Artur Kazaritski is one of the most successful young chefs from Estonia who work abroad. After graduating from Sillamäe Vocational School and gaining work experience in the US and Japan, the young man headed to the Nordic countries, where he has worked in such renowned restaurants as Maaemo (Oslo), Geranium and Kadeau (Copenhagen) in recent years.
Fresh ingredients are extremely important in Nordic cuisine and those who produce them are held in high esteem – there can be no delicious, healthy food without ingredients. In his interview to the online publication Maitsed.ee, Kazaritski said that he sees this as a future trend in Estonia as well: “I believe that a deeper relationship between the farmers, the producers of food, and the people who use it would contribute significantly to the development of Estonian cuisine and restaurant culture. This is the way to get very fresh and tasty ingredients. In general, this seems to be a problem today. Farmers are the core values of food culture, the corner stones. And farmers must also start looking at their produce like chefs – what they could offer and where, what the quality is like and so on.”
Nordic White Guide 2018 Celebration Dinner by Artur Kazaritski was held at restaurant Juur in Tallinn on 29 November. On 30 November Artur met with the cooking students and teachers of the Tallinn School of Service and told them about his journey from Sillamäe Vocational School to world-class Nordic restaurants.
The dinner and workshop at the Tallinn School of Service were organised jointly by the Estonian office of the Nordic Council of Ministers and Eesti Maitsed (representative of the Nordic White Guide in Estonia) within the scope of the New Nordic Food programme. The culinary and cultural cooperation fostered by the Nordic Council of Ministers, i.e. the governments of the Nordic countries, since 2006 represents much more than merely better and more informed eating. New Nordic Food unites identity, gastronomy, business, tourism, design and regional cooperation.
Read the interview with Artur Kazaritski at Maitsed.ee.