Basque Pintxo Championship to Honor Tampere Founder Mikko Reinikka

Mikko Reinikka will receive the Premio de Honor de Campeonato from the Basque pintxo championship in Bilbao on November 19, Aamulehti reports. It is the first time the prize has gone to someone outside Spain.

Reinikka, founder of the Tamperrada pintxo festival, has spent about two decades immersed in Basque food traditions. He has visited Spain roughly 150 times, often staying in San Sebastián. He launched Tamperrada in 2013 with ten restaurants; by 2024 the event involved around 40 venues, and at this year’s edition judges evaluated 87 competition dishes over two nights. Organizers say the festival’s lifetime sales of pintxos have now topped three million.

A graphic designer by trade, Reinikka has also started local dining ventures such as Pikkubistro Kattila and Koski Pintxo and founded regional Gourmet Clubs. He called the recognition "the greatest honor I could never have imagined" in a press release. The Bilbao ceremony will also feature Michelin-starred chef Pekka Terävä as a juror, the first Finnish judge invited to the Basque Country and Navarre pintxo championship final.

Tampere’s growing Spanish food scene has been visible locally, with the Heart of Spain deli in Tampere Market Hall becoming Finland’s first Colmados-certified shop.