Konstantin Ivlev, the famous chef and host of the show “On Knives” (Friday! Channel), told about the new Russian cuisine in Nizhny Novgorod.
He came to Nizhniy with a purely professional goal – to conduct a master class for chefs from the LFR Family chain and to pamper guests of the V Gosti cafe with his delights. Woman’s Day did not miss the opportunity to find out from the culinary celebrity the peculiarities of the new Russian cuisine he is promoting.
According to the point of view of Konstantin Ivlev, the new Russian cuisine is based on the following principles:
1. The use of a predominantly domestic product.
2. Using modern cooking methods. Along with frying and baking, you can cook at low temperatures, use shock cooking technology, etc.
3. Ability to present a dish. Food can be served on porcelain, wood or glass. For example, in my restaurant I serve sashimi from the belly of wild salmon only on a blue brick. The waiters whine (the brick is very heavy), but what about without it? I associate a brick with the sea, and on it lies a red fish. Aesthetics!
Little chef’s tricks
From my point of view, the main drawback of Russian cuisine is very fatty. Although I keep repeating that the most delicious food is fatty, the main thing is not to overeat. Don’t listen to what nutritionists have to say! We need both cholesterol and fat, which is found in Russian dishes. Especially now that winter is coming.
The healthiest Russian dish? Any fresh vegetable salad can be called healthy, just don’t overdo it with mayonnaise. More porridge. In general, I am one of the first Russian chefs who began to cook porridge as a side dish. This is millet porridge with a trumpeter, and oatmeal with goose stew with mushroom cream.
If we talk about desserts, then in my new Russian cuisine there is a sea of them. For example, beetroot jelly with vanilla cream, fried hazelnuts and oatmeal cookies, or condensed milk cream with pine nuts and fried cranberries. The taste is awesome! In general, there are not many purely Russian desserts. In Russia, these were jelly, kulebyaki, in Soviet times – “bird’s milk”, turmoil.
If a foreign friend suddenly came to me, dreaming of trying Russian cuisine, I would first of all chill vodka, cucumbers and cabbage, chop herring, buy the freshest Borodino bread and fry some more potatoes – and serve them right in the frying pan. Everything ingenious in this life is simple! Cooking awesome cucumbers or delicious cabbage – you have to be able to do that. Millions of grandmothers live in Russia, but not all grandmothers cook delicious cucumbers. Not all people can cook deliciously even such a simple dish as mashed potatoes. But if the guest needs to be well fed, then I would prepare more Olivier and baked pork.
Helpful advice from the chef
Do you want everything to always go well in your kitchen? Then if you started to cook – cook. You can’t cook on the go! Food is a very important moment in our life. Food must be respected, it cannot be rushed. Cooking is like having sex, you must definitely enjoy it. In a hurry and without desire, nothing will work. It is also very important to cook in a good mood. Any emotion is transmitted to food. For example, in the morning I come to a restaurant and one piece of bread can determine the chef’s mood. Therefore, I wish everyone more sex, which means cooking more, but eating less.