Chef Fernandes of the restaurant recognized as the best in Lithuania: I like to cook different food every day

G. Fernandes also hosted the creative team of the documentary series “The Other Plate” to visit both the restaurant and the family home in India. When asked how he would describe his path to opening a restaurant, the chef says little: “Windy.” At the same time, he adds that those twists are also felt in the dishes he creates.

Born on the sunny island of Goa, Mr Fernandes grew up in the UK to Portuguese grandparents. One of them was a chef – he prepared food for the Portuguese colonial authorities, royal persons. Gaspar’s mother also took over her love for cooking, who, together with her husband, has been in the cooking business for several years.

One of Lithuania’s most famous chefs smiles that he himself knew from an early age that he would follow this path. As soon as he turned fifteen, Mr. Fernandes entered college to study cooking, and at the same time got a job as a cook’s assistant in a pub. True, there, as he himself laughs, he usually had to wash mountains of dishes. The record is 600 plates per day.

“Eventually, I got bored with this kind of work, I started to think that I want a simple job in an office. I found it – I started knocking on people’s doors and trying to talk them into switching to other gas and electricity suppliers. Few people know this fact of my biography, – G. Fernandes laughs and adds that he missed the kitchen very quickly: – I got back to adrenaline, creativity and other good things that cooking gives me.”

Before long, he entered the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in London, but dropped out a few months before graduation.

However, this did not prevent him from opening the doors of his restaurant soon. True, not in London, but in Vilnius. His love for his current wife Kristina brought him here. Having met on the Internet, they soon began to realize the young chef’s dream of opening a restaurant. Gaspar’s opened its doors in 2015.

Culinary knowledge passed down from generation to generation allows Gaspar to create a unique menu. And he is different every day. The chef often surprises the restaurant’s guests with impromptu recipes created after evaluating the available stocks of seasonal goodies, the interests of the visiting guests and Gaspar’s mood. The most loyal visitors of the restaurant say that they cannot be surprised by the attentiveness of the chef – even after six months or a year, Gaspar remembers what the guest ate last time, what he liked or did not like.

Although the dishes are different every time, the kitchen has its own secret blend of spices (consisting of as many as 20 ingredients), which regular visitors are already very familiar with. These special spices are prepared by a friend of Gaspar’s mother in India, so the chef says he is sure that no other restaurant in Europe has anything like it. The chef himself also sometimes returns to his hometown and visits spice plantations, local cafes, markets and, of course, his parents’ house. Watching his mother cook, Gaspar gets inspiration and brings the experience back to Vilnius.

“70 percent of my recipes are original, learned from my mother, and 30 percent are creativity and improvisation,” says Mr. Fernandes.

The restaurant recognized as the best in Lithuania also has a secret club of spicy food lovers. It can only be joined by invitation from existing members or by completing an unofficial quest. Telia Play’s documentary series “Beyond the Plate” says that when you go to a restaurant, you should ask for food “with a sauce as spicy as the chef himself would eat.” G. Fernandes can secretly observe how the guest is tasting, and if you meet the challenge, you can receive an invitation from the chef himself to join the club.

Speaking about both this club and regular dinners at the restaurant, Gaspar points out that the most important thing is happy customers.

“I like to cook because I see that I can make people happy with delicious dishes. I believe in sharing happiness, positivity and kindness, and I can do that through food. Food brings people together,” concludes Gaspar’s restaurant founder and chef G. Fernandes.