Mojakka is on

Two national traditions will combine Sunday, March 15, at the annual Mojakka Cook-Off, when at least 15 area cooks will show off their best Finnish soups, all washed down with the buyer’s choice of green or purple beer. The cook-off starts at 1 p.m. at the historic NorthEastern Hotel on Dunlap Island in Cloquet.

The mojakka and the purple beer pay homage to St. Urho’s Day, March 16, the day that St. Urho dined on a hearty bowl of the soup before heading out to rid the Finnish vineyards of a plague of grasshoppers.

The green beer, of course, is in honor of St. Patrick, who chased all the snakes out of Ireland.

There is no one mojakka recipe. It can range from a thick stew to a thin soup, and usually contains beef or fish and potatoes (and allspice), but that’s not a requirement.

North Eastern owner Bert Whittington says it’s always a fun and tasty time. “I always sample every one,” he said.

In true Finnish cooperative fashion, everyone votes on their favorite soup and that is the winner. Tickets are $8 at the door. There is no fee for entering mojakka, but it needs to be there by noon Sunday, with awards at 4:30 p.m.. The event is a fundraiser for the Cloquet American Legion Auxiliary Post 262.