Eating Upstate: Cafe Mutsi in Andes Where Finnish-Inspired Flavors Meet Catskills Community

In Andes, NY, Cafe Mutsi is turning Nordic tradition into a distinctly Catskills experience—one cardamom bun at a time.

Opened on Mother’s Day weekend 2024, the café and wine bar is the vision of chef Nicole Bassis, whose childhood summers in Finland—and her grandmother’s baking—shape a menu rooted in memory and craft.

From Finland to the Catskills

Bassis grew up in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood but spent summers in Finland, where her grandmother was a professional baker. Those early experiences continue to guide her cooking.

“I had all of these handwritten recipes from her through the years,” Bassis said. “And I tested them all out… I always went back to her recipe.”

After studying at the Institute of Culinary Education, she worked as a private chef and cooking instructor before meeting Raoul Koopman in 2018. Koopman now runs the café’s coffee and beverage program, while Bassis leads the kitchen.

A Move Upstate—and a New Start

After marrying in 2021, the couple left New York City for the western Catskills, drawn by a growing food scene and a slower pace.

“We weren’t loving the city life anymore,” Bassis said. “We wound up spending most of our weekends… getting in the car and leaving the city.”

Priced out of the Hudson Valley, they expanded their search and found a property in Andes that immediately felt like home. The space had previously housed a café Bassis visited as a child.

“There was just like this gut feeling of—this is the place,” she said.

They closed on the building in late 2023 and opened months later on Mother’s Day—an intentional choice.

“Mutsi is slang for mom in Finnish,” Bassis said. “A lot of the recipes… are passed down from our moms and our grandmothers.”

Nordic Roots, Local Ingredients

The menu blends old and new, with pastries like cardamom buns directly inspired by her grandmother’s recipes. Recreating those flavors in the U.S. required adjustments.

“We don’t sell crushed cardamom like that here,” she said. “So we… have a spice grinder that’s dedicated to crushing cardamom every week.”

That attention to detail reflects a broader philosophy.

“It’s these taste memories and food memories that we’re bringing out in the food,” Bassis said.

Alongside pastries, the café serves savory dishes like shrimp toast and steak tartare, sourcing locally whenever possible.

Bread, Wholesale, and Small-Batch Production

Cafe Mutsi also produces packaged goods, including granola, pickles, duck rillettes, and sourdough bread made from a 30-year-old Finnish starter.

“There’s something about it… it reminds me of the smell of bread that my grandma in Finland used to bake,” Bassis said.

Despite a small kitchen setup, the team produces up to 100 loaves a week, selling them in-house and at regional spots like First Bloom and the Dear Native Grapes Tasting Room.

Pop-Ups and Connection

After scaling back weekly dinner service, the café now hosts occasional pop-ups and collaborations.

“It was quite a bit on our schedule,” Bassis said of weekly dinners. “So we started doing the dinners pop-up style.”

Recent events, including Valentine’s Day seatings, have drawn full houses and partnerships with local producers.

Adjusting to rural life has come with changes—especially driving—but also rewards.

“The beautiful adjustment… has been the amount of community,” Bassis said. “We have regulars that come in every day.”

 

Image: Cafe Mutsi owners Raoul Koopman and Nicole Bassis. (Heaven McArthur)