The Pizza Berlusconi battle: How Finland beat Italy at pizza

Few political insults have been answered as effectively as Silvio Berlusconi's remarks about Finnish food. In 2005, the Italian Prime Minister made disparaging comments about Finnish cuisine. In 2008, a Finnish pizza chain responded by winning an international pizza competition with a reindeer pizza named directly after him. If you want to know what Finnish food culture actually looks like, this is a good place to start.

The original insult

In 2005, Berlusconi was campaigning for Italy to host an EU food standards agency. He publicly suggested that he had persuaded Finland's then-president Tarja Halonen to back Italy's bid by deploying what he described as his "playboy skills." He also made disparaging remarks about Finnish food, comparing Italian prosciutto favourably to "marinated reindeer," a product that does not exist in Finnish cuisine in the form he implied. The Finnish public took note. Halonen responded with considerable composure. Finns tend not to react loudly to provocation. They tend to remember it.

Finnish pizza culture: the context

Kotipizza, the chain that created the Pizza Berlusconi, has over 270 outlets across Finland. It is the largest pizza chain in the Nordic countries. Finns eat more pizza per capita than almost any other EU country. Pizza arrived in Finland in the 1970s and was adopted with characteristic Finnish thoroughness, developing regional variations around Finnish toppings: lingonberry, chanterelle, smoked reindeer.

The Pizza Berlusconi

In 2008, three years after the insult, Kotipizza created the Pizza Berlusconi. The pizza featured smoked reindeer, tomato, cheese, Finnish chanterelle mushrooms and red onion on a thin base. It was named directly after the Italian Prime Minister. Advertising copy included the headline: "97-year-old grandmother bites into Berlusconi." The campaign was deadpan and did not attempt to explain itself.

Why reindeer on pizza works

Reindeer meat is lean, low in fat and carries a slightly smoky, gamey flavour that is milder than venison and more distinctive than beef. Smoked reindeer has been a Finnish ingredient for centuries. Chanterelle mushrooms, which grow across Finnish forests in late summer and autumn, have an earthy, slightly peppery flavour that pairs well with the reindeer. The combination was not invented for the pizza. It existed in Finnish cuisine before the pizza existed.

Finland wins the pizza competition

Later in 2008, the Pizza Berlusconi entered an international pizza competition in New York. It won, beating Italian American entries. Italian officials responded by demanding that Kotipizza remove the pizza from its menu. Kotipizza's CEO declined and extended an open invitation for Berlusconi to visit Finland. Berlusconi never came. In 2011, Berlusconi attended a dinner in Helsinki. He ate reindeer fillet, salmon sandwiches and a warm chocolate tart. He praised the quality of the food. Whether he ever tried the Pizza Berlusconi specifically was never confirmed.

The Finnish approach to criticism

The insult happened in 2005. The pizza appeared in 2008. That three-year gap is not an accident. Finland did not respond with a press conference, a diplomatic note or a social media campaign. It responded with a pizza, when the pizza was ready and the competition was right. The response to provocation is not immediate and emotional. It is considered, practical and eventually thorough.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pizza Berlusconi?

Pizza Berlusconi is a pizza created by Finnish chain Kotipizza in 2008, named in direct response to disparaging remarks about Finnish food made by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2005. The pizza features smoked reindeer, chanterelle mushrooms, tomato, cheese and red onion. It won an international pizza competition in New York in 2008.

What did Berlusconi say about Finnish food?

In 2005, Berlusconi made comments mocking Finnish cuisine while lobbying for Italy to host an EU food standards agency. He compared Italian prosciutto favourably to "marinated reindeer," a product that does not exist in Finnish cuisine as he described it. Berlusconi did not retract the remarks.

Does Finland really have a pizza culture?

Yes, and a substantial one. Finland has one of the highest per capita pizza consumption rates in the EU. Kotipizza alone operates more than 270 outlets. Finnish pizza developed regional characteristics around Finnish ingredients like smoked reindeer, chanterelle and lingonberry, creating a distinct product rather than a copy of the Italian version.

101 Very Finnish Problems began as a list of observations about Finnish life. It became a book because the observations kept coming.

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