(Moscow) The prestigious French gastronomic guide Michelin on Thursday awarded stars to nine restaurants in Moscow for its first volume on the capital of Russia, a coronation for gastronomy in full renaissance of this country.
Long disdained by sophisticated palates, Russian cuisine has undergone spectacular development in recent years, rediscovering its roots and drawing inspiration from all corners of the former Soviet empire.
Two restaurants received two stars and seven others were awarded one star, announced Gwendal Poullennec, international director of Michelin Guides, during a ceremony with great fanfare at Zaryadye Hall, a state-of-the-art auditorium located in a park bordering the Kremlin. .
Twins Garden by twins Ivan and Sergei Berezutsky received two stars, as did Artest from the Russian group Novikov with its conductor Artem Estafev. In total, 69 establishments were listed in this first Michelin Guide to Moscow.
During the ceremony, the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, welcomed an important event in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the guide constitutes “moral support […], while restaurateurs are going through a particularly difficult period ”.
Mr. Poullennec also considered “moving” that the ceremony could be public after nearly two years of health restrictions.
However, Russia is experiencing a devastating wave of COVID-19, recording new records of daily infections and deaths on Thursday, against a background of sluggish vaccination and in the absence of strict health restrictions.
“Dynamism”
PHOTO MAXIM SHEMETOV, REUTERS
Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow
The mayor, Mr. Sobyanin, especially welcomed the recognition of the renaissance of Russian culinary art.
“Unfortunately, in Soviet times, traditions had been lost,” he lamented, saying that he was “proud that Moscow restaurants have become a calling card for Moscow”.
Thanks to a selection made by anonymous Michelin inspectors, Russia becomes the 35e country to make its entry in the Michelin Guide.
If the iconic red guide continues to exist on paper, it is also on its mobile application in 25 languages - including Russian – that the selection of Moscow restaurants will be available.
“There is an evolution of the Russian culinary scene, there is more and more dynamism, with young chefs who boost their talent, a varied palette of cuisines and products”, told AFP before the ceremony Mr. Poullennec.
According to him, regional cuisines are in the spotlight, Moscow being “a crossroads between West and East”.
The cuisines from the four corners of the former Soviet empire – Caucasus, Central Asia, Ukraine – are indeed very present in the Russian capital.
Since the end of the Soviet Union – where the authorities were promoting a very standardized cuisine throughout the empire – there has been “a whole scene that is reinventing and inventing itself,” noted the international director of Michelin Guides.
Russian cuisine has shown in recent years, and in particular since the embargo on fresh European products that came into force in 2014, of creativity using traditional products, such as crabs from the Far East, arctic fish, Borodinski black bread or smetana (sour cream), not to mention borscht, a traditional beetroot soup.
Before the Michelin Guide, the Moscow culinary scene had already received marks of recognition.
Twins Garden has therefore been included for several years in the prestigious annual list of “50 Best”.
This is also the case of White Rabbit, establishment of chef Vladimir Moukhine, to which a remarkable episode of the program was dedicated. Chef’s Table on Netflix. He received a Michelin star on Thursday.
Another leading French guide, Gault et Millau, launched a first Russian edition in 2018, giving White Rabbit the highest rating, before being sold in 2019 to Russian investors.