26-03-2014
Four of Moscow’s most interesting chefs: left to right, Anatoliy Kazakov (restaurant Bon), Vladimir Muhin (White Rabbit), Dmitry Zotov (Antrekot and other establishments) and Sergey Berezutskiy (photo credits Silver Triangle)
see part one and two
Should one day the people from Gazprom decide to sponsor national food and wine festivals, on top of ballets and classical music concerts, the merit will also go to some thoroughbred chefs who challenge the wind of flat tradition blowing against them.
Among these chefs there’s one who is beautifully moving forward, namely Vladimir Muhin – this includes a possible place in the next S.Pellegrino World’s 100 Best (and perhaps even in the 50 Best). Thirty-one years old, since a few months ago he’s at the helm of the White Rabbit, in Smolenskaya square, a restaurant overhead with a thrilling view of at least three of the Seven Sisters – the skyscrapers in Gothic-Elizabethan style, wanted by Stalin to compete against those in New York at the time.
The dome inside the White Rabbit, behind it, one of the 7 skyscrapers called the “Seven Sisters”, wanted by Stalin after the war
We still pleasurably recall the elegance of the Soup of Mushrooms from Sochi – where the chef was born, a region that when in season provides porcini and chanterelle mushrooms – finished with a French-style egg yolk. Soups are the most typical Russian dish, even when they take an unpredictable Japanese-Italian turn (the delicious Cold soba with black truffle from Tuscany), demonstrating that, if a true Russian tradition is yet to be written, it doesn’t necessarily need to be on this side of the border.
Black forest, with a spicy cherry, chocolate and cream, a dessert by Dmitry Zotov (photo facebook)
3. the end
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt