An aristocrat, a gourmet, an officer in the Chevalier Guard Regiment of the Imperial Russian Army, a spy, an explorer, Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army and President of the Republic. Carl Gustaf Mannerheim was all of these. Yet few people know that he was also a restaurateur. The influence of this fascinating and multifaceted person is still visible in Mikkeli's cityscape and cuisine. Let's take a tour of Mikkeli like Mannerheim!
Mannerheim's military career began at cadet school, which led him to the Imperial Russian Army's Nikolaevskaya Cavalry School and Chevalier Guard Regiment. He spent thirty years in the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the outbreak of the Finnish Civil War, Mannerheim led the Whites, first at their headquarters in Vaasa and then in Mikkeli. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its headquarters were once again located in Mikkeli, and the Headquarters Museum has preserved Mannerheim's office as it was during wartime. The same building houses a science centre, the Muisti Centre of War and Peace, and its powerful interactive exhibitions.
In honour of Mannerheim and in memory of the Civil War Headquarters, the road in front of Mikkeli railway station was the first street in Finland to be named after Mannerheim in 1919. Mannnerheim's saloon car, which is also part of the museum, is kept at the railway station and opens its doors to the public once a year on 4 June, which is both Mannerheim's birthday and the Finnish Defence Forces' Flag Day. Mannerheim made more than a hundred journeys in this saloon car during the war years. You can also explore the saloon car virtually at http://salonkivaunu.mikkeli.fi.
Following in Mannerheim's footsteps will take you to the original Lokki Communication Centre, which was excavated out of the rock beneath nearby Naisvuori hill. Lokki was the Headquarters' telephone exchange and telegraph station, and also served as a bomb shelter for senior military commanders. More than a hundred people worked in the centre, most of them women.
Mannerheim was seen at many other locations in Mikkeli during his time at the Headquarters, such as in Hyytiäinen's barber shop on Porrassalmenkatu, meeting with wounded soldiers at the hospital and enjoying a sauna in the hospital yard, at the Kinolinna cinema on Vuorikatu, at the fire station and operations centre in the building that now houses Mikkeli Theatre, and in Pitäjänkirkko (the parish church) and Kenkävero. The latter was, according to Mannerheim, "the most beautiful vicarage in Christendom".
Mannerheim also visited Mikkeli's Old Garrison, where the officers and men were lodged, and which now houses the Infantry Museum. Mannerheim lived at Granite House near Mikkeli Cathedral from autumn 1941 to March 1944. Although Hyytiäinen's barber shop and the hospital yard sauna no longer exist, the other buildings are still standing.
During the 1920s, Mannerheim spent some years as a civilian in Hanko, where he owned a café called Neljän tuulen tupa (Four Winds Cottage). Mannerheim was a gourmet with very particular tastes. He organised evening meals at the café, planning the menu himself from scratch. The French-style café's menu included dishes such as bouillabaisse and five o'clock tea with Mannerheim pastries.
Mannerheim's interest in food was also evident in the meals he hosted at Mikkeli Headquarters. He sought to influence Hotel Kaleva's catering, and particularly when guests were invited. Hanna Torniainen was a server at Hotel Kaleva, and remembers that Mannerheim appreciated food that was good, simple and light. They would begin with schnapps, cold cuts and an omelette or soufflé, followed by dishes such as lamb or cabbage rolls for the main course. More modest dishes, such as herring casserole, were also served for everyday meals. Most of the ingredients were Finnish produce. Fish dishes were to Mannerheim's liking. Vendace were obtained locally, while zander and salmon came from a little further afield. As a world traveller, the Marshal's menus also included non-traditional spices, such as paprika and chilli, in addition to white pepper, allspice and black pepper, which were more familiar to the inhabitants of South Savo.
Meals were served in the historic dining hall of the Mikkeli Club, an English-style gentlemen’s club that was founded in 1898. It was here that Mannerheim and his officers, aka "the Marshal's Court", would eat lunch and dinner on a daily basis. Today, the Mikkeli Club's historic dining hall serves as a restaurant for private events.
Mannerheim and the other Headquarters staff livened up Mikkeli's social life and restaurant scene, which in turn influenced the menus served by local establishments. Over the centuries, the manors in South Savo had gradually created a unique cuisine, which had influences from both East and West, and also catered to the tastes of the European gentry. Mannerheim added to this with his own preferences.
Mannerheim's favourite dishes included Zander Walewska, fried zander with mushroom sauce and horseradish butter, solyanka (a Russian soup), chocolate cake and strawberries, and a Nordic dessert of whipped cream and fruit that is similar to Eton mess. One of his favourites, Vorschmack (minced lamb, beef and herring), also found its way to Mikkeli and is still available at Tertti Manor.
For Finns, the Marshal's Shot is perhaps the best known part of Mannerheim's culinary legacy. This drink originates from Mannerheim's time in the Chevalier Guard Regiment of the Imperial Russian Army. One of the perks of being an officer was one glass of vodka at lunch and two at dinner. The glasses were filled right up to the brim, and practice makes perfect: an experienced drinker could lift the shot to their lips without spilling a drop.
The Eau-de-Vie de la Table Ronde de St Michel 1942 (that is, the "water for life" at Mikkeli's round table in 1942) contained:
Here's how to enjoy it in the spirit of the time:
Fill a long-stemmed schnapps glass right up to the brim with an ice-cold shot. Take hold of the glass by grasping the middle of the bowl with your thumb and index finger. Raise your hand, keeping your elbow straight out to the side and bringing the glass close to your body. Look up from your glass and into the eyes of the person sitting opposite, and raise your glass to your lips. Drink the schnapps in two sips or more, swishing it around in your mouth.
Do you think you could manage it without spilling any?