, applause for the crew. This you never see.
-You know… -No more gin for Sara.
[all laugh]
And then, just for me, I think, he made pastrami.
Wow!
[Kenneth] Now we're talking, now we're talking.
[Sara] And I like the "B."
-[Phil] The burned-in "B"? -[Sara] Yeah!
I like you saw the one you like.
-[Sara] Okay. -[Kim] It's getting serious.
[chuckling] It is getting serious.
[Sara] Mm-mm!
It has a bit of spiciness I like in the back--
[Phil] Yes.
The mustard is great and the pickles are great.
And usually, coleslaw would be on there instead of pickles.
And Russian dressing. I love it.
That's the thing I really love about Finland.
-It's not what the Reuben is in New York… -That's fine.
-It doesn't have to be. -…but it has a spin on it.
I was not expecting this.
It was just like, "Here's a little thing from your home," right?
What could I give back to them?
I don't know. I have one trick up my sleeve.
Now it's dessert time.
So this is something that was invented in Brooklyn, New York,
-maybe a hundred years ago by… -Really?
…German Jewish immigrants, and it's called an egg cream.
[spoons clanking]
As you're stirring…
[Kim] I like the sound.
…you add the sparkling water.
-[Sami] Ooh! -[Phil] You see?
-[Kenneth and Sara] Wow. -[Phil] It makes it foam.
-So, do it. Put-- -[Sara] Oh my God, look at that.
-[Phil] Yeah, keep stirring and pouring. -[Sara] Wow.
[spoon clinking]
[Phil] Great trick, right?
[Sara laughs]
[Phil] I want your best Finnish toast.
[Sara] Okay, okay.
-[glasses clinking] -[all] Kippis.
[mellow jazz music playing]
Wow.
-Super light. -[Sami] Low-calorie milkshake.
-Exactly! -That's it. It's good, right?
[Sara] Mm.
I'm glad I can give you a little taste of my home in your home.
Thank you for sharing that. Really appreciate it.
I had read that the Finns are the happiest people on Earth,
but they don't show it.
They don't laugh very easily,
and so it may take a lot to break through to them.
All of this was baloney
because the people I've met in this gorgeous city
have been so welcoming and so kind.
The sensibility and the care that they have for the world around them,
maybe that is the secret to happiness.
[Kim] Next time you come,
we're gonna have like a product that's called Kim's Egg Cream.
[Sara laughs]
-[Kim] And I'm gonna say that I told you! -I sue you!
[Sara] That might be true! [laughs]
Hey, Google, translate… this into Finnish.
"Thank you, Finland,
for being so warm and hospitable to me."
"I've loved my time here, and I love you."
"Thank you."
[female voice speaking Finnish]
[continues speaking]
-[Sara] Hey, cheers! Whoo-hoo! -[Sami] Cheers.
[theme song playing] ♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Can somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil ♪
♪ Oh please, somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil ♪
♪ Somebody feed him now ♪