Russia’s dazzling metropolis Moscow is now part of the Olympus of top gastronomy. For the first time, restaurant experts from the French gourmet bible are awarding Michelin stars in Europe’s largest city.
Moscow – Russia’s national cuisine has reached its goal after years of struggle for international recognition. The famous soup borscht, pelmeni and beef stroganoff, along with delicacies such as Kamchatka crabs, caviar and sturgeon, have long been the epitome of Russian national cuisine.
Now the gourmet nation France is celebrating gastronomy in the largest country in the world in terms of area for the first time with its red restaurant guide “Guide Michelin”.
“The Russian capital is a culinary jewel that reveals a splendid variety of national and international cuisine,” says Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin guides, in Moscow. The red French restaurant guide Michelin honored top chefs for the first time – and immediately honored nine restaurants with at least one star.
For five years, the professional testers worked anonymously, for example checking the quality of the products, aroma and taste, says Poullennec. Russia is now the 35th country with a “Michelin Guide”. “Twins Garden” by the twins Ivan and Sergej Beresuzki was honored as the best restaurant. The brothers speak of a “historic event” for Russia. “Moscow is now on par with other world metropolises in terms of culinary delights,” says Ivan Beresuzki. He and his brother now not only have two Michelin stars, but also a green star as an organic restaurant and an award for the best service.
The chef Artjom Jestafjew (“Artest-Chef’s Table”) also has two stars. One star each goes to Anatoli Kasakow (“Selfie”), Evgeni Wikentjew (“Beluga”), David Hemmerlé (“Grand Cru”), Vladimir Muchin (“White Rabbit”), Ekaterina Aljochina (“Biology”), Alexej Kogaj ( “Sakhalin”) and Andrei Shmakov (“Savva”).
For Wladimir Muchin from the “White Rabbit” restaurant, this is a longed-for victory after a long and difficult journey. “It is recognition for Russian cuisine, an accolade for me and my team, a step, a motivation that we are developing even further,” says the 38-year-old overjoyed.
He reminds us that under the communists in the Soviet era, people cooked according to a cookbook with strictly regulated standards – without creativity. His goal today is to make Russian culinary art known internationally. The restaurant has long been considered the first address in Moscow for everyone who likes Russian cuisine in a modern style.
Muchin combines braised white cabbage with a creamy sauce with red caviar or wild mushrooms with cod. “We live a lot on seasonal products,” he says. It annoys him that there has been a Russian embargo on food from the EU for years. “I think it’s bad that I can’t buy French cheese here,” says the chef, who also studied in France.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has banned the import of meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, for example, in response to EU and US sanctions against the country for its aggressive policies in Ukraine. However, many Russian farmers have now learned to make cheese like in Italy or France, says Muchin. The search for good ingredients is generally time-consuming because of the import ban. Overall, however, there is no sign of a shortage economy in Russia as it was during the Soviet era.
“We now have a few private farmers who grow carrots, tomatoes, cabbage and everything we need organically and without pesticides, just as it should be for a kitchen of this quality,” he says. For a long time it was like “Russian Roulette” to find reliable suppliers. “The success of a restaurant depends 70 percent on the good quality of the products,” says Muchin.
Moscow, the largest city in Europe, relies on passionate and innovative chefs. Mayor Sergej Sobyanin sees good Russian cuisine in addition to sights such as the Red Square with the Kremlin as a magnet to attract visitors from all over the world. “The Michelin Guide shows our city to tourists and Muscovites themselves in a different way,” he says. After temporary closure due to the corona pandemic, the restaurants in the metropolis with its more than 12 million inhabitants are jam-packed again.
In the past few years, several food courts have opened in the capital in huge market halls, offering everything from sushi to Uzbek and Caucasian cuisine to pizza. 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow is now the first city with Michelin stars in the area of the first communist state in the world, says Sobyanin. The city has long since embarked on a new era and today has more than 15,000 restaurants.
But it is also clear that the vast majority of Russians can hardly afford food in the stars that have now been awarded the Michelin stars. Monthly wages are a few hundred euros, pensions around 200 euros. However, the head of the Michelin guide Poullennec emphasizes that there is something for every budget in the new restaurant guide. By international standards, Moscow offers a good price-performance ratio – 15 restaurants that offer a meal for less than 25 euros have received praise. dpa
