Secret places and ingredients for generating inspiration

Because we put our soul into everything we do, we are fascinated by people who use love as their main ingredient, proving us that it is possible. We focus now on a proud ex-resident of Maramures County who followed his destiny and explored the wide world, starting with the basic to fulfill his calling – from his mother's pot of beans to cooking for restaurants in France.

Nicolai Tand is our subject, a famous Romanian chef, amazing by his simplicity, yet the complexity of the stories delivered alongside his signature dishes. He was born in Rozavlea village from Maramures County and decides to take faith in his own hands at his 20, wandering the world in search of destiny. First in England, where he lived the American dream for 2 weeks, followed by a little passage through beautiful Italy, to be finally fascinated and captivated by France. Finally, he learned and developed his cooking skills, starting with the basics, until the person of today: a chef who loves people and their stories.

For us, he is generating inspiration – a person who inspires everybody around, creating signature dishes that can be simply called art.

 

Perhaps he is better famous because of his restaurant – La Cantine de Nicolai, a fine dining French restaurant opened here in Romania since 2009, instead of France. Because in the end, all roads lead home. Recently, he came to spotlight with another intimate, personal place, with a space and menu customized according to his childhood memories from the village of Maramures. It's called "Nicolai" and it's that place where you order your office food on your way home or for those moments when you have friends over and you don't have time to cook. His dishes capture the tastes of childhood and include in those flavors too sweet and dear memories. Just like rice milk with sweetnees or donuts from the menu. He wanted this place to inspire and transport its guests to an area we are avoiding: the childhood.

Apart from childhood food and love – the secret ingredient, we fell in love with this place when we saw the natural stone. An intimate space decorated with wood and natural stone, more specific a table, where you can experience the tastes of childhood. The stone used at "Nicolai" is a white marble, associated with wood. For us marble is an expression of beauty, in which each vein is a metaphor. A classic material that can be employed for any design style, yet able to convey a refined accent. Such a project deserves all the praises and we are so happy when we find a place in which stone comes to life and so does the childhood.

All trends lead to... natural materials. Back to the origins.

 

We are glad to see how things evolve in Romania, with stone becoming more popular as materil for decoration projects of HORECA spaces. Besides its benefits, we are talking about a unique elegance. Natural Stone has the ability of transforming a space – a restaurant, a bistro or a simple café – into a delight for your senses. Besides stone 2 main features: hardness and durability, we are talking about a natural material that adds extra value to your space. These all lead to to wellbeing, an essential element of a HORECA space. Natural stone is a versatile material, with a wide range of textures and shades that will help you build your space in a more creative way.

Besides stone, you can use wood – like "Nicolai" and a touch of green, just like the raw green of plants. Apart from cladding or flooring, you can use it in a restaurant's kitchen. Stone countertops are famous their hardness and durability, pizza stone – already used in several Bucharest restaurants or even slate trays for plating.

Stone was, it is and will remain an endless source of inspiration and infinite possibilities.

 

Surely, natural stone is a material that inspires and stimulated you to generate inspiration. We are pleased to see that our love for natural stone is inspirational and addictive. We are aven happier when other people discover the beauty of the stone and push the story forward. We are extatic when we gathered around a rock-hard table and experience childhood memories by different senses. We rejoice when Love is the secret ingredient – love for beauty, love for people, love for natural stone or love for the art of preparing food.

If you are also stimulated by people and places, natural stone and gastronomy, share this story!