Enjoy a Spring Lunch in the Open
Text Stewart Johnson Photo Andrei Chertkov
While Spring may have officially started a month ago, the best way to welcome it is by enjoying a three-course meal prepared by Estonia’s top chefs out in the open, and the sounds and smells of a bonfire. Celebrate May Day in style at Estonia’s Open Air Museum.
Dubbed a “pop-up restaurant”, this long table seating many people will feature foods and delicacies provided by small-scale, local producers, and prepared by the best chefs in Estonia. Each course is guaranteed to highlight what culinary treats Estonia has to offer. The crackling bonfire and occasional wisps of woodsmoke will undoubtedly bring some nostalgia even to people who did not grow up in this coastal country by the Baltic Sea.
Located at Kiige Square (“swing” square, named after Estonia’s famous village swings) in the Open Air Museum, there will also be a small, open-air market run by the same producers whose products are served at lunch. Everything symbolising Spring in Estonia will be present, including birch branches in vases on the table, white tablecloths, and perhaps even the first appearance of the year of the mosquito.
The Estonian Chefs Association will hold four seatings of their pop-up restaurant every hour starting at noon on 1 May. It’s recommended to buy tickets in advance here, or buy them at the gate. Doors open at 11:00. Read more about this unique event here.
The pop-up restaurant is part of a larger celebration that day at the Open Air Museum, called “The Spring Day Festival and Fair: Things of the New Age”. This event will feature innovations in history that have had a major impact on life in the modern age. Read more here.
The Estonian Open Air Museum is a large, outdoor museum that offers several examples of Estonian life in the “Olden Days”, including architectural, agricultural, and of course cultural exhibits.
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