Fazer is one of the local partners at the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony held in Finland
The MICHELIN Stars are the most coveted and prized honours of the restaurant industry, and the annual MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is the world’s most famous culinary event. This year’s ceremony for awarding the Nordic restaurants will be held in Turku, Finland, on 12 June 2023. The iconic Finnish food experience company Fazer has partnered up with Business Finland and City of Turku and is widely present at the event. Fazer’s award-winning Oat Rice product will be served as part of the gala dinner menu.
The 132-year-old Fazer is known for its high-quality products and food innovations, and it is one of the leading oat innovators in Europe and the biggest oat producer in the Nordic countries. The world-class oat know-how is utilised in all Fazer businesses which already offer more than 200 oat products.
At the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony Fazer’s wide plant-based selection will be introduced in several dishes prepared by top chefs. Fazer’s Oat Rice will be served as part of the gala dinner main menu. In addition, Fazer’s Chef de cuisine Tapio Bergström and Chef de patisserie Piia Raunio will prepare savoury and sweet tasting portions for the guests. Oat Rice and Fazer Aito plant-based drinks and cooking products will be used in their creations.
“MICHELIN is a very well-reputed and honoured expert organisation within food and restaurant industry. Fazer’s cooperation with the MICHELIN Guide organisation feels very natural, both being high-quality brands. We are honoured to offer our superb quality food from Finland to the international culinary professionals joining this event,” says Anniina Niemistö, VP, Communications, Fazer Lifestyle Foods.
Fazer Oat Rice, an award-winning innovation, is an alternative for rice
Fazer’s hero product presented at the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is the unique innovation Fazer Oat Rice – a plant-based, locally sourced product with a very low carbon footprint. The product was developed by Fazer’s millers, and it can be used in the same way as conventional rice. Fazer Oat Rice has won the Swedish Food Award 2020 and the Swedish Foodservice Award 2021 due to its sustainability, good taste, and high nutritious value.
“This versatile grain product can be used in classic recipes in the same way as rice, and it has a very pleasant taste and smooth mouthfeel. It contains 67% more protein, 7,5 times more dietary fibre and 26% less carbohydrates than white rice1). It also has 78% less climate impact compared to jasmine rice from Thailand2),” Niemistö explains.
Fazer Aito offers plant-based alternatives for dairy products
The other Fazer product family presented at the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony event is Fazer Aito, which is an international brand for Fazer’s plant-based drinks and cooking products. The Fazer Aito products are made of pure Nordic oats at Fazer’s plants in Finland and Sweden. The share of plant-based products in Fazer’s offering is already 48 percent, and the company is aiming to grow its entire plant-based product range and market share even more in Finland and internationally.
“We want to develop tasty and high-quality plant-based products and expand our vegan range by introducing completely new kinds of products,” Niemistö continues.
Nordic Oat is a valuable grain with countless opportunities
Oat is an ingredient that has been used already for thousands of years due to its versatility and high nutritional value and is also a grain known to be good for health and well-being. Oat and its fibres have four health claims related to Beta Glucan approved in the EU. In addition to these proven health benefits, wholegrain oat has an excellent nutritional profile. Oat includes beneficial plant-based protein and plenty of fibre, essential vitamins and minerals like iron, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Nordic growing conditions are ideal for cultivating high-quality oat, as the freezing winters, enormous amount of light in summer and clean water provide them with special qualities. Thus, Fazer has access to some of the best possible oat in the world, and the company uses only Nordic oats in its production.
1) Source: Eurofins analysis report Havre pol 2019-09-09. SLV nutritional contents rice long-grained uncooked rice
2) Source: RISE (2021). Klimatavtryck havreris – en uppdragsrapport för Fazer.
Further information:
Anniina Niemistö, VP, Communications, Fazer Lifestyle Foods, anniina.niemisto@fazer.com, +358 (0)40 674 4672
Fazer serves the media by phone Mon–Fri from 8 am to 4 pm, tel. +358 40 6682 998 and at media@fazer.com.
Fazer Group
Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. Our mission, Food with a purpose, builds on our strong 130-year heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. With our dedicated team of approximately 5,000 professionals, we focus on fast-moving consumer goods and our direct-to-consumer business in Northern Europe, and beyond with exports to some 40 different countries. Fazer’s operations comply with its Code of Conduct that is based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact. In 2022, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.100 million euros.
Northern Magic. Made Real.
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