Tõnis Saar

Tõnis Saar’s ambitions were as far away from a kitchen as you are likely to get. As young man he dreamed of going to Barcelona and being a skateboarder. Being out and about on his wheels were far more important than studying, but he gave in to the suggestion that he should instead go to vocational school. Once he put his mind to it however he showed the steely determination which has stood him good stead throughout his career, completing a six year course in virtually half that time. 

“Before I studied because it was what my parents wanted me to do when all I wanted was to ride a skateboard,” he said.

“Then when I studied to be a chef I felt for the first time in my life that I was studying for myself. Everything was suddenly very logical and natural.’’

Tõnis went to other restaurants to hone his skills. Notably the highly acclaimed Michelin starred Martin Wishart restaurant in Scotland which was the first in Edinburgh to gain a star.

Those kind of experiences – including one at a top restaurant in Sweden – helped drive his ambition and led to him creating his own private dining company -Tõnis Saar Gastronomy.

His favourite ingredients are seafood –“the bigger the fish, the cooler it is to handle,” he said with a smile.

“I also like to incorporate wild elements of Estonian nature into my food. Every summer, the team and I go to the forest, we collect black elderberry and northern bedstraw to dry and store.

We make infusions, vinegars and syrups to add nuances to our sauces. These are great flavours with character that cannot be bought in a store.’’

His company has also given him and his team to cook in some unique locations - a breathtaking art gallery, an industrial building with an area of 6000 m², in unfinished hotels in the South of France, in London and even in the middle of the Viru swamp.

“ Many places are certainly not intended for cooking, and through this you also start looking at kitchen techniques from a completely different angle,” he said.

“ You realise that you don’t really need that super expensive blender, you just need a whisk and a pot. If you remove all the comforts, what remains is the so-called real cooking, and it is difficult. But no matter what conditions we work in, we don’t give up on quality.

‘’At the end of the day, cooking is like the art of being present. A symbiosis of patience and presence.’’