You could work anywhere but choose a town: young chefs create different tastes

The forest restaurant “Miško natos” is located in the Kaunas Mariai Regional Park, surrounded by forest. The concept of this place is unique: it focuses on live music nights and restaurant activities. It would seem that this oasis of peace, the sights and sounds of the forest, is just waiting for newlyweds or birthdays, but the hosts do not want to organize massive events and private parties.

“We don’t want a person to call and ask if he works tonight and if I can have dinner. We want him to always know that we are always working,” says Rima Gelžinienė, manager of the “Forest Score” villa.

Employment has fallen dramatically

There are also five rooms on the second floor, but as the hostess says, they are currently empty.

“Until the quarantine, only foreigners lived in the hotel. It was a good place to stay, they could go to Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and come back here, and apparently we don’t have much to offer Lithuanians. In general, in the summer we had a job of up to 80 percent, now, 2 to 3 percent, ”he says.

The pandemic also affected the restaurant and the events of the fourth season. Yes in 2019. Some 40 nights of live music were held here a year and last year almost everything stopped due to quarantines.

The family business is also developing in Kaunas

Kaunas residents have run family businesses for 28 years, and both their son and daughter work together. However, her main business is in Kaunas, where she operates a veterinary clinic and sells animal care products.

“I had free time and money, I wanted to expand some other activity. Our family loves music, the daughter graduated from the music academy.

We all miss the rest so that 18-year-olds would not come to listen to music and maybe dance, but people of all ages would receive live music instead of a phonogram, ”says the businesswoman.

Created a new ice cream recipe

Green ice cream on the table. Someone of the guests suggests to guess what this dessert tastes like. Pistachios or cucumbers sounded, but no one guessed. This is an avocado and melon ice cream freshly created by chef Gabrielius Kudrauskas.

“I can’t say that there aren’t more of them anywhere in Lithuania, maybe. There really should be something like vegetables. I had the idea to create something different, more interesting. Avocado ice cream: sounds different from lemon or chocolate. You are the one. first to taste it ”, the 26-year-old chef presents his new recipe.

Create the entire restaurant menu. “Inspiration comes from everywhere. I also look at famous chefs, add something. Most come out unexpectedly when cooking. I imagine the whole show in my head, and I am already fulfilling everything on the plate, I put the noise in the” i ” , He says.

At the moment, work would be found anywhere

True, in the kitchen of “Miško natų” he toured with another colleague – 25-year-old Šarūnas Česonis, who started working in the restaurant only on the first day, worked in various restaurants in Kaunas and on the coast. Working here attracted him to nature and peace.

“I am tired in Palanga, my family is in Kaunas, my character is calmer, so I do not want to live and work in the bustle of the city, it is more pleasant to create and work in nature,” he said. it opens.

Šarūnas says that finding a job for a chef in Kaunas is not a problem. A similar situation, as they say, is in Vilnius. At the moment, we can negotiate a salary and choose a location, because during the summer season, most restaurant employees are drawn to the beach.

Some dishes are rarely ordered

According to Gabriel, sometimes there are dishes that customers ask for very rarely; last year it was a pate. It happens that a plate returns to the kitchen, where the plate is barely touched.

“It happens everywhere, the kitchen will not escape. The fellow waiters warn us of what was wrong, maybe too much. If you don’t like it, usually the chef is already to blame, if you don’t combine the spices, if you fall in love with too much salt, everything passes. We always apologize to customers in this case ”, admits the young chef.

According to him, the most difficult dessert is soufflé, because it requires a lot of technology, and from the menu “Forest Leaf”, beef, which requires time and work, it is necessary to adjust a certain temperature.

This year, one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes is salmon tartare. As the chef observes, mussels are extremely popular, not only in this but also in other restaurants.

It’s hard to walk to the competition

Gabriel says that he also discovered love through his stomach, so at home he does not drop a knife or spatula, he tries to surprise his fiancée.

“After a day of work at home, I don’t want to cook, I can’t be without a knife and spatula on my days off. Of course, I do not try it so much at home as in a restaurant, because here small portions, everything is calculated, symmetrical. We make simple but delicious food at home, ”he smiles.

The man admits to walking to other restaurants or even kebabs, but immediately finds something to stay with.

“I find it difficult to walk to other restaurants. My girlfriend doesn’t care, she waits for the food and rejoices, and I look at everything with a magnifying glass. That is our professional side, “he admits.