Exploring Estonia
On a dim and rainy day late at night strolling in Pärnu, I had little hopes of fine food to admit. The popular beach and spa town in west Estonia can be buzzing with life in summer, but in November, it looked rather deserted. However, the night unfolded surprisingly.
For four stops in a row, we had the finest bites of food, wonderful fruit wines, craft beers and champagne to follow. Just on my second day in Estonia, I realized that Estonia is playing hard in joining the Scandinavian fine dining league of star chefs.
With a group of international food writers, we were guided on a culinary journey in the town. One stop was exceptionally interesting as a concept. Kirss Toidul (literally the cherry on top of food or cake) was a one-of-a kind unique experience. It was about tasting the real home cooking, and I mean it. The restaurant is a real home.
Tanel Lilleste and Evely Kasemaa-Lilleste, who are married, decided to convert their living room to a dining room, accommodating about five tables only. Connected to the open kitchen, the dining room is as homey as it can get. Guests take their shoes off when entering the house, which gives the first clue of a real home experience.
The lively couple chats and exchanges jokes with guests while cooking and serving their tasty dishes. The star was the best steak tartar ever. We must have galloped at least a kilo of the sublime raw meat spiked with pickled cucumbers, onions and some secret ingredients that was handed down from generation-to-generation in the family. One secret ingredient was surprisingly familiar, acuka or adjika, a Caucasian spicy concoction that we also have in Turkey.
It is interesting to find connections between Turkey in Estonia at the most unexpected places. The assistant mayor in charge of tourism in Pärnu, Rainer Aavik, is very familiar with Turkey and especially Ankara and Bilkent University where his sister studied international relations. He himself took a few courses at Bilkent University.
I instantly felt like I was meeting a friend of my daughter who is also a graduate from the same campus. Our talk was laced with flowing champagne and the dainty little morsels ranging from quail’s eggs to three-way Jerusalem artichokes and mini rabbit morsels served by the kitchen team of Ranna Spa Hotel. I’m sure Aavik will be instrumental in getting visitors from Turkey, coming here not for the beach but to explore the tastes of Pärnu in the future.
We will surely be hearing a lot from Estonia in the gastronomy circles in the near future. Today in Tallinn is the big culinary event, IFE-Ideas-Flavours-Experiences, that brings together international chefs and food journalists from around the globe.
Next year in June, the European finals of Bocuse d’Or, the ultimate chef’s competition considered to be the Olympics of world gastronomy, will take place in Tallinn. The finals of Turkey are about to take place soon. The chef who will be going to the finals will be determined in the Turkey Bocuse d’Or competition as part of the Sirha Istanbul to take place in Istanbul Congress Center.
I wish all the chefs luck. I am in the process of finding out about Estonian food culture and what might be the ingredients they will be getting to have in the European finals. I’ll carry back some culinary secrets for sure.
Sirha spirit
The chefs competing for Bocuse d’Or Turkey finals are Serhat Eliçora, junior sous-chef at St. Regis Hotel; Ahmet Can Aras, executive chef at Say Hello Brasserie; Sezer Deniz, head chef at JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara and Emre İnanır, chef de cuisine at Aila restaurant in Fairmont Quasar Hotel Istanbul.
The regional finals are taking place in five continents in the course of two years, culminating to the grand world final that takes place in Lyon. If you want to watch the Turkey finals, just register through their website. http://sirha-istanbul.com/
Bocuse d’Or Jury of Turkey:
Mehmet Gök – Head of Jury
Vedat Başaran – Honorary Head
Alexis Atlamazoğlu - Executive Chef - Hilton Bomonti İstanbul
Aylin Yazıcıoğlu - Chef & Owner - Nicole
Cihan Kıpçak - Executive Chef - Spago İstanbul
Deniz Katrancı - Executive Chef - D Maris Bay Datça Peninsula
Laurent Capdeville - Gastronomy Consultant - France
Melih Demirel - Executive Chef - Frankie İstanbul
Muhammed Hancabay - Executive Chef - Marriott Hotel Asia
Selami Güleryüz - Executive Chef - The Ritz-Carlton,Istanbul
Umut Özkanca - CEO- dream
Ziya Çıkrıkçı - Executive Chef - Conrad İstanbul Bosphorus
Deniz Katrancı - Executive Chef - D Maris Bay Datça Peninsula
Laurent Capdeville - Gastronomy Consultant - France
Melih Demirel - Executive Chef - Frankie İstanbul
Muhammed Hancabay - Executive Chef - Marriott Hotel Asia
Selami Güleryüz - Executive Chef - The Ritz-Carlton,Istanbul
Umut Özkanca - CEO- d.ream
Ziya Çıkrıkçı - Executive Chef - Conrad İstanbul Bosphorus
