When I met Chef Gaspar Fernandes at a cocktail evening when he was visiting Goa, I was transfixed with his food-centric stories. All the way from a neighbourhood in Merces, Goa, to his eponymous restaurant, Gaspar’s in Vilnius, Lithuania, this culinary savant has been crafting magic, one spice at a time, and it was evident as he regaled the highs and lows of his passion project. “There is some form of spice in every single dish we serve, and that’s how we infuse the Goan touch” he told me.
”Right from the restaurant’s beloved, My Mum’s Curry, a rendition of cafreal mix using black cod tail in season, to the fragrant black cardamom flan with kesar mango mousse to end a meal.” Coconut jaggery with salted coconut caramel| Photo Credit:Robertas Daskevicius Gaspar’s Restoranas was rated No. 1 in the 30 Best Restaurant in Lithuania list for 2023, and from then, the momentum was on.
But it was a definitive homerun in June this year when Lithuania’s First Michelin Guide was unveiled and the restaurant bagged a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand. “You see, we are a small family run enterprise, with just 14 staff members (four from India) and we put in a lot of heart in every aspect of the business. This was in no measure, a small win,” he says over a call from Vilnius.
Of course, I knew this from our last conversation, where his wife Krystina, who manages the front of house operations, is totally in tandem with Gaspar’s vision. After all, the start of the restaura.
