The festival for all those who enjoy good food and drinks, Food & Fun, will be filling the restaurants and cocktail bars in Turku again between 27 September and 1 October 2017. This year, you have many different ways to join.

How can I join the fun?

Menus and available servings can be found on the website foodandfunfinland.fi and TableOnline.fi.

The event will bring guest chefs and bartenders to nine restaurants and six cocktail bars in Turku. Special menus will be served in restaurants and bars from Wednesday to Sunday. The guests come from around the world: the USA, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, England, the Basque Country, Italy and Singapore.

- This year, Food & Fun is more international than ever, says Jouni Kuru, producer of the event.

While most servings are already fully booked, there is still time left to make a reservation.

According to Kuru, the purpose of the event is to encourage Turku residents to eat out and to offer a low threshold event where anyone can participate.

New elements have been added to the festival over the years and they are hoped to attract an even wider public. On Wednesday 27 September, the event will be opened at Aalto Night Club by celebrating Food & Fun Turku Cocktail Bash where all guest bartenders will be serving samples from their week’s menu.

See a contest

Contests are not the key element of Food & Fun, but they provide an interesting addition to the week’s programme. An international jury will select a small number of chefs for a contest to prepare a dish from their own menu. The contest for chefs will be taking place at Hansatori on Saturday 30 September from 12 noon to 2 p.m. The audience has free access to see masters in their work.

The show and contest for bartenders will take place at the Aalto Night Club on Saturday 30 September from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The audience has an opportunity to see how drinks are made and get to know the latest trends as bartenders from the USA, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Finland show their best side and talk about their work. Free entrance.

Combine food with stand up

Simultaneously with the Food & Fun event, different clubs will be organising a Stand Up, Turku! festival that is well suited to accompany the food event.

- The programme and the settings have been planned in a way that allows enjoying comedy before or after dinner. In other words, there is programme for the entire evening, says Jouni Kuru.

Further information on the Stand Up, Turku! festival www.standupturku.com

Enjoy jazz

After the meal, you can enjoy magnificent jazz music by Jazz City Turku at Tiirikkala:

  • Sanna Ruohoniemi Quartet on Friday 29 September at 9 p.m.
  • Kalevi Louhivuori Quintet on Saturday 30 September at 9 p.m.

Chinese pop-up restaurant on 29 September

During the Food & Fun week, Marina Bar & Lounge will be visited by the awarded Chinese chef Zhao Yingbing from the city of Chongqing. His achievements include winning the Seafood Cuisine in China and the China Golden Chef Award. He is the most famous chef instructor in China and works in his own restaurant. In Turku, he will be cooking a Hot Pot meal on Friday 29 September from 7 p.m. onwards, using vegetables provided by the local Lindroth Nursery (Lindrothin Puutarha) and Finnish meat.

The chef is accompanied by the company Chongqing TV Broadcasting that shoots the Hot Pot dinner. The pop-up is produced in collaboration with Radisson Blu Marina Palace and Visit Turku.