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.

The story has everything: national pride, culinary revenge and a very Finnish understanding of timing. 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, competing against Finland. During his lobbying, 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 made this claim in front of a political audience.

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, and a comparison that was factually confused in multiple directions.

The Finnish public took note. Halonen herself responded with considerable composure, pointing out that she had not in fact been charmed by Berlusconi into anything. The Italian side of the press found the episode entertaining. The Finnish side found it useful.

Finns tend not to react loudly to provocation. They tend to remember it.

Finnish pizza culture: the context

Before getting to the pizza itself, it is worth understanding that Finland has an unusually strong pizza culture for a country this far north.

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, a fact that surprises people who assume Finnish cuisine consists entirely of rye bread and salted fish.

Pizza arrived in Finland in the 1970s and was adopted with characteristic Finnish thoroughness. Regional variations developed. Kotipizza in particular built a reputation around Finnish toppings — lingonberry, chanterelle, smoked reindeer — that created a genuinely distinct product rather than a copy of the Italian original.

This context matters because the Pizza Berlusconi was not a novelty. It was a Finnish pizza chain working within its native environment, using ingredients it had been using for years, entering competitions it was genuinely equipped to win.

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. The marketing was handled with considerable Finnish directness. Advertising copy included the headline: "97-year-old grandmother bites into Berlusconi." The campaign was deadpan and specific and did not attempt to explain itself.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera described it as a "blood revenge" by the Finns. They also noted, with visible discomfort, that the pizza sounded genuinely delicious. The combination of smoked reindeer and chanterelle is earthy and rich in a way that stands up well against Italian regional competition. The ingredients are not exotic novelties. They are Finnish pantry staples.

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. In the north of Finland it is sold in supermarkets alongside ordinary minced meat and eaten in everything from soups to pasta.

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.

For a Finn, the Pizza Berlusconi was not a provocative pairing. It was a familiar combination on a pizza base. The Italian reaction to it as exotic said more about how little Italy knew about Finnish food than it did about the pizza itself.

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, on the grounds that using a serving head of state's name for commercial purposes was inappropriate. Kotipizza's CEO declined. He also extended an open invitation for Berlusconi to visit Finland and discuss the matter in person, if he felt strongly about it.

Berlusconi never came.

The international press coverage was substantial. The story had an obvious shape — small Nordic country defeats Italy at pizza in New York — and journalists found it irresistible. For Kotipizza, the publicity was worth considerably more than any advertising budget could have bought. For Finland, it was the kind of quiet vindication that requires very little commentary.

The Finnish approach to criticism

There is something very specific about the way this episode unfolded that is worth examining.

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.

This is a Finnish timeline. The response to provocation is not immediate and emotional. It is considered, practical and eventually thorough. The pizza did not just make a point. It made the point in a competition that Italy had the strongest possible interest in, using Italian criteria, and won on the merits.

That is not revenge, exactly. It is more like a correction, delivered calmly after the appropriate amount of preparation.

The same quality appears in Finnish culture more broadly. A Finn at a meeting who is told their idea will not work does not argue. They note the information, reconsider, and come back when they have something that will work. There is no drama in the process. There is just the result.

For more of what this looks like across Finnish food and culture, the guide to Finnish cinnamon buns is a good companion piece — another example of a Finnish food that exists on its own terms and does not particularly care what anyone outside Finland thinks of it.

Berlusconi eventually discovers Finnish food

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. Kotipizza's invitation remained open.

The VFP food collection has more Finnish spirit, if you want something to take home from the encounter.

101 Very Finnish Problems contains a great many stories of Finland doing things on its own terms, in its own time, without particular interest in being congratulated for it. The Pizza Berlusconi fits neatly into the collection.

FAQ: The Pizza Berlusconi story

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, beating Italian American entries.

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. He also claimed to have used his "playboy skills" to influence Finnish President Tarja Halonen. Halonen publicly disputed this claim. Berlusconi did not retract it.

Is Pizza Berlusconi still available?

Kotipizza has offered various versions of the Pizza Berlusconi since 2008. Its availability on the current menu varies — check Kotipizza's website for the latest. The pizza became a genuine part of the chain's identity, and a symbol of Finnish quiet resolve that proved more durable than the provocation that created it.

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 over decades, notably the use of Finnish ingredients like smoked reindeer, chanterelle and lingonberry, creating a distinct product rather than a copy of the Italian version.

Why did Italy object to the Pizza Berlusconi?

Italian officials argued that using a sitting head of state's name for commercial purposes was inappropriate. Kotipizza's CEO disagreed and kept the pizza on the menu. He also invited Berlusconi to visit Finland and discuss the matter in person. Berlusconi did not take up the invitation.

The pizza outlasted Berlusconi's term in office. It has also outlasted several of his subsequent legal proceedings. It is, by any reasonable measure, the more durable legacy.