The Festival's Ben Evans visited Helsinki at the weekend, returning with the catalogue to the Hel Yes: Design and Food from Helsinki, which is something to drool over in itself – not least because it includes several recipes for the kind of Finnish food that Concept Director Antto Melasniemi is likely to be serving up at the pop up restaurant as part of the London Design Festival.
If you want to know more about Hel Yes! you could read the interview we did with Melasniemi a couple of weeks back. Briefly, instead of doing a joint exhibition of the work of the usual suspects of Finnish design, the Hel Yes team decided to create a kind of temporary design encampment in which food is served, alcohol is drunk and in which ideas are discussed.
Hel Yes is a way of showing how design is more than just function and form; at its best it can be about culture, it's about ecology and it's about friendship.
As a taster, I include one of the book's recipes below, by kind permission of Hel Yes.
GRANNY'S CUCUMBERS
These can be served as a freshening element with almost any meal.
2 cucumbers
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 tablepoons of spirit vinegar
fresh dill
Slice the cucumbers and cut into 3mm slices. Place into a plastic box. Add sugar, salt and vinegar, place lid on and shake the box. Check the flavouring. Add the chopped dill and place into fridge one hour before serving.
