Kenneth Karjane

‘’I don’t directly consider myself a baker or a cook. I just love to cook,” says physiotherapist turned bakery owner, Kenneth Karjane. “Good food and drink are what motivate me.’’ 

And Kenneth is certainly no stranger to motivation – having gone from home baking to running and owning his own highly acclaimed bakery, restaurant and wine bar.

He was introduced to the world of cookery while working in restaurants and said, “I read the biographies of a couple of chefs and realised theirs was a world where, if you can educate yourself properly, the possibilities are endless.

“At that point the only emotional connection I had with food was my love of pastries, which was so funny,” he says. “Then, I started to cook at home and that got the ball rolling.

After working in restaurants for a few years, Kenneth decided to try and realise a long-held dream of creating a business.

‘’Since opening a restaurant seemed like such a big financial expense at the time, I had started baking sourdough bread at home instead,” he recalls. “I went to Sweden for an internship at a bakery and, at one point, I also rented a garage corner with a small kitchen in Miiduranna harbour, where I could cook in slightly larger quantities.

“However, while planning and budgeting in Excel, everything seemed simple and logical but, in reality, the beginning was very difficult,” he says.

“I sold bread to restaurants and went to fairs and so forth and everything was home made.”

But from small acorns, mighty oak trees grow and those first steps led Kenneth to where he is now; he has created the successful bakery Karjase Sai, the acclaimed restaurant Barbarea and, as a fresh addition, the wine bar Bar Rara.

And what makes his small empire unique is that all three premises are located in one building, the Põhjala factory. “We have chaos every day,” he laughs. “In the morning, you have to bake bread, then clean up, and then the restaurant opens its doors. With the addition of the bar, we now have a nice triple punt together.

“We have developed to where we want to be; a bakery-restaurant-bar in a cosy neighbourhood in Northern Tallinn, which is open from morning until late at night.”

And Kenneth isn’t focussed solely on the end result, striving daily to create a positive work environment, too.

“The goal is to provide a pleasant environment for both the team and the guests,’’ he

says. ‘’What fascinates me the most about food is that the information never runs out. It is always possible to learn more and become even better. I really enjoy what I do.’’