Dinner Time!

Created collaboratively by the National Library and the Hotel and Restaurant Museum, the exhibition explores food culture by examining what cookery books issued at different times tell about food and the people who cook, and reviewing the history of Finnish restaurant culture.

Cooking skills have always been learned at home. Recipes have been passed down to younger generations by example. The best cooks have shared their expertise by both teaching the younger generation and serving their culinary creations.

Over the years, it has become more common for Finns to eat in restaurants. Now people no longer need a special occasion to eat out, festive meals have become everyday occasions with lunch vouchers. Cooking is taught in not only home and restaurant kitchens, but also schools and courses. 

In the 1950s food advertising often focused on products that could make cooking easier for women with children. Advertisers have always been quick to identify new trends in food culture and ingredients as well as changing attitudes to food. While the quality of food produced in Finland has long been praised, the focus in recent decades has shifted to organic and local food.

National Library of Finland

17.5.-1.11.2024

The exhibition supplement the  Food for All exhibition at Helsinki University Museum Flame