Beyond Beetroots and Tradition

Both local and global trends influence what we cook, how and with what. The new Russian cuisine is a local story. Traditional homemade recipes have been on the rise over the past 3 to 4 years, inspiring a rethink of certain well-known dishes. Tools or skills may be different at a professional kitchen as compared with a family kitchen, but certain questions are the same. 

The new Russian cuisine trends have the country's foremost chefs among their followers: Vladimir Mukhin, Ivan and Sergei Berezutsky, Andrei Makhov, Georgy Troyan, Anton Kovalkov, Alexander Volkov-Medvedev and others. 

How can I cook something I know from childhood while changing the texture or intensifying the taste? Shall I swap wheat flour for almond, buckwheat or amaranth in the pancakes? 

Quality will be trending for a long time. Russians have acquired a taste for quality products in the past 20 years that they have spent travelling, tasting and drawing comparisons.

Often, all it needs is just a pinch of good salt and a quick roasting or frying.

This leads to the second trend: everyone wants a meal that is quick to make, simple and understandable.  

Examples include mashed potatoes with beef cheeks or chicken, a warm turnip salad, baked pumpkin, beetroot with goat cheese or pike caviar with sour cream served on Borodinksy bread or garnished with potatoes. No ‘arcane technology’, complex sauces, sous vide or long cooking.  

Home-style meals are getting popular. The lockdown has offered a fresh perspective on culinary experimentation and cuisine on the whole. 

Over the past two decades, the geography of gastronomic travel in Russia has expanded, and gastronomic festivals have become popular. Asia, the Middle East and Africa have been trending in recent years.

Home food varieties have expanded to include such exotics as tahini, ponzu sauce, za’atar and chili paste. Russians have been enjoying pho bos, kimchi, tom yums, couscous and falafel at home as well as at restaurants.

As the world moves towards conscious consumption, healthy eating and vegetarianism, Russia follows with a growing interest in alternative vegetable protein, while more Russians are enjoying a home meal of cutlets made of beans, vegetables or quinoa or other similar cereals.

Another global trend is an explosion of foodtech services driving changes in consumption behaviour with a demand for speed and cost efficiency. 

In Russia’s biggest cities it is becoming the norm to expect food and groceries delivered at your doorstep within 15 to 30 minutes. The lockdown has spurred a vast market penetration by foodtech services.