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2026 Saaremaa pilot

2026 Saaremaa pilot

SAAREMAA PILOT 2026 11-14 of October: The Story of Our First Laboratory

In October 2026, the inaugural Cook It Wild pilot took flight at the historic Pilguse Residency on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia. This first-ever laboratory supported by Visit Estonia brought together a powerful, cross-border network of forward-thinking culinary leaders, master foragers, and creative innovators to explore the profound relationship between food, nature, culture, and the senses.

Over four dynamic days, the international team worked side-by-side with an exceptional lineup of Estonian culinary talent, regional chefs, and local artisan producers. Together, they immersed themselves in the rugged Baltic landscape- foraging along the coastline and exploring wild flora with Pilguse's botanist and flora specialist Margit Kuus, gathering autumn ingredients, and experimenting with traditional techniques like open-fire cooking, smoking, and ancestral preservation.
In the kitchen and around the fires, Head Chef Elisabeth Passedat opened the doors of Pilguse Residency to host a crazy, fun collaboration between the Cook It Wild core team and an elite cohort of invited Estonian culinary talents

Kerti Vissel (Kolm Sõsarat)
Daanius Aas (Hiis)
Daire Kaup (Old Hapsal Hotel)
Carmen Kremm (Cervo)
Taavi Tali & Siim Reinmets (Toosikannu Nature Park)
Nuriyan Navruzova (The Kurze)
Helena Vallimäe (LaSpa, Wicca)

" Our culinary industry here in Estonia is young, having been completely mothballed during the Soviet era when the culture of entertaining and sharing a meal did not happen or develop as the rest of the pre world. The spark to rewrite this narrative happened at our Hooked on Estonia event curated by Fia at Rosendahl, thanks to a remarkably generous host team. That momentum made me realize we needed a bigger, dedicated platform.

Aligning perfectly with Fia’s vision, Cook It Wild - alongside expertise from her team members, has provided that essential neutral playground. It’s an environment where Estonian chefs can finally take collective ownership of our wild landscape and build a new collaborative culinary future from the ground up, chefs, mixologists and producers.” Maria Tamander - Pilguse Residency

The laboratory's commitment to profound creative thinking also attracted acclaimed Hollywood music producer Michael Pärt (Co-founder of the Arvo Pärt Centre) and his wife, Gunnhildur Geirsdóttir, drawing direct parallels between music production, historical roots, and wild gastronomy. Around the campfire, Michael shared the deep artistic philosophy of his father, the legendary composer Arvo Pärt, and his world-famous Tintinnabuli method, the practice of stripping away absolutely everything until only a single, pure melody remains, allowing a completely new, harmonic "we" to be born when just one more honest voice is added.

This philosophy became the heartbeat of the gathering. As culinary curator Fia Gulliksson noted: "We are stripping gastronomy down to its purest elements: ancestral fire, the raw land, and deep human connection. By bringing these voices together, we are composing a completely new 'we' for the future of sustainable gastronomy."

This brilliant exchange culminated in highly successful public dining experiences, including a collaborative Table Talk Dinner and a spectacular multi-course Sharing Feast Dinner. From preparing local deer meat over wild embers and smoking the heart inside the traditional smoke sauna to testing new flavor profiles, the laboratory beautifully translated Saaremaa's unique terroir onto the plate.
The immense creative synergy, deep collaborative trust, and shared knowledge built during these four days successfully proved the concept, directly shaping a more structured, public-facing, and commercially sustainable program for our upcoming editions.

Some words from the participating chefs and local team

Breaking the Unbreakable Rules: In a testament to the interest of the laboratory, Kerti Vissel, the widely acclaimed chef behind the top-tier restaurant Kolm Sõsarat (Three Sisters), made an unprecedented exception for the event. Known for never leaving her kitchen and never altering her meticulously structured plans, Vissel chose to alter her calendar to stay on-site and immerse herself fully in the Cook It Wild ecosystem

Daire Kaup (Old Hapsal Hotel):
"The best thing about Cook it Wild was being thrown into a space with chefs who are on the exact same crazy wavelength. We didn't just cook-we dared to discuss, experiment, and completely overthink everything together until something magical happened.”

Taavi Tali & Siim Reinmets (Toosikannu Nature Park):
"Working together around the fire felt like we were an old group of friends from the very first minute. It was a wild, valuable experience - we shared secrets, learned new techniques, and got to introduce everyone to our amazing deer meat, smoking the heart inside the traditional smoke sauna and searing the loin directly over wild embers.”

"It was a a pleasure taking part of hosting an extraordinary lineup of chefs including our own Elisabeth Passédet and Margit Kuus for Cook it Wild at Pilguse Residency. I personally thank all the participants, the incomparable Fia Gulliksson of FOOD IN ACTION of SWEDEN and Enterprise Estonia for the opportunity to meet, share ideas and create an absolutely fantastic meal through this first of hopefully many collaborations. What an exceptional two days of watching the creativity and passion that each chef & our mixologist brought to bring out the best in taste profiles and presentation. It was truly an honor to serve each and every dish. Until the next time" …Mark S Goldberg - Manager Pilguse Residency

"Cook It Wild isn't just about foraging plants and cooking over open flames. This is a framework designed to shake us out of our old ways. We must dare to create chaos, dare to play, and dare to strip away the unnecessary," adds open-fire pioneer chef/forager Lena Flaten.

"By activating our instincts, our cunning, and every single one of our human senses, we are composing a completely new 'we' for the future of sustainable gastronomy," concludes botanical mixologist Bella Porcile.

Curated by Food In Action • First edition hosted by Pilguse Residency
Follow the live journey on Instagram: @cookitwild

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2026 Saaremaa pilot