Anne from Ireland Opened Cosy Restaurant in Vilnius
Anne Jennings Taučienė graduated from Dublin’s Trinity College in art history and theater arts studies, and afterward worked in the field of communications and also for the EU discrimination prevention project in Ireland. She likes to travel and has wide cultural experience as she lived and worked in various places in France, Africa and Russia. Seven years ago together with her husband she opened the restaurant Bistro 18 in Vilnius. There they created not only good food but together they designed the restaurant‘s interior. In addition, Anne likes to sing and has recorded a ballad for the soundtrack of the Lithuanian movie „Loss“.
How did you come to Lithuania?
I came many years ago back in the early years of the restoration of independence, I had travelled a lot by then and Lithuania, especially Vilnius, was a very old world and charming, but there was also a lot of new energy, you could really feel it. I ended up staying much longer than the two weeks I had planned, after some few years I met my husband, Saulius, and we have been married now for almost 15 years and have a daughter Caoilfhinn Vetra who is 15.
One good and one not so good observation about Lithuania.
Lithuania has a great young population, it never ceases to amaze me how many languages are spoken by the younger generation, I have had staff in their early twenties who can speak up to 5 languages with great fluency.
On the other hand, it is very difficult for any country when their young people have to leave to work elsewhere, it’s great for broadening horizons, but ultimately it can be very hard for families where a parent has to leave to earn a proper wage.
What are the main differences between Lithuanians and your compatriots?
Irish people are very gregarious and loud, even the ladies. In addition, I have a very Irish disrespect for rules, we just don’t do rules. Lithuanians are more circumspect and formal and it was one of the things that was difficult for me in the early days, trying to break out of the box that you are put in, doing things differently was a bit frowned upon.
What have you learned from Lithuanians?
The importance of learning languages. The hospitality that everyone shows you if you are invited to someone’s home. A love of swimming in lakes and barbecues!
What is your favourite place in Lithuania?
Kernave is stunning and I love the beach in winter, but perhaps my favourite is Labanoras, I love to go there to escape, walk in the woods, listen to the birds and read.
What is the funniest (or strangest) thing happened to you in Lithuania?
Almost everything has to do with our restaurant, on a day to day basis there will be something to make us laugh out loud, usually to do with communication issues and my bad language skills. I think our customers think it’s cute, but I do really try. On a different note, the whole redesigning of the restaurant was almost surreal as I had never been involved in a project like that and so we were months covered in dust and paint as we pretty much did all the work ourselves. It was a great challenge and I love challenges.
What does the kitchen mean to you?
It is central to everything we do and we are really lucky to work with an extraordinary team of people, some of whom have been here since we opened. It is very intense and totally time consuming but we love what we do plus we get to make people happy. We wanted excellent food which is dependent on the best and freshest ingredients you can find and then cook it with passion. In addition, we wanted a place with a huge focus on customer service and creating an atmosphere in which people can really relax and have great food, great service and really feel they have had a good evening.