Gourmet Action Finland! Scandinavian tasting

Everyone thinks they want be a French Girl.

Come Jan/Feb people in this town are all doing a Detox regime! Gimmeabreak. Yesterday Coco Jobard took me along to a presentation of Finnish gourmet Scandinavian products. Enroute she announced she was doing  a 15-day sans sucre regime (no sugar for 15 days!!). Ouch

Coco went 2 years ago and tasted bear and reindeer.

This year it was more like a bear's dinner—delicious dried berries

From Joy Of North. Ahh...the flavors! The fruits in Finland in summer get round-the-clock sunlight so taste extra intense. And no sugar of course.

Sparkling pink pamplemouse (grapefruit) drinks with just a touch of alcohol and almost no sugar.

Fruity vinegars like blueberry and framboise from Malmgard. Oh so delicate and NO sugar.

Extraordinary salmon, one smoked with blue cheese inside on the right. Not so pretty but the flavors! Where to find this in Paris? I hope La Grande Epicerie was there.

Delicate fish eggs from trout and other Finnish fish.

Coco was collecting samples for Pierre Hermé, always on the lookout for new flavors. You may be eating Finnish berry macarons next visit. Qui sait? These jams and syrups are from Lapland.

Cepes dried and edible as is or cooked. Everything may be edible in this picture..

A rose with frost on it from Finnish Plant of Vampula.

They make heavenly rose petal confiture that Coco says is better than the French version from Provins with little sugar.

I visited Provins and theirs is like a jelly though made from the same species of rose (Rosa Rugosa).

We were both enthralled with Finnish soap stone from HUKKA. Who knew there are 226 kinds of soap stone? Or that soap stone is the most dense and radiates hot and cold temperatures like no other? You can cook food at the table on a heated stone or

Relax your tired computer-weary eyes with iced stones. Terrific!

We were given lovely samples to taste. Most kind Action Finland.

A few birch seats might have been nice, in my opinion, for a Finnish ambience.

Coco let me off at Pont Marie. I had to pass several boulangeries going home. It was Chandeleur last night so I was tempted to grab a few crepes.

Instead, feeling like Sweet Jane and I got a 'paille'(meaning straw but tasting nothing like it). Its a sandwich of two Very sugary palmier with a thick smear of raspberry jam inside! Miam

Right now I'm finishing the February Chocolate map so sugar (and chocolate) is tops on the menu for me. To heck with detox regimes! The maps should go out tomorrow latest. Stay tuned.