BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Eating and drinking in Estonia

I always enjoy dipping into a new cuisine, so when I headed off to Estonia I was curious as to what kind of food I was going to get. Would it be like Russian cuisine? Scandinavian? A bit of both since the country is sandwiched between those two areas?

Turns out it's a mix with its own local twist. At least that was my impression. I was only in the country a week and so take all my observations with a dash of salt.

The first thing I noticed is that bread comes with everything. The most distinct kind is a heavy black rye bread. Breakfasts include bread and an assortment of cold cuts and cheeses to fortify you against the cold day. Bread reappears for lunch and dinner and snacks. You'll see kids tromping down the street with a slice of black bread and butter for a snack.

Estonian cuisine includes a lot of meat, especially pork, usually served with some form of potato. One dish I tried was juniper-smoked pork with honey cabbage, mustard sauce and potato-groat porridge. A good recipe that was only adequately done at the place I tried it. In the winter Estonians like soups and stews. My favorite is seljanka, a meat soup that warmed me up after a cold morning chasing the Estonian army through some snowy woods. More on that story in the next post. The vegetable soups thickened with cream or yogurt will keep you going too.

Despite being a maritime country, fish doesn't rank high on the menu. Herring, eel and flounder are found the most, although I didn't try any of them.

Estonia increased horsemeat import nearly 10 times in 2012

According to the Statistic Estonia data, Estonia increased horsemeat import nearly ten times in 2012, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports. The amount of all imported exotic meat grew by 3.7 times as compared to 2011.

Last year, 123 tonnes of horsemeat and 41 tonnes of home-grown rabbit meat was imported. Other types of exotic meats that were imported included reindeer meat (532 kg), frog legs (273 kg), crocodile and snake meat (50 kg).

Horsemeat import grew in a year by nearly ten times; nearly 30% of the imported horsemeat was exported from the state again. 73% of horsemeat came from Hungary and 18% from Belgium.

Home-grown rabbit meat import grew by nearly 5 times and it mostly came from Lithuania. Reindeer meat came from the U.S. mostly and frog legs from Belgium, but they were of Indonesian origin.

Eurostat data indicate that in the first 11 months of 202, Latvia imported 19 tonnes of horsemeat, Lithuania 2 tonnes, but Finland imported nearly 20 times more than Estonia.

Tallinn wants to close pubs at 3 a.m.

TALLINN – The city of Tallinn is asking the government to make a law amendment that would allow the city to set restrictions on the opening hours of entertainment venues and thus curb the noisy nightlife of Tallinn's Old Town that lasts often till morning, Postimees writes.

Deputy mayor of the city Arvo Sarapuu said that the law amendment would benefit not just the residents of Tallinn's Old Town but residents of other towns too whom night-time party-goers don’t give any peace.

The central Tallinn governor Mihhail Korb said that all pubs in the Old Town should be closed by 3 a.m. at the latest. "Starting 3 a.m. the number of police calls in central Tallinn surges. Thus the commercial activities law should be changed and local municipalities should be given the right to restrict the opening hours of drinking venues," he said.

"Tallinn is becoming notorious as the paradise of British bachelors, a place of hard partying, which a town that belongs to the UNESCO world heritage list clearly doesn’t wish for," said Korb, adding that most pubs and clubs are open there till early hours or round the clock. "The situation has become intolerable for residents of the Old Town," he said, adding that it also harms business of other companies, like hotels, whose clients suffer because of the noise.

Rimi starts own mushroom production

Estonia's largest supermarket chain Rimi started production and sales of a series of high-quality products from the Mediterranean called “Selection by Rimi”.

The mushrooms of various varieties, will be sold fresh or frozen and will occupy an important place in the line “Selection by Rimi” along with other goods. “This is the first series of products on the Estonian market sold under its own brand which offer consumers a diverse and top-class selection of the most famous products of Italian, Spanish and French cuisine at a reasonable price”, said Andrija Lilleoja, the Head of Marketing and Communications of Rimi.

Famous restaurateur to open cafe in renewed Kadriorg Park

Estonian author of nearly 30 cookbooks, Angeelika Kang, will take over the lease on a popular cafe on the swan pond in Tallinn's Kadriorg Park, reported LETA, referring to the Estonian national broadcasting corporation ERR.

Tallinn city and Kang signed a ten-year lease agreement, under which the restaurateur commits to spend 100,000 euros on renovation of Viennese-style building, the Tallinn's site said. Kang, who has written a number of books on cakes and pastries, currently runs a cafe in Viru Keskus shopping center in Tallinn.

The stunning Baroque palace and art museum in Kadriorg will reopen to public after renovation on February 9, 2013. The new cafe should open in May with the pastries produced in-house. As reported, a lot of various event and activities will take place in Kadriorg this week-end, and even more to come during the year. An exhibition of art works of Ilya Repin "A Russian Master's Life and Work in Finland" will be open at the recently renovated Tallinn-based Kadriorg Art Museum starting from February 9, 2013.

A festival of large ice sculptures will take place in Kardiorg Park on February 10, 2013. Leafy Kadriorg Park celebrates its 295th birthday on July 22 with a series of spirited concerts and bright events.

Estonia's Heidi Pinnak places 14th in Bocuse d'Or final

Representing Estonia in Lyon, Pinnak's team came in 14th out of the 24 nations competing in the final round of one of the world's most prestigious chef championships.

As the Bocuse d'Or's only female contestant, Pinnak outperformed chefs from leading culinary powerhouses Italy and Holland, improving her position by one place since her last performance in 2009, reported the competition's website.

Chefs from across the globe went head-to-head in yesterday's final round of the event, frequently referred to as the culinary equivalent of the Olympic Games. In the 20-year history of the competition, the number of female finalists can be counted on one hand, ETV reported.

Pinnak's team used Estonia's local ingredients including Vana Tallinn liquor, quail eggs, rye bread, juniper berries and pine shoots. 

“I want to show that Estonia has a lot to offer to the world in terms of local chefs and local cuisine inspired by local ingredients. I hope that this will encourage young Estonian chefs to aspire high, value local traditions and recreate them,” said Pinnak.

Pinnak was spurred on at the event by Evelin Ilves, the spouse of Estonia's President, and Minister of Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder, among other dignitaries.   

France claimed the top spot, followed by Denmark and Japan.

11/01/2013 : "Big City Fashion party" @ Casablanca, Roseni 9, Tallinn

"Big City - Fashion Party" on mõeldud külalistele, keda ei huvita mitte tavalised ööklubid, vaid kes on orienteeritud kõrgematasemelistele koosviibimistele. Nendele klientidele pakumegi võimalust osaleda üritusel "Big City". Kuna 13.jaanuar on vene vana kalendri järgi aastavahetus, siis toimub üritus vene stiilis.

Suurepärase atmosfääri loomiseks on kavas moeshow, mille käigus demonstreeritakse Itaalia moekultusfirma "LorMar" aluspesu, mille toodang on kättesaadav vaid Stockmanni kaubamajas ja Kaubamajas. ...

Lisaks kutsume üritusele Eestimaa parimad  Go-Go tüdrukud, kelle show taustal tutvustatakse ja pakutakse baarides vaid kõrgekvaliteedilist alkoholi  "Fashion Vodka". Valitud suupisted on saadaval VIP laudadel, mille valmistab külalistele "Sushi Panda" ja meie sõbralik ning professionaalne meeskond on teie teeninduses ja täiendab olemasolevat atmosfääri. Külalistel on võimalik tellida endale ka vesipiipe, mille toob teieni "Grand Shisha". Sisenemine naistele alates 18.eluaastast, meestele alates 21. eluaastast.

VIP laud 4-inimesele - 150 EUR
Sisaldab: sushivalik 50tk. , Fashion Vodka 0.7, Martini Asti - 1 pudel, AURA mahl - 1 l.
Ettetellimusel vesipiip puuviljadega 25 EUR

...........

Big City-Fashion party is a unique event that is dedicated to celebrate the New Year in the old style.

Big city offers you the best modern dance music, go-go dancers in sexy Russian costumes, presentation fashion underware clothes from Italian firm LorMar, great gifts from online store DonJuar.ee, and many more.

At the entrance, each guest will be able to enjoy a glass of champagne "Odessa". When ordering, vip tables, guests get a form of sushi from Sushi Panda and fruit basket. Also all the vip tables includes a bottle of champagne and a CD with music palyed at the event.

Tasting NW flavors in surprising places

...........

Our remaining week was spent in the Baltics, starting with a two-hour ferry ride from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia. Looking back on my photos, I must have been missing a taste of the U.S., as my food choices included a dinner of pizza and salad at Controvento on St. Catherine’s Passage, and a burger and fries for lunch the next day at a forgettable outdoor cafe in Town Hall Square.

Our splurge was dinner at Troika, a Russian restaurant complete with costumed waiters, live music and tables full of loud and happy diners.

The following day, before taking the bus to Riga in Latvia, we had lunch at Kuldse Notsu Korts (Wrinkled Golden Piglet). It’s an Estonian country restaurant with a cute pig as its logo and, no surprise — a menu that’s big on pig! All washed down with a couple tall glasses of A. Le Coq, an Estonian beer.

........... more here

Õllesummer 2012

The festival is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 17.00 until 01.00

Õllesummer 2012 tickets are on sale in Piletilevi.ee and Statoil gas stations all over Estonia.

Ticket prices in presale are as following:
4-day pass - 29 EUR
1-day ticket - 12 EUR
Children`s and senior citizen`s 1-day ticket - 9 EUR *

* Children`s and senior citizen`s 1-day ticket is valid for children 6-11 years. Children under 6 years can enter for free.

Both 1-day tickets as well as 4-day festival passes give access also to enjoy headliners.

FRIENDS DAY - if buying a full prices ticket from festival gates on Saturday, 9th July two people can enter for the price of one.

Tickets at the festival ground
Tickets can be purchased at Oru and Mere gates ticket offices from Wednesday to Saturday from 17.00 until 00.30.

Estonian chef to introduce Estonian cuisine at Los Angeles 2012 Taste Awards

Los Angeles – By special invitation, Estonia’s beloved chef Marika Blossfeldt , author of the best-selling, Essential Nourishment, Recipes from My Estonian Farm (Gourmand World Cookbook Awards nominee, 2011), will be participating & preparing food for the 3rd Annual Taste Awards & VIP Reception, introducing Estonian cooking to the global culinary stage.

The Taste Awards , also known as the TASTY Awards, is the premier broadcast awards show to celebrate and recognize the year's best achievements in food, fashion, and home lifestyle programs on television, in film, online, and on radio.

Chef Marika will be preparing two items for the reception: a cranberry pecan barley bread, inspired by the traditional Estonian “karask,” and a quinoa beet salad, featuring boiled beets as the “Estonian” ingredient – in traditional Estonian cooking there are several versions of beet salads – Chef Marika gives it a new twist that pairs beets with a cooked grain.

Joining her will be Estonian cocktail masters, Heinar Oispuu and Kristo Toomingas, of Tallinn’s Butterfly Lounge , the biggest and most popular cocktail bar in Estonia.

Delighted to be introducing Estonian cuisine at the Taste Awards, she says, “My culinary philosophy is a perfect fit for what the Taste Awards seek to encourage and for what California cuisine is known for. What I have added is an emphasis on the local and the natural.”

Chef Marika is also the proprietor of an old, renovated Estonian herb and vegetable farm near the western coast of Estonia, Polli Talu. The farm has evolved into an international art and wellness center. Chef Marika has focused her life on practicing and teaching a holistic lifestyle where body, mind and spirit are integrated and deeply cared for.

Gingerbread Mania 2012: Unique Estonian Flavors

Gingerbread lovers will be able to feast their eyes upon all manner of delicious and delectable treats this Christmas, when they pay a visit one of Tallinn’s quirkier art and design events – the Gingerbread Mania Exhibition (PiparkoogiMaania 2011).

An annual exhibition, sponsored by a Tallinn-based cake manufacturer, nothing is quite what it seems at Gingerbread Mania. Over the next three weeks, visitors will be descending on Tallinn’s Design and Architecture Gallery to taste the work of more than 100 local artists and designers, who have created the ultimate fragrant dream world for anyone who loves the traditional Christmas treats.

In a collision of folk traditions, modern art and gastronomy, more than 300 kilos of dough has been transformed into all manner of mouth-watering objects. Exhibits range from life-size cash registers and angel wings, to brand name handbags and bakeries run by teddy bears (complete with intricately-designed miniature pretzels and loaves of bread!).

The exhibition pays homage to numerous different cultures – Nordic, European, even African influences are all apparent in the designs – as the artists prove that just about anything can be made from gingerbread. Visitors can also catch a glimpse of how the exhibits are made, as artists demonstrate their age-old gingerbread baking and decorating techniques, heating up treacle the old-fashioned way over a naked flame, then gently pouring the sweet-smelling mix over various tasty treats.

Estonia's capital of history, culture and pork products

When news of its vastly cheap alcohol began spreading through Europe a handful of years ago, the formerly Soviet-occupied country of Estonia succumbed to being known for one thing: stag parties.

These days, however, this Baltic Sea-encircled state, whose landscape is dominated by thick forestry, lifeless Eastern Bloc infrastructure and medieval-looking thatched-roof villages, boasts far more than idiosyncratic nightlife. After all, it was the forward-thinking Estonians who invented Skype.

And in Tallinn, the country’s picturesque capital (which has also been one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2011), it is the culinary scene which is thriving.

What's the deal?

The central Raekoja Plats is lined with a host of vivacious restaurants come sunshine or snowfall – while it seems as if nearly every nationality (Brazilian, Greek, Argentinian, a host of African styles) has its food represented on the streets of the city’s most densely-populated parts.

New Year’s Eve gala dinner in Tchaikovsky

New Year’s Eve at Tchaikovsky has become a tradition for many, and this year we’re offering a six-course festive menu.

Enjoy scallops tar-tar with horseradish sabayon, jelly of Lobster consommé, salmon Ballantine Sautéed monkfish with tapenade… we could continue, of course. The entire six-course event includes live classical music throughout the evening. 130 euros per guest (or 200 euros to include accompanying wines and beverages).

For reservations call +372 6000 610 or write tchaikovsky@telegraafhotel.com

Price of beer on Town Hall Square reaches 5 euros

What was meant to happen has happened!

Open-air cafes on Town Hall Square in Tallinn that are popular with foreign tourists serve some of the country’s most expensive beer with half litres costing 5 euros, writes Postimees.

In most other open-air cafes in the Old Town beer costs between 2.5 and 4 euros a glass.

According to a representative of the central city district, there are about 100 potential open-air catering places in the Old Town, half of which are covered with applications.

Renting one square metre of Town Hall Square costs about 31 euros a month which is as much as last year.

Rents on other old town streets depend on the popularity of the site.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Barons Hotel - Tallinn

A characterful, great value hotel right in the heart of the Tallinn Old Town.

We stayed at the restored 4 star Barons Hotel in Tallinn Old Town for five nights in March 2011.  Karen found the best rate through the HotelsCombined price comparison site on the Thomas Cook site for £67.40 per night for a twin room for 2 guests (as Thomas Cook had a £30 off bookings over £300 at that time). The price included buffet breakfast, afternoon coffee with pastries, buffet dinner and free wifi.

It was easy to reach the hotel from the airport (5 kns distance) by bus followed by a five minute walk.The lobby and public areas were beautifully presented and the staff courteous and helpful. There are several interesting spaces in the hotel, like a cigar and cognac room reached by spiral staircase. The hotel and rooms were immaculately clean, beautifully and tastefully lit and decorated. There was free wireless internet in the lobby.

Our room was clean and nice and warm, considering the -2C temperature outside. There was adequate storage space, two desks and a mini-bar fridge. Ample hangers, soap and shampoo were provided, some nice touches (eg slippers and bathrobes) were present and the room’s own wireless access internet point was great. No password was needed, so traffic might have not been encrypted. The room was small (but high ceilinged), just adequate for 2 adults. The twin bed mattresses were somewhat on the soft side. There was a little outside noise and you could also hear some noise from the rooms next door as well as water running. The curtains did shut most of the outside light away.

Estonian cuisine

Most of the Estonians prefer pure domestic products and it is therefore no wonder that new shops and restaurants offering organic food are opening and the existing ones are expanding.

Farming has always been part of the land and local culture but especially during the Soviet years, people had to find ways of diversifying their menu. People grew their own fruits and vegetables and made their own jams and compotes, pickled and salted.

Our mothers never talked about organic food because they knew of no other. Even today gardens in our summer houses are fertilized with manure, cabbageworms are hand picked and shame on you if you sprinkle your apple trees with chemical pesticides. The organic food issue was brought up only when the rest of the world started to demand healthy and organically produced products. It is true, however, that after the borders opened, for a short while Estonians worshipped the waxed imported pears, sponge cakes with an indefinite storage life and syrups packed with artificial colours.

As a result, we now have to deal with the consequences - as more and more children have developed allergies. But, nevertheless, we are better off than most Europeans. According to recent studies 47 per cent of Estonians prefer domestic products while the average figure for the EU is 21 per cent. Today pasteurised yoghurts and instant soups full of sodium glutamate are hard to sell, as Estonian milk products, rye bread, meat, vegetables and even candies are pure and of high quality.

If you want to test the local prowess of an Estonian waiter or a cook ask him what is Estonian food. It is everything that grows in Estonia, in its waters, woods and farms. Generally speaking Estonians have similar taste to Nordic people. We like crisp, unprocessed, fresh, ecologically clean and homely food, i.e. food where the most is made of the natural taste of the raw materials.

Working with pride in the kitchen

TALLINN - The restaurants in Tallinn are working hard in order to find the best ways to achieve better results for 2011. There are both objective and personal issues in how to measure the quality of a good restaurant in Tallinn.

One of the main organizations involved in the restaurant business in Estonia is the Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association, established in 1992. Standards of quality are under its control, as well as news and statistical reports showing the industry in numbers.

Antra Feldmane

Dishes from Alexander Restaurant - Muhu Island

There’s no doubt Scandinavia and the surrounding Baltic countries are where fashion forward foodies are heading this year. Recently, Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant was named best in the world in San Pellegrino’s influential 50 Best Restaurant’s list. At Alexander Restaurant on Muhu Island, Estonia, smoked moose carpaccio with asparagus and roasted onions is the must-try dish.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Going wild in the Baltics

Though any reference to Estonian cooking generally draws a blank stare from even well-traveled gourmets, Alexander, one of the best and most interesting new restaurants in Europe right now, is found on the tiny and stunningly beautiful Estonian island of Muhu, a two-hour drive south from Tallinn, the country’s capital. It’s still rather confidential, but a gastronomic awakening is occurring in the countries that surround Europe’s other great sea, the Baltic, which has long been dismissed as a region of marginal culinary interest by a world besotted with everything Mediterranean

Alexander, which occupies part of the imposing, late-19th-century manor house that once belonged to Baron Axel von Buxhoeveden (the imperial hunting master at the court of Czar Nicholas II and a member of a distinguished German-Baltic noble family that arrived on Muhu in the 14th century), opened a year ago, following the renovation of this building into an additional 14 hotel rooms at the charming Padaste Manor hotel. The restaurant’s intriguing and delicious “Nordic Islands cuisine,” which was conceived by Peeter Pihel, a young Estonian chef, and Martin Breuer, the manor’s Dutch proprietor, has turned it into a red-hot destination table for gastronomes from Stockholm, Copenhagen, Riga, Berlin and cities much farther afield.

The Nordic Islands cooking concept was born during the culinary research expeditions that Breuer and Pihel made in April to other islands in the Baltic Sea, including Zealand and Bornholm in Denmark, Aland in Finland and Oland in Sweden. “For most of its past, Muhu Island has been influenced by the other seafaring communities in the Nordic Islands region, which can still be noted in the food and cultural traditions of Muhu families to this day,” Pihel says. “We decided to rediscover these traditions,” Breuer adds. “On each island, we met with the chefs and restaurateurs that aim to cook at the highest-quality level and also have a dedicated interest in — and respect and passion for — terroir.”

Chocolaterie Pierre

Of all the places that I visited in Tallinn on my recent trip to Estonia, Chocolaterie Pierre (just off Vene), has stolen my heart and it’ll probably remain with them until I can make hot chocolate as perfect as it was here. I would WALK across Europe for another one. Actually, I’d rather they gave me the recipe at the end, that’s a heck of a walk. But it’s honestly the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. And it just so happens that the rest of the cafe it pretty wonderful too.

If this cafe existed in London, it would be a horrible victim of it’s own success. It would be packed, queues would be out the door, and you’d never get any hot chocolate. Here, it’s easy. Quite enough to nab a table (albeit one with a broken chair bottom) but busy enough to catch snippets of conversation. You see, it’s very dark, and dark makes people whisper, and whispering makes you think everyone is having much more interesting conversations than you. Everything is red, extravagant, velvet, falling apart, vintage, old, fancy. Beautiful. All those things, and more. Like somewhere that has grown for years and years and more pretty things have been added over time.

If the pretty cafe wasn’t enough, there’s the courtyard. The downside with this is if it’s warm enough to sit outside, you’re not going to want hot chocolate. And if you don’t have hot chocolate you’re really doing it wrong. But, they have a quartet playing under a tiny little bandstand so that’s a really nice touch.