Fast Facts
Personal info: Saba Ichkitidze, 25, born in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Current workplace: Abashidze 80
Favourite cuisine: Georgian and Italian
“My story starts with my family, just like anybody else`s”.
Saba grew up in a big family, where his parents and grandparents used to cook at home. Almost every weekend they were had crowded, delicious and happy feasts together with close relatives; and little Saba’s passion had always been to participate in the food-making process. His interest in food began at the age of seven, when he made ‘Ojakhuri’ (fried potatoes with meat, onions and seasoning) and realised someday he’d make big steps in this field.
Saba was 17 when he started studying Business Management and decided to work at a restaurant as a Commis Chef. He developed his experience by working at a number of restaurants. His acquaintances were curious about why he constantly changed jobs, but he kept in mind the advice of one of his colleagues: “If you want to become a chef, you need to stay in the same place for 2-3 months, learn the best dishes of its chef and its techniques and then go further”.
But the road to a long-term goal naturally has its bumps and critical timings. On your way sometimes you can start to doubt your choices and Saba even shifted professions to the insurance industry for some time, but his intention to become a great chef was so consuming that he managed to pull himself together and return to his passion.
“My inspiration comes from my grandparents and elders who preserved traditional Georgian recipes,” he says. “But my vision is to create classic Georgian dishes with a modern twist.” And so he chose fusion cooking principles that deliberately mix two or more diverse culinary disciplines.
Saba does the daily shopping for his dishes and selects ingredients carefully with their smell, texture and colour. “I put a lot of effort to make my dishes perfect. Usually, I test about 10-12 different versions of a dish and get feedback from colleagues before it is placed on the menu.”
He has one main goal in life he works tirelessly to achieve: to be one of the best professionals in the field. “I want people to recognise me as a creator and not just as an ordinary chef”. And he is realising his dream. He became a chef five years ago and is thankful for his experience in Georgia as well as in Germany where he worked side-by-side with international professionals. Today, Saba is a proud chef, developing various menus concepts and his greatest pleasure is when a customer shows appreciation and smiles.
“If someone doesn’t know me, I`d say if you want to get to know me, taste my dishes you’ll sense my character, thoughts and feelings”. His current menu highlights include delicious options of Khinkali Soup, as well as //selected dishes from the menu//. Join Saba in his way of fantastic gastronomic adventure at 80 Abashidze street.