The Weird Genius of Chez Dominique’s Chef and Owner, Hans Valimaki

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There are several great restaurants in Helsinki, but perhaps, the best of these restaurants is Chez Dominique. A lot of people will likely agree. After all, this restaurant has grabbed the 21^st spot in this year’s El Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. That is not an easy feat and Chez Dominique’s Chef, Hans Valimaki deserves majority of the credit.

Let’s Talk about His Restaurant First

Being the only two-Michelin star restaurant in Finland, Chez Dominique is undoubtedly the best. The presentation of their dishes is incredible. The staff is attentive, friendly and courteous. Everyone is equipped to discuss with their customers wine quirks and meal ingredients. Despite its obvious class, the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. It is not too posh that you would feel out of place, but it is sleek and classy. The whole thing can be credited to the culinary philosophy of its chef.

Let’s Go to the Kitchens

Hans Valimaki , the chef and owner of Chez Dominique is a self-professed culinary entertainer. He has no qualms admitting that his menu is “weird.” He aims to surprise his customers by offering dishes that they wouldn not normally find or prepare at home. Of course, he makes sure that the taste wouldn’t be sacrificed at the expense of innovative culinary ideas.

Just like other great chefs, Chez Dominique’s chef showed interest on culinary arts at a very young age. He began baking for his friends at the age of 12. A happy and outgoing man, he brings the same positive attitude to the kitchen. He really does have fun compiling his recipe, menu, and experimenting with his ingredients. You will find him mixing ingredients that will recreate the smell of “wet forest”. You will find him eagerly preparing his renowned lobster toffee. Yes, this is the reason why he knows his menu is definitely something else. For all his culinary quirkiness, however, Chef Valimarki manages to entertain his customers as well as satiate their food cravings.

Chef Hans Valimaki is one of those few chefs in Finland – and possibly the world – who knows how to conceptualize. He used theoretical thinking in his gastronomical endeavors. All his dishes offer something new to the palate. You can compare this to being on a culinary expedition. He has fused modern cooking, classic cooking, and his own style of cooking. The result has grabbed him and his restaurant the 21^st spot. That’s an achievement that his “weird dishes” has brought him. So, we can only expect that he’d be preparing more weird dishes and stunning the world with these creations for years to come.