i. Biography
Before Helena Puolakka became Chef Patron of Café Savoy in Helsinki, Finland, the work was already shaped by Finland’s land and waters: foraging, fishing, and living off the land. That background still reads in the cooking. Her own words are direct enough—“I grew up in Finland, foraging, fishing and living off the land”—and the result is a style that has been described as feminine, clean, simple, seasonal, and fresh. Those descriptors point to a cook working with weather, catch, and restraint rather than excess.
The Path
The discipline in Helena Puolakka’s cooking was built through a run of exacting kitchens in Europe: first as Head Chef at La Tante Claire in London, then as chef at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris (Hotel Balzac), and later as Head Chef at Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor restaurant and café in London. Each role added another layer of technique, pace, and precision. The career then moved into larger operational responsibilities, with Puolakka taking on Executive Chef at Skylon (D&D London) (from 2007) and Culinary Director at Company of Cooks, where the work meant holding standards steady while keeping the food clear and controlled. The line from London to Paris to Helsinki is not just geography; it is a record of kitchens where identity is measured against technique, and where the plate has to earn its place.
The Work Today
At Café Savoy, Puolakka’s cooking is described as robust, peasant at times, beautiful, feminine, and heart-warming. That range matters. It points to food that can carry polish without losing force, and warmth without losing structure. The room around it is meant for ordinary use as much as occasion: a lunch, a dinner, a weekday table, or a slower meal shared with others. “Café Savoy is the happy, sunny spot where I wish to have my lunch or dinner with family, friends, business, no special occasion needed.” The statement describes the brief plainly: open, usable, and built around the act of eating well. The cooking also carries Southern French influence, alongside a clear respect for seasonality and generous flavour. In Helsinki, that gives the work a dual register: grounded in Finnish memory, but informed by another food culture that values time, produce, and pleasure at the table. The point is not embellishment; it is control, warmth, and clarity in the same frame.
Signature
Helena's signature dishes include vorschmack pelmenis and borsch consommé, vorschmack, and Wellington. The list signals a cook working with familiar references and placing them under tighter definition. These are dishes that carry lineage in their names, but in Puolakka’s hands they are presented as part of a broader language of translation, precision, and restraint.
In Their Words “Southern France has been a big influence when creating the restaurant, the ‘joie de vivre’ present in people there, their love for great food, seasonal produce, daily wine and ability to take time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.” “Café Savoy is the happy, sunny spot where I wish to have my lunch or dinner with family, friends, business, no special occasion needed.”
Acclaim
The dish links memory to revision: familiar enough to belong, lighter in form, precise in its new setting. Wellington has remained on the menu ever since Puolakka took over the Savoy kitchen. That continuity places the work squarely in lineage: Finnish land and water, Southern French influence, and a Helsinki dining room where inheritance is kept active. The balance here is between rigor and warmth, tradition and adjustment, with no need to overstate either.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Helena
What is Helena Puolakka's current role?
As of 2026, Helena Puolakka is Chef Patron.
Where did Helena Puolakka work before?
Helena Puolakka's earlier career included La Tante Claire, Pierre Gagnaire, and Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor restaurant and café.
What is Helena Puolakka known for?
Southern French cuisine.
