Toni Kostian, Grön

Toni Kostian, co-owner and executive chef at Grön in Helsinki, fish and seafood play a relatively large role in your menu, how do you ensure that it’s sustainably caught or farmed?

– We pay more and more attention to this! We only use100 percent sustainably sourced fish and seafood, and only from the Scandinavian area. We ensure this by demanding recognized certification schemes, such as Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). In addition to this, we pay an annual sponsorship to Virho, an organization which takes care of the maintenance of rivers and lakes, repopulating them with fish. I also do a lot of fly fishing myself.

You have your own farm and work in close collaboration with other, small farmers. What are the advantages?

– From May to September, I grow all our herbs, flowers, and some vegetables myself. For one thing, the quality is great! I also have a friend, Kalle, who is a cabbage farmer, and another friend who delivers smoked fish roe to the restaurant. It’s all about being passionate, and teaming up with other, passionate individuals.