Meron x Andrei Chelaru Tasting Menu
16/07/2025
Meron x Andrei Chelaru Tasting Menu
A few months ago, we created a conceptual brunch right in our roastery. Now, we’re taking it further. On July 24th, we hosted an experience dinner at Meron Central, where our team partnered with Chef Andrei Chelaru to create a conceptual tasting menu that blended creativity, storytelling, and bold flavors.
The evening began with an ischler inspired by Chef Andrei’s grandmother’s winter cookies — a delicate biscuit filled with smoked trout, crispy yeast, and horseradish sour cream.
The first starter will feature a shortbread biscuit with aged Apuseni cheese and a semolina pudding infused with grilled seasonal herbs, alongside lovage purée and roasted garlic purée — a rich yet fresh composition.
The second starter will be a beef tartare with roasted red pepper, pickled gooseberries, wholegrain mustard, confit egg yolk, and shaved dehydrated beef heart – a play of textures and deep umami tones.
The first main will showcase a carrot roasted and smoked in hay, served with polenta, pickled red cabbage purée with reduced borscht, polenta chips, and dehydrated egg yolk – a dish rooted in familiar flavors, layered with complexity.
The second main features pink and tender duck breast, served on a silky parsnip purée with mascarpone and horseradish, accompanied by parsnip marinated in kombucha and an intense coffee gel.
The dessert, the Cremes, will be a crispy fried puff pastry, served with hay-infused crème anglaise, pine bud syrup, and topped with a refreshing tarragon granita.
About Chef Andrei Chelaru:
Chef Andrei Chelaru’s culinary style is deeply influenced by his Moldovian roots and the traditional flavors of his childhood.
He has honed his skills in some of the most renowned kitchens, including internships at Noma in Copenhagen (named the best restaurant in the world five times) and Relae, which was recognized as the most sustainable restaurant in the world for two consecutive years.
But perhaps the most important place where he showcased his skills and unleashed his passion for cooking was as head chef at Fragment restaurant in Cluj-Napoca. In 2019, Chef Andrei received 15 points and 3 hats from the Gault&Millau Guide, placing him in the top 5 chefs in Romania that year.
P.S. We’re already planning the next dinner!
Later this year, in September, we’re bringing it back for a second edition. Sign up to be the first to know! This time, Botond Feher and Raul Ciceovan, our chefs from Meron Central and Meron Platinia, will team up with Radu Moldovan for an unforgettable experience. To be the first one to know about it, just sign up.
