Robert Marrandi is successfully selling Estonian rye bread at his bakery in Florence, Italy, to locals who have grown to love it; Alina Birjuk caught up with Marrandi to find out more about his career in Italy and the Wild Buns Bakery.
A longer interview and more pictures can be found on Alina Birjuk’s website.
How long have you been living abroad?
I’ve been living in Florence, Italy, for more than eight years – maybe too long (laughs). But now my business has grown far beyond my expectations from four years ago when I started everything as a pop-up bakery in Florence – a Scandinavian pop-up bakery. So I went around the best coffee shops in Florence with the products I now sell here.
How did you end up in Italy?
It was a random decision, even the choice of Florence. I was on a road trip in Italy. But yeah, it was totally random. I just wanted to come to Italy and did a little trip. Venice, Florence and Rome seemed to be the right places.
A lot of people, when they come here – they study here or pass through – feel Florence is the right place for them to start everything. I think it’s the right size, with the river and two sides of the city. It has its charm.
How did you come to open your own bakery in Italy?
In October 2018, I started it as a pop-up bakery. In September 2022, I opened it officially.
It started at home, for friends, and slowly grew through social media. I started my own page, people started posting and ordering. I baked while living with four other people. I’d get up at three or four in the morning while they were asleep, prepare everything and deliver. The Wild Buns Bakery started just like that, at home, for friends and for myself.
How do Italians feel about cinnamon?
When I first started, I was quite scared because Italians don’t like cinnamon as much as we do in Estonia, Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. They don’t usually know what cardamom is, and our main ingredients are cinnamon and cardamom. So I was a bit worried, especially because in the beginning it was mostly foreign customers. But now, after all these years, there is an Italian clientele, from children to adults, aged 60 to 75, who come and love it.
It started more for foreigners who missed home, but now Italians have embraced the Wild Buns Bakery. People who live here enjoy it too. I didn’t just create this place for travellers and tourists – I also created it for Italians, because they know what a Swedish cinnamon bun is. At the moment there are many regular Italian customers.
How has opening this Scandinavian bakery helped you integrate into the city and build relationships with the locals?
Being a social person, I’ve never had a problem talking and interacting with people. But of course, it has helped me integrate. It’s become quite a famous shop and brand in Florence. It has shown young Italians that a foreigner, a random guy from Estonia, can come here and start a business. They are proud.
My Italian customers are proud of me, and I’m very grateful for that. In the beginning they were very supportive, they helped me a lot. For example, I was making batches with a small mixer, like a KitchenAid. So I was struggling and my customers were helping me. It showed a lot of love from Italians and a lot of my customers supported me a lot.
Do you have anything from Estonia on your menu?
Yes, I do. I have brown bread and the flour is from Estonia. The yeast comes from my grandmother. There are customers who come every week because we bake rye bread once a week. They come for that, and there’s a lot of curiosity about it too. Italians want to try it, and that’s the nicest thing. A lot of Italians prefer more traditional Italian bread, but once they get to know it, they really like it, and especially the new generation is more open and wants to try different things.
What inspired you to start making bread?
It all started with my grandmother. I learned cooking, baking and everything about food from her. She was a big baker in her small town and I started baking with her when I was ten. I got hooked and started baking on my own. She would come over and taste what I was making and I would improve. So it’s a lot of her. She’s very important for my hobby, especially baking.
Do Estonians often visit your bakery?
Yes, there are quite a few Estonians here in Florence. The community consists mainly of women who have come here to find Italian love (laughs). We help each other out sometimes – as Estonians, we always stick together because we’re a small nation. There are also young people who study fashion or work, so I have some Estonian friends here. They often come to get the rye bread when they miss it.
How would you describe Estonia to others and what would you wish for Estonia in the next 100 years?
I describe Estonia as a country with great food. The restaurant culture has grown in the last five years and I can’t wait to go back and eat in all my favourite restaurants.
It’s very digital and the new modern areas have grown into a Scandinavian country. I’m very happy about that. I wish Estonia a lot of success, independence and happiness. I wish people there to be happy, to live their lives, to accept others and to help themselves and others. Happiness is the key.
What are your favourite restaurants in Estonia?
Controvento (an Italian restaurant in Tallinn – editor) is one of my favourites, not only for the food but also for the people. I love the people there. They even came to my opening here in Florence.
I also love the Indian restaurant Elephant, it’s amazing. Also Bistro Lore (a bistro in Tallinn – editor) is great and there are so many more places I want to try. I can’t even fit everything in. But definitely Elevant, the Indian restaurant in the old town of Tallinn, I used to go there at least two or three times a week when I lived in Estonia.
