Kerti Vissel

From banking to baking to a Michelin green star – that’s the impressive and meteoric rise of Kerti Vissel.

And her restaurant, Kolm Sõsarat, located next to the Karula National Park in Valgamaa, is very much a family affair, with Kerti’s two sisters and her parents both involved.

Food wasn’t always her career of choice however and after studying sociology and culture management at the University of Tartu, she went on to work at a bank in Tallin before moving back to her home of Võru where she worked for the government.

Although the draw of the big city enticed her away initially, coming back to where she was familiar and the rural surroundings were definitely her comfort place.

“It’s nice to visit other places, particularly big cities like Copenhagen and Vienna which are among my favourites, but when it comes to living and working, South East Estonia is the most natural for me,” she said.

“That’s where I feel the most confident and can express myself the best.’’

Kerti believes it’s possible to live your dreams in the countryside – and she’s living proof that this is absolutely the case.

She started her food business tentatively, selling baked good with her sisters, Triinu and Kadri back in 2007, at Seto Kingdom Day.

That springboard gave them so much pleasure that they started to undertake bigger and bigger catering projects – which they hoped would eventually culminate in their own restaurant.

That dream was finally realised in 2019 when Kolm Sõsarat restaurant was opened.

This is a family run restaurant in its truest sense, with Kerti’s parents helping to sow and plant many of the ingredients used.

. “We have not lost touch with older generations, skills or traditions. We prepare food from simple ingredients that grow in our area, using more complex and exciting techniques compared to home cooking. I prepare food from raw ingredients available from my own fields and forests,’’ she sid.

As Kerti says, for her it’s not even a lifestyle, it’s simply life. The Michelin green star received on May 21 of this year is just a proof that they’re doing the right thing. “This is a story that started with our ancestors, a family story that we will continue.”