Ondrej Taldik

Ondrej, who was born in the Czech Republic, emigrated with his family to Sweden where he made a career as a young and promising chef. Here are some of his own thoughts on his foremost passion:

My food philosophy

“The food I make is basically quite simple; often I use just two or three ingredients, and sometimes only one. My focus is finding the best way to prepare the key ingredient, so as to emphasise its taste and texture, and the diner’s experience.

“Take beets, for example. They taste very different depending on how you cook them. You can fry them, bake the beets overnight, dehydrate and later rehydrate them, transform beets into paper-thin “crisps”, pickle or ferment them… The possibilities are almost endless. And this is true for every vegetable.

“When you combine this with fresh-caught seafood, or what we ourselves harvest from our island and its shore, as well as the game and other ingredients we acquire from the forests on the mainland, we can make something very special.

“Many restaurants find it necessary to order very expensive ingredients. Here at Manshausen we are fortunate enough to have world-class ingredients readily available in the nearby waters and on the seafloor. They’re just waiting to be harvested! And the variety is incredible.

“When I am not in my kitchen, I spend as much time as possible harvesting herbs and plants. I also keenly explore how ingredients are transformed by fermentation and other types of preservation. The result is that we are surprisingly self-sufficient, have minimal waste, and most importantly can tempt our guests with an astonishing array of flavours.”

Børge on Ondrej

“Ondrej came to us in 2019, and raised the dining experience at Manshausen to a whole new level. He is passionate about his culinary craft. Ondrej’s dishes are an extension of nature. Every choice and every detail counts. He finds amazing ways to enhance flavours that have always been there, and he presents them to us as though through a magnifying glass.”

And Børge adds: “When he was twelve years old, and his family moved to Sweden, Ondrej had to start over again. He had to learn a new language, make new friends, and despite having low confidence find his identity again. Fortunately he soon discovered his culinary talents and the thrived in the kitchen. At a very young age he was hired as a chef at Michelin star Restaurant 108 in Copenhagen, and later at Credo in Trondheim 

“We are now fortunate to have him here at Manshausen – and I hope he stays for a long time.”