Behind the scenes with Finland TV

A new Finland-based food, travel and lifestyle show came to Manila to feature the country, and I was lucky enough to be part of their filming! Standing in as the local food host, we spent an afternoon in Quiapo to try out the street food offering and talk a little bit about Filipino food, the cuisine's history and our culture.

The show is titled Saran ja Meri-Tuulin Metropolit, which directly translates to Metropolises of Sara and Meri-Tuuli. The series features one city or country each episode, just as how shows we are more familiar with such as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods are formatted.

The people

The two hosts are celebrities in their own right in Europe. Sara La Fountain is a famous chef and TV personality, among others. Meri-Tuuli Lindström is a media personality and also a food lover. Together, they are two crazy girls exploring the world and having fun while at it. They were very warm to me and initiated a chit-chat right away for us to get to know each other and for me to be comfortable with them.

The Finnish and local crewmen were really nice and helpful that I was able to shrug off my nervousness. The Finnish director was always pleasant, and our own production manager, Ms. Ana, was a superwoman! She and her team, which includes her husband, made sure we're well taken care of. A shout out also to the local director Minco Fabregas, who arranged a small meet-and-greet with the local production team before the shoot.

It just kind of fell on my lap, but the whole filming was a fun experience, and I'm glad I made the right decision of going through with it. I can't wait to see the final episode. I hope it turns out well. I want them to have a great impression of the Philippines. If the Finnish crew's enthusiastic reception of Manila is any indication, then I think we're off to a good start. They absolutely loved the sun, the heat, our complex but rich cuisine, and all things that are so new to them, including the beach and the tall buildings!

I ♥ PH

Doing the show made me appreciate our country even more. We are an insane lot, and there are so many ills in our society that we are farther than far from being the ideal place to live in, but underneath all the evils and the chaos, there is an irresistible charm that no living person can turn his back on. I can proudly say I love the Philippines, and I was not embarrassed for one second of any eyesore or foul smell they encountered. What's important is we continue to improve ourselves and go through life's challenges with a sweet smile.

The only thing I was embarrassed of was the fact that Filipino cuisine isn't widely covered in this blog. I have so much to say about it, but very little has been posted. That will change from now on.

I also realized how much I truly love to talk about food! I knew this before but I guess doing the show was a solid affirmation 'coz it was the first time I ever talked about it in length, really explaining and introducing foods that we are too familiar with. I never had to take around foreigners to acquaint them with Filipino food, and it was a pleasant experience to do so. There are so many things to tell them about what we eat and the great restaurants we have regardless of cuisine, but I simply couldn't do it in a day! And I'm sure it'll be cut down to 10 minutes, maybe? Consider it a teaser then.

The show

Speaking of teasers, while we're all waiting for the show, check out the teaser to their Tel Aviv episode on Vimeo. You'd be amazed at how beautifully it was made. Of course it's in Finnish, and an English subtitle would help, but the images are more than enough to blow you away.

(Update: Embedding of the video has been disabled. Please watch Saran ja Meri-Tuulin metropolit (Teaser) from KOMIA Helsinki on Vimeo.)

They have a blog, www.metropolit.fi, which is also in Finnish. But you can easily have the page translated to English via Google translate.

If you are based in Finland, please please give me news when the show starts airing. Record the Manila episode if you may 'coz I don't know when I'll get a copy, and perhaps let us know how it was received there.