Ignas Damanskas

Chef Ignas Damanskas's culinary philosophy is deeply rooted in sustainability and the cultivation of a conscious food culture, earning Red Brick a Michelin Green Star. His core ethos extends beyond the plate to encompass ethical sourcing, waste reduction, and the well-being of his team. Damanskas champions the meticulous utilization of every part of an ingredient, a principle he refined during an impactful internship at a zero-waste restaurant in Brighton in 2018. His vision at Red Brick is to create extraordinary gastronomic experiences that are in harmony with nature's rhythm. This involves procuring organic and sustainably sourced products, emphasizing local suppliers to shorten the supply chain, and featuring ingredients from the surrounding regenerative farm fields, nearby forests, and the Baltic and Nordic regions. Damanskas believes a sustainable restaurant has a responsibility to showcase natural bounty, allowing ingredients in their natural, imperfect forms to shine with equal deliciousness. His menus are a dynamic reflection of seasonality, evolving to highlight richer, deeper flavors from root vegetables and preserved delicacies like fermented items as the seasons change. Chef Damanskas exhibits exceptional technical mastery in his approach to flavor and plating, characterized by a profound respect for ingredients and a commitment to whole-product utilization. His style is a dynamic interplay of textures, temperatures, and thoughtfully balanced acidity, all while celebrating the natural cycles of the seasons. He employs techniques such as long smoking, delicate emulsions, and fermentation to extract the deepest essence from his chosen produce. His legendary signature dishes exemplify this philosophy: * **Ūkio bulvės (Farm Potatoes)**: A celebratory ode to the humble potato, this dish masterfully utilizes the entire vegetable. It features potato cream with hazelnuts, delicate potato spheres cooked in a brown butter emulsion, and crispy fried potato skins. These elements are ingeniously seasoned with long-smoked and dried beef heart chips, further elevated by a vibrant coffee oil infused with lemon balm, creating a complex and comforting experience. * **Starkis with Farm Radishes**: This dish showcases the pike-perch, sourced from the Curonian Lagoon, artfully wrapped in radish leaves—a part typically discarded. The plate is further enriched with perfectly fried radishes and a luxurious butter sauce crafted from the radish leaves themselves, embodying his zero-waste ethos. Beneath the fish, a bed of apples, onions, and celery provides a crucial layer of bright acidity, balancing the richness and highlighting the fresh flavors.

Career

• Chef at Goldfinch, Copenhagen
• Chef at Alchemist, Copenhagen
• Chef-Owner/Head Chef at Red Brick, Radiškis