Behind the Bun: Jelena draws inspiration from recipes passed down through generations

At Rukis bakery, baking is done with care and intention. It’s a place where craftsmanship meets creativity, where good ingredients are treated with respect, and where Jelena Tega feels right at home. For her, baking isn’t something separate from life. It’s something that has grown naturally over time, shaped by experience, curiosity, and countless small moments in the kitchen.

Jelena’s path to becoming a baker didn’t begin in a professional kitchen. Instead, her relationship with baking began at home, where it was simply part of everyday life. Today, she has been working as a pastry chef for more than three years, bringing both childhood memories and a steady, practiced hand into RUKIS’s kitchen.

Recipes that were born at home

“My biggest inspirations were my mum and my grandmother,” Jelena says. “They were always baking something to go with tea and I was always right there with them.”

In her family, baking didn’t need a special reason. Pies, buns and cookies were made while the family was spending time together. Recipes were copied by hand into notebooks, taken from old cookbooks or magazines, and slowly adjusted over the years. These handwritten pages didn’t just hold instructions, they carried memories.

Growing up around this kind of kitchen taught Jelena something early on – good flavours don’t disappear. They’re passed on, shaped slightly by each new pair of hands.

First cakes and learning to trust the process

Her first solo bake was a kada pie. Only later did she learn it was a classic from Georgian cuisine. Not long after, at around ten years old, she made her first cake for a New Year’s celebration – a honey cake.

“It turned out really soft and tasty,” she remembers. “My family was genuinely surprised.”

Those early attempts weren’t about perfection or planning a career. They were about curiosity and courage. The kitchen felt like a safe place to try, fail, adjust and try again – a mindset that still guides her today.

From art school to pastry

Before becoming a pastry chef, Jelena studied at Tallinn Art School. Creativity and visual expression had always drawn her in, and that background still shapes how she approaches her work.

“I think of pastries as edible art,” she says. “Shape, colour, texture, flavour… they all matter equally.”

For Jelena, baking isn’t just technical execution. It’s a way of expressing ideas and creating something that people can enjoy together. Her art education gave her a strong sense of balance and composition. Whether she’s working on a cake, a pie, or a bun, everything needs to feel right as a whole.

Everyday creativity

What Jelena enjoys most about her job is the daily rhythm of creating. “It’s almost like meditation,” she says. “You focus, you work with your hands, and at the same time you know that what you’re making will bring someone joy.”

Of course, baking also comes with early mornings. “When everyone else is still asleep, you’re already baking,” she smiles. It’s a routine that takes adjustment, but one she has learned to appreciate. It’s a quiet start to the day, before the bakery fills with people.

Chocolate, brownies, and an old notebook

When asked about her favourite recipe, Jelena doesn’t hesitate. ”Brownies with ice cream… I love the smell and taste of chocolate,” she says simply.
New ideas come from many places. Experimenting at work, following other bakers or flipping through her grandmother’s old recipe notebook. That’s where familiar flavours meet new ideas and where tradition quietly continues.

This blend of old and new is central to Jelena’s approach – respecting what came before, while allowing space for evolution.

Flavour that lasts

Jelena believes baking is a craft that will always be important. “It’s closely connected to emotions,” she says. “To craftsmanship and real flavours.” She sees people increasingly valuing natural ingredients, local produce, and thoughtfully made recipes.

For those considering a path in baking, her advice is simple: it’s a profession that offers endless learning and creative freedom.

At RUKIS, these values take shape every day. The pastries made here are rooted in experience, shared knowledge and a genuine wish to do things well. Whether it’s a cake, a pie, or a Shrove bun, each bite carries a story – one that starts in a home kitchen and continues, quietly, into the future.