Mannerheim's Formal Dinner

Marshal C.G. Mannerheim was known as a person with exacting standards who applied them to the kitchens and restaurants he visited. His table manners were known everywhere and much talked about. He liked to dine in company and chose his companions very carefully. As a gourmet he enjoyed choosing the food and the accompanying drink. His favourite dish was smoked suckling pig stuffed with buckwheat. The head chef personally carved the roast pig. Mannerheim never scorned good wine; his undisputed favourite was "Le Cardinal". C.G. Mannerheim blended his dining traditions with both French and Russian cuisine in mind. Most stories concern the marshal's piled-up shot glass. For some it would spill into his hand, for others onto the table. If some of it dripped onto a plate among the food, the Marshal might be surprised and ask, "Do you need to season the food with vodka, dilute the sauce, or is there perhaps some other fault with the dish?" He had no difficulty inventing a small pretext. Various tales circulated about that practice of overfilling the shot glass. Once a general asked Mannerheim about the origin of the custom. Mannerheim explained that in the Russian army, during manoeuvres when officers were fed at the state's expense, breakfast included one and lunch two shots of vodka. Since the state paid for everything, everyone had their glass filled as full as possible. He would always take a drink before the meal, sometimes even more than one shot, which according to Russian custom is entirely justified.