Surprisingly, the top chef resigned: “You can’t do this”

Wild herbs, organic, ethics, surprise. There a few Jouni Toivanen A distinctive food issue.

Toivanen has always cooked his own food. Even now, in the kitchen of the Emo restaurant, which Toivanen took over a month ago.

Toivanen, who earned Michelin-starring in 2010, has been simplified and clarified for his food over the years. The most important thing is the taste and the raw material. Although it does not hurt if there is a little surprise. Like white food that tastes like strawberry.

There were no surprises in Toivanen last fall. In the early fall, he was opening the carbon restaurant praised by everyone. In December, Toivanen suddenly resigned.

What happened?

Now Toivanen is ready to talk about it, even though he still does not want to open up all the twists and turns.

– Wages and bills were late. They were all paid in the end, but really late, Toivanen says.

First, according to Toivanen, the entire hall staff left the restaurant, only the kitchen stayed at work.

– We said that if these things do not change, we must leave. They didn’t change, Toivanen explains his December decision.

According to Toivanen, one chef stayed coal. Toivanen is not sure about the current situation. There has been talk of closing the entire restaurant or changing the concept.

Toivanen laughs that others have taken the situation heavier and saddened the nasty twists and turns.

– I think it was quite clear that this could not work. Depression was my only option.

And did not go long after the big name and legend of the industry Pekka Terävä called Toivanen and offered a job.

Both gentlemen are a long -time expert, but now they work for the first time.

Toivanen says frankly that at some point he burned his career. He no longer intends to work 16 hours of working six days a week.

Emo’s food already shows Toivanen’s grip, even though the chef is investing in the fall.

-Of course we keep the restaurant’s Nordic line. But I’m more absolute. I want the raw materials to be organic and ethical, Toivanen says.

He also wants the raw material chain to be transparent. Green washing gets Toivanen’s neck hairs upright. His laughter does not come from France, but from Turku.

The intention is that everything is what is promised. About 15 years ago, Toivanen woke up to a more ethical approach. It gives him an even more meaningful feeling of his work.

Unfortunately, he has found that organic is more about growing than growing. Toivanen believes in the exact certificates and bureaucracy of organic farming as one of the reasons. One farmer stated that he could not water the plants in rainwater because it was not organic.

– It’s a bit of a strange thing. Organic cultivation and growing is more expensive, although it should be the opposite. The thing goes in the wrong direction, Toivanen regrets.

In addition to organic and closer raw materials produced, the mother’s portions contain more wild herbs.

Toivanen is a skilled wild herb collector and an inductor. He has taught, among other things, for future exams how to use wild herbs.

The Grön Restaurant is likely to have the most wild herbs of Finnish restaurants, but there are them elsewhere, up to two Michelin star-star restaurants in Palace. Toivanen says that many times customers eat wild herbs at the restaurant without even understanding what they eat.

– People’s image of wild herbs is miraculously contradictory. It is thought that it’s kind of grandma’s activities, but they are still eaten in top restaurants.

Although there are a lot of good wild herbs around us, only one is made more food. Nettle has managed to clear his way to home kitchens. There is still a long way to go with horseman, Kurturu Rose, German Cycle or Field Chicken. Instead, you should be more accurate with dandelion. Acid, salt and sweetness balances “difficult” dandelions.

Toivanen’s favorite herb is a crush on the list of forbidden plants. At its best, he thinks it is grilled. That’s what the barbecue can be careful, as Toivanen grill the Kurtuuruo petals.

When designing doses, Toivanen utilizes his history. He has been working in the restaurant kitchen for 30 years. During that time you learn to understand how to make really tasty food. It’s about chemistry and physics. The raw materials combine chemically, making many become one.

The food memories are to Toivanen in their own compartment.

– I think I remember good food stuff. They come to mind there.

A good example is the summer soup milk broth, which Toivanen spices with blue cheese. In addition, the plate has perch. Years ago, a chef from Venezuela had combined milk and blue cheese.

– Even then, I remembered Finnish summer soup, Toivanen says.

Toivanen has already made vitics to the shelves of the mother. In addition, a large saucepan often bubbles non -pasteurized apple juice. When three liters are cooked, there is eventually about half a decilitre of dense apple syrup. It provides the taste of Grandma’s apple for a fish portion, which includes, among other things, Åland seaweed, dill sauce and caviar.

The role of cream and butter remains more and more in the background in Toivanen’s kitchen.

– They are somehow heavy. I personally like to eat a lot of vegetables.

Toivanen wonders that he could offer food in a restaurant that may not have meat at all. Instead, the vegetables would have been matured in meat broth to make their taste perfect for carnivores.

Cooking is a way for Toivanen some kind of self -expression. Every day you can create something new.