Remi Trémouille

Restaurant Solitary, Rantasalmi, Finland

Restaurant Solitary offers a dining experience in a secluded corner of Finland, by the beautiful lake Saimaa. 

Remi Trémouille, head chef and owner, what are your requirements when you choose your produce?

– We want it to be as fresh, pure and wild as possible! We’re lucky because we’re next to a forest, so we forage quite a lot. Above all, it needs to be local. In the summer, we spend a lot of time fermenting, pickling and making juice to preserve as much as possible for the cold season. I’m surprised by how much we can find in our surroundings, from local honey and milk to fish and crayfish. We have a lot of skilled farmers nearby, and I have a friend with a hunting team that can provide everything from elk to castor. 

Is there anything you wouldn’t serve?

– Anything mass-produced! For example, we don’t serve meat that’s been commercially produced, only what’s available in our surroundings. It’s always game, lamb that’s been grazing around us – we call them “land-mowers” – or if an animal’s been injured, then it might end up on the menu. If it’s an older animal, the meat can be less tender, but we make it work and adjust the menu to what we have. We don’t even buy flour from big companies. When it arrives to us it’s still warm from the village mill.