David Alberti, Natura

David Alberti, head chef and owner at Natura in Helsinki, when it comes to meat you mainly serve game. Why is that?

– That’s actually how our sustainability work started, eight years ago. Animal welfare is number one for me, I felt that I didn’t want to be a part of the industry. For example, if a supplier tells us we can’t visit a farm, we don’t by meat from there. It took me years to find suppliers who accepted such visits! Still, we mainly serve game, and in the whole menu, there is only 65 grams of meat. And – we use the parts of the animal that are quite uncommon.

In other words, the majority of the dishes are plant-based. Where do you get your fruits and vegetables from?

– First and foremost, they should be local and seasonal. We work with very small farmers, but we also have our own little farm. Other things, like wildflowers, mushrooms or herbs, I pick myself, early in the mornings. It usually takes between three and five hours and I have my special places for things such as wood sorrel and violets. My four-year-old daughter likes to come along. We really like to tell our customers that the herbs were picked within five kilometers from the restaurant – and they are always so happy to hear about it.