Foraging for the best of Finnish food and design in North London.

London Design Festival kicks off this weekend and is expecting to draw 300, 000 design lovers to the capital city, representing some 22 countries.

As part of the dynamic design event, Hel Yes! – a creative collaboration representing the best of Helsinski, opened its doors last night for a 2 week period.

The project popped up in the Londonewcastle Depot in North London, Hel Yes!  is celebrating the creative talents born from the Finnish capital until the 3 October.

Presented by the Finnish Institute in London, Hel Yes! is a temporary restaurant and exhibition conceived and created by a team of Finnish designers and food visionaries, lead by Antto Melasniemi, Mia Wallenius and Klays Haapaniemi – in partnership with Finnish design houses, Iittala and Artek.

The space will seat 60 diners sat at unique tables created from Aspen trees, which were destined for woodchips, designed by Linda Bergroth for the occasion and bringing to mind a fairytale campsite.

Diners will be able to experience Finland’s celebrated furniture from Alvar Aalto – the legendary Artek 403.

Foraging is the theme for the food in keeping with the outdoors feel, with tastes of the Nordic forests making their way to North London paired with key Finnish ingredients as fish roe, fame and preserved plants.

Special Iittala tableware was collected from an event held in Helsinki earlier in the year, when participants were invited to trade in their Iittala or Arabia crockery along with the story behind it, to be exchanged for a dinner.

Hel Yes!
18-26 September 2010
helyes.fi