Janno Lepik

When it comes to his cooking skill, Janno Lepik is refreshingly honest, even if it makes you suspect he’s doing himself an injustice.

The co-owner of the restaurants Lee, Lore Bistro and Uma, says that his thinking is like many of his counterparts – that food needs to be rich in flavour and rich in texture.

However modest he might want to appear, it’s glaringly obvious that his skill, passion and desire to put a twist on favourite dishes and ingredients put him ahead of the game.

Janno has worked in both London and Ireland and this feeds directly into what he loves best – to travel.

Even if he can’t do it directly himself, he does it vicariously via social media, looking at different countries, towns and cities and drawing inspiration from them.

This love of travel is something he instils into his team – taking his chefs and restaurant managers on food tours to expand their experiences.

Janno would be the first to admit that he is not reinventing the wheel – rather taking it an adding his own distinct twist to it. “Of course, I don’t mimic anyone, but I am certainly not inventing the bicycle, nor will I try to invent it,” he said.

“Rather, I put together recipes with special features, that people may be familiar with but they are experiencing it in a new and different way.”

He is a man who seems content, at a phase in his life where he wants to rediscover life outside of a kitchen.

“Work and family - these are the two things my time is divided between,” he said.

“ Just because I’m not in the kitchen doesn’t mean I’m not at work. Unfortunately, food

service is something that can’t be controlled from afar.”

‘’My goal is to make all the guests happy.

“It may seem like it’s not very ambitious, but it actually is. Although accolades are helpful, no award can match the genuine emotion of having a restaurant full of people and smiling faces every day. The professional goal is to keep it all running successfully, and that’s a lot of work.’’