Estonian Eurovision star Stefan to open new restaurant in Tallinn
Estonian Eurovision star Stefan is set to fulfil a lifelong dream by opening his very own restaurant called "Steff Grill," in Tallinn. Stefan, who represented Estonia at Eurovision in 2022 with his song "Hope," told ETV show "Ringvaade" that the secret behind a great shashlik is all down to the chef.
Stefan Airapetjan, known to Eurovision fans simply as Stefan, first dreamed of opening his own restaurant when he was a young boy. At that time, Stefan worked in his father's restaurant and wanted to have live music there. "I would have really liked that, but I couldn't tell my dad to do it that way – it was his place. Now it's my place, and he helps me the in the way I tell him to," he told ERR.
Now he has his own restaurant, Stefan wants music to play an important role. "I want to have live concerts here every Friday and Saturday, maybe not at first, but I'm slowly moving in that direction," he said.
Despite going into the restaurant business, Stefan has no intention of giving up on his music career. "I had a dream to have a place like this in Tallinn, but my main focus is on singing, that's still my first priority," he said.
"I really like country and folk styles in particular. The plan is to make a country album next year," he added.
Last summer, Stefan attended several music festivals in a food truck, where he was able to try things out and learn from his mistakes before launching a full-blown restaurant. "There was so much chaos, so much confusion. The food-truck was a way to warm up and avoid the kind of mistakes you make first time," he said.
The food served at "Steff Grill" will be Armenian, in-keeping with Stefan's roots. He also revealed to ERR show "Ringvaade" his secret to cooking great shashlik.
"The recipe for a good shashlik requires everything to be just right, starting with the chef having positive emotions, he has to have good energy, that's very important. One of the big secrets is that you add a decent splash of water to the meat, then it becomes juicier. That's something I don't tell many people," said Stefan.
Stefan told ERR that he is nervous about the restaurant's opening night. "There are so many things to do, I don't even have time to think," he admitted. However, the Estonian Eurovision star has plenty of hope that Steff Grill will get top marks from his customers.
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Editor: Rasmus Kuningas, Michael Cole
Source: "Ringvaade"