The chef of the Kokoko restaurant, a recognized master of new Russian cuisine, who has strengthened his title of #grishechkinbog, talks about the establishments where he goes with his family.

This year, both Igor Grishechkin and, and even separately, his dish "Mom's Favorite Flower" collected the most prestigious city awards from Sobaki.ru. Igor creates dishes that have already become classics of the St. Petersburg gastronomic world and a magnet for tourists. He himself goes to restaurants with his family - his wife and little daughter - so among his main evaluation criteria are comfort, variety and bright colors.

Igor Grishechkin, chef of the Kokoko restaurant:

“I am absolutely not a party animal and I don’t drink at all. It is important for me that the restaurant is close to home and more or less calm, where we would not create discomfort for guests with a small child. But this restriction only seems boring, since we live on the street. Pestel, and the local area is the most powerful in terms of good establishments. I'm talking about my favorites.

"POLYETCAFE"
Address: st. Pestelya, 7
What is: mackerel carpaccio with edamame, avocado tartare with crispy dill

Poletkafe is the closest to home, I really like it there, so I go there often and have already tried almost all the menu. Quite an interesting place in the kitchen - it is bright and unusual. Exactly what a chef wants to go to a restaurant in search of new experiences. I love everything we tried there. You can discuss the nuances, but in general, the dishes are organic and not far-fetched. The presentation is pleasant, without busting and unnecessary embellishment. The owners and chefs are trying hard, you can feel it. Every time I wonder why they are so empty.

"BOTANY"
Address: st. Pestelya, 7
What is: mung dal soup, palak paneer

Literally next door from Poletkafe, and they are always crowded. Marvelous! Vegetarianism is interesting to me from the point of view of the profession: I care about what is happening in the world, I know how many kilograms of grain it takes to produce one kilogram of pork, and so on. The booklet "Botany" contains quotes from great people about vegetarianism - they are inspiring. If the owners really think in such terms, it's generally fine.

First of all, there is a wonderful children's room - sometimes my daughter happily runs in there, even when we just walk by. The food isn't exactly authentic, but it's great - frankly, how many people can eat authentic Indian food and feel fine? I like this, I really like games with small bowls of spicy and sweet sauces, roti (crispbread), rice. Mixing everything from different plates, collecting flavors on the palette, is great.

"RUSTAVELI"
Address: emb. river Moika, 9
What is: Adjarian khachapuri, lamb skewers on the bone, appetizers

Sometimes we just don't get there because of the lack of free places. Just a trendy Georgian restaurant without too much pathos, with a pleasant atmosphere and very tasty dishes. For example, the best Adjarian khachapuri that I have ever tried. As a cook, I understand all the nuances of its preparation: the dough, the filling, the saltiness of the cheese, the degree of readiness of the yolk - and everything is just perfect in Rustaveli, I want to swallow it whole!

DUO GASTROBAR
Address: st. Kirochnaya, d. 8 lit. A
What is: risotto with black pudding, prunes with salted caramel

I like the food here - after all, it is for it that a restaurant should be liked. In principle, I don’t attach much importance to the interior - of course, it’s nice when there are some chips and convenient design solutions. But even if everything around is chaotic, and the cuisine is decent, interesting and affordable, the rest does not bother me at all. The Duo is great: good food for a reasonable price. You can safely come, order four courses, leave full and satisfied with life. I especially like the prunes dessert with salted caramel, mascarpone and pecans. Just prunes, just pecans, whipped mascarpone and salted caramel - and all together a real bomb. And the chefs prepare very proper risotto. Still, this dish is a quality indicator for any restaurant: it must be skillfully brought to the right consistency, texture, taste. The Duo is perfect.

SCHENGEN
Address: st. Kirochnaya, 5
What is: king crab salad with avocado, crab jelly and yuzu; duck breast with cauliflower cream, caramelized quince and fondant potatoes

Here, too, there is a children's room - this is firstly. Plus, it is clear that the kitchen was set by professionals. A few months ago, there were strong changes: the current menu was developed by the Berdiev brothers - Arslan and Murat. The youngest won the Russian stage of the competition for young chefs of the international guild of gastronomes Chaine des Rotisseurs. The elder worked in the kitchens of Francesco, Buddha-Bar and Porto Maltese. They do not offer special discoveries and wow-effects in combinations and super techniques, however, they provide really entertaining and unbanal good-quality food. Desserts, snacks, hot - all very successful.

"WINE CABINET"
Address: st. Rubinshteina, 9
What is: mackerel with cauliflower sauce, smoked brisket and salted cucumber tartare

Local chef Zhenya Vikentiev is a person who deserves attention. Enthusiast, passionate and interested, scrupulous and meticulous - there are few of them. His chefs even lay out greens in dishes with an accuracy of up to a gram, because the taste must remain stable, and everything affects it. There is simply no interior in the "Closet", because it is not needed. Brutal to the point of disgrace. And, despite all the originality of the cuisine, they mostly drink wine here, and eat little - maximum snacks. We, on the contrary, like the bourgeoisie, take four courses and no booze.

MOLTO BUONO
Address: st. Zhukovsky, 10
What is: lamb with plum, honey cake

I respect their chef Ilya Kokotovsky: there is no second person in our city with such internships and deep knowledge. He trained in the world's legendary restaurants - nine months in Mugaritz (San Sebastian) and three months in Noma (Copenhagen), - having received the most serious level of training among St. Petersburg young chefs. As a result, Molto Buono has a rather complex experimental cuisine that requires a lot of attention and understanding. Many guests are not yet ready for such bold decisions - I think the team will have to learn how to find a compromise. Art and philosophy are fine, but still food must be eaten. Personally, I like a lot of things here, for example, farm lamb breaded with sprouted amaranth seeds, with stewed plums and onions marinated in spruce oil. And more desserts! A honey cake based on buckwheat honey fully reveals the theme: honey is present here both in jelly and in a lush biscuit, even weed pollen and pressed fermented pollen are used.

"GASTRONOMICS"
Address: st. Marata, d. 5/21
What is: salad with catfish, poached egg and baked potatoes, smoked veal tartare with pickled onion cream

I like the bright, somewhat outrageous style of Chef Anton Isakov. He even surpassed me with tiles and three-liter jars for serving dishes! He has a good school, he uses his knowledge and internships, it turns out really well. I will agree to any experiments, but the main thing is the taste. Anton turns out delicious, so any liberties are justified. For example, he fills smoked veal tartare with pickled onion cream and sprinkles with smoked spices for barbecue. Raw meat comes out with the taste of shish kebab. A very interesting move. I often try tartars, and it is interesting to see how a person can bring something new to such a seemingly simple dish, how he managed to beat the meat, reveal its taste in a non-standard way.

LACELLETTA CAFFE
Address: emb. Fontanka River, 30
What is: white pizza "Sfitsio", red pizza "Neapolitan"

I really like simple food, it is close to everyone. Every day you don’t need “atmosphere”, you just want to eat something tasty. Our whole family loves pizza and often just go here for it. It's very nice here, and while you wait, you are treated to homemade sorbets. We never ate the popular gelato (Italian ice cream) there - we simply didn’t get it. We only eat pizza, but a lot. White pizzas are not my story at all, red ones are another matter. The only white pizza I like is the Sfizio with smoked scamorza cheese, anchovies and fried zucchini. She is fantastic! And among the red ones, I like the simple “Neapolitan” with tomatoes, mozzarella, capers and anchovies the most. It looks unassuming, but the taste! I worked in an Italian restaurant at one time and I know what the right dough should look like and how to make it. In LaCelletta Caffe it is exemplary: thin, crispy. I want to eat to the last bite and crust.

Photos: Anton Kuznetsov. Some of the photos of the restaurants "Gastronomika", Molto Buono and "Rustaveli" are provided by the establishments.

The list of products in the winter-spring season is very small - these are root crops, cereals, meat, fish, poultry - and that's it. But if you approach them with imagination and intelligence, you can get the very wow effect that Kokoko is famous for.

We tell that our products are local, that there is a seasonal menu - and it contains dishes that live for a very short period, and you should definitely try them, because next week there will be no more. This is a constant drive and endless work, there are enough difficulties.

Several hit dishes remained from the very first menu - among them a farm burger, beef with kvass (pictured) and baked beets with Adyghe cheese

How much has the menu changed in three years?

For all the time of the work of "Cococo" about 400 original dishes were invented. And I almost never return them to the menu, there have been literally a couple of cases in three years. By the time I moved, I came up with and launched 15 new positions.

Designer Ekaterina Shebunina worked on the interior of the new Cococo

Moving from a small restaurant to a new spacious premises opens up the banquet segment for you - what will be your brand identity?

The banquet menu will repeat the positions of the main menu, the buffet part will be represented by one-bite mini-snacks, but in our style with original serving and familiar tastes.

The move allowed the restaurant to expand its technical capabilities. miX Cococo brings a modern kitchen, including the Molteni stove, which chefs around the world call the Rolls-Royce of the professional kitchen, and a well-equipped bakery.

Now the restaurant is located in the hotel - how does the ratio of guests change, what share will the guests occupy?

I hope it's big. I would like the guests of the city and the country to spread pleasant rumors about “Kokoko” and we would be even more talked about abroad.

Many interesting foreign media guests came to visit us at the restaurant on Nekrasov Street: Anthony Bourdain chose Kokoko as a representative Russian restaurant for his show on CNN, there were also biker chefs from the English BBC and Germans from the Arte TV channel. These "bricks" form the foundation of popularity - foreigners often come and say: "And we saw you in the Bourdain show!" or “After the BBC show, we decided that we should definitely get to you!”.

Chefs social media accounts are very popular. Why don't you have your own Instagram?

I retired from social networks - I don’t want to get into skirmishes with people who are not particularly versed in the subject of discussion, and there are many of them. But I read guest reviews on the pages of the restaurant, I'm certainly interested in what people think about my cuisine. I welcome constructive criticism, and I try to ignore idiotic comments.

Dishes served at Kokoko provoke the guest to questions. All waiters should have enough knowledge - how is this achieved?

Certification for employees takes place once a month, and we take it as an exam by the whole team - in addition to me, the manager is involved in the process Dasha Popova and CEO Matilda Shnurova.

Each of us is responsible for his part of knowledge: I ask about cooking technologies, the composition of dishes and products, Dasha is interested in the service and the wine list, and Matilda asks to tell the concept of the restaurant and present the dishes.

We print out all the necessary training material and distribute it to employees in advance, so they have time to learn everything and clarify some points. And, of course, we hold tastings for the guys - this is usually timed to coincide with menu updates, that is, almost every month.

Constant appraisals, knowledge checks - do they increase staff turnover?

The turnover is stable, many do not keep up with our pace and the amount of information that needs to be owned. But this cannot be avoided, unfortunately. To keep our concept, we need to comply, and an employee who wants to work at Kokoko must develop and grow along with the project.

During the three years of the restaurant's operation, did you manage to grow your staff?

The team is formed all the time: someone comes, someone leaves, but there is a backbone - these are those who have worked for us for a year and even more.

Good employees are hard to find, of course. Working in the kitchen through hard work, stress, burns and cuts brings knowledge and experience that is incomparable with the difficulties experienced, but only if a person has a goal.

“The soldier who does not dream of becoming a general is bad,” I always chose a place of work with this principle. I went for experience and knowledge to a specific boss, and money was not in the first place. The majority of current applicants have the first question, what is the salary, the second is whether the employment is official and what is the schedule. What kind of restaurant, what kind of cuisine and idea, they don’t care at all. Moreover, everyone aims to become sous-chefs - they don’t know how to work with their hands, but they want to lead. I lived with this in Kokoko on Nekrasov Street, and now the situation has not changed much.

How did you find the chef? After you became a concept chef, and Alexander Kokurin headed the kitchen, did the work schedule change?

When we announced the vacancy of the chief, we received a huge number of applications, among them was Sasha's resume. He previously worked at mIX with Alain Ducasse and is very familiar with the hotel system.

My schedule has remained the same - two days off a week, and the rest of the time from 12 am to 11 pm I am at work.

Now I am more engaged in food - the development of new dishes, the refinement of old ones, the control of the service and the training of staff. In the department of the chef - recruitment, documentation, equipment, revisions and order in the kitchen.

A section of vegetarian dishes has appeared in the menu - is this already a necessary part of the menu for any restaurant? What other trends do you need to respond to, how do guest requests change?

In fact, there is no separate section as such: a couple of vegan dishes and a couple of vegetarian ones have appeared, plus four “animal-free” side dishes that can act as a hot dish.

Indeed, there were many requests about this, and we decided to meet the “greens” halfway.

As for other trends and requests, we are already on the crest of a wave - every year Russian cuisine is gaining more and more popularity, turning from popular prints into fashion, and the principle "eat what grows, runs, swims and fly next to you" which has been relevant for our northern neighbors for a long time, is finally starting to take root with us.

Kokoko has a developed and approved menu that changes according to the season, and now, despite the “poor” time of the year, it does not look meager or boring at all.

You are preparing a book of recipes "Cococo" - how do you see the publication?

There are indeed plans to publish our own gastronomic book, and last year we even started collecting materials for it and shooting photo content. But now we have frozen this project for some time - a lot of work in connection with the move to a new site. As soon as it becomes freer, we will definitely return to it.

There are people who come to St. Petersburg specifically for the sake of going to Kokoko, the restaurant is very famous. Does this popularity hinder or help?

Popularity, like a coin, has several sides: on the one hand, it is success in business and the respect of colleagues and guests, on the other hand, it is hard work and constant stress. But without it, probably not. That is the price of success.

Igor Grishechkin

My last visit to CoCoCo, which had not yet moved from Nekrasov, was dated May 2015. The restaurant received two well-deserved stars from me, as well as this positive verdict:

“A lot of water has flowed since the opening, the mess and confusion of the kitchen flowed with it. When a good cook created, and the rulers did what they wanted. Now everything is finished, therefore, I can recommend it as an almost ideal example of a super-successful New Russian Cuisine restaurant, but built on regional products. Where not to get without reservation either on a weekday lunch (no lunch), or in the evening. Unique place. There are only a couple of them in the city! Self-quotes are cool, so March 2016, a comment on the news about the change of location: “... having moved from the basement on Nekrasova to one of the most expensive hotels in the city, the restaurant cannot remain the same. No better or worse than the past. Just completely new, completely different. Whether “status” is a generalizing word or something else is not so important. Became different, just the name is similar. Not the one he was at the opening, not the one he became three years later. Others..."

Now, after the restaurant reopened with pomp at the W Hotel, for me personally, one of the most important changes has been chef change. You can say as much as you want about (who has recently become not a chef, but a concept chef of the restaurant - ed.) stayed in his place. I also saw him at this very place, I do not argue. It is quite clear that there are a lot of other changes in the new CoCoCo and, probably, the most politically correct decision would be to keep silent about the change of role, the longer the better. Now I will explain what I mean.

There was, in fact, only one complaint about the first version of CoCoCo - this was how much the restaurant was different when the chef was in the kitchen - and when he was absent (which, by the way, happened quite rarely). Igor is a creator, experimenter and patriot, plus all the positive characteristics further down the list. But the chef must also be the manager, responsible - whether he is on site or not - for ensuring that the same dishes come out of the kitchen. Moreover, part of the chef's work should be visible when he is not in the restaurant. And if the taste and visual qualities, for example, of a tourist’s breakfast are always the same, and all waiters are informed about how this dish should be presented correctly, then the institution will become really close to ideal. Something like this “CoCoCo” looked like in the last year of its life at the old address, and the restaurant itself staked out a place in the top three establishments not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia. Now, having traveled around the country, I can speak about it with confidence. And that is why for me the change of address was ten times less important than the change of the name of the chef. Therefore, the restaurant, one might say, is somewhat new. Not because of the elegance of the walls, but solely because of the daily execution of dishes and the quality of service, which is now controlled with much less care. This is the main issue for me.

At Nekrasov, almost all the guests were, as they say, “non-random”: people who had an idea of ​​where they were going and why. Now the situation is a little different - the center, hotel guests, breakfasts, room service, that's all. There are many more people passing by or living above the establishment. People, which is the most offensive, from those who are not familiar with local mythology. They cannot be lured by Shnurov's wife, who acts as a hostess - simply because they are not aware of all this background about the Leningrad group. The confusion that was characteristic mix (people with a lost look, children, strollers, scooters, etc.) has now become an indispensable element of the new CoCoCo. And yes, if you have made two entrances, have a conscience, put two hostesses in this case. Otherwise, complete rubbish begins.

On the first and second visit At CoCoCo, I didn’t understand whether the restaurant had entered Voznesensky Prospekt or had hurriedly deserted from it, leaving everything on the fortieth day after opening. There is no sign, no mention on the doors, no opening hours or, for example, the name of the organization, as required by the laws of the Russian Federation. In the box, where, in theory, there should be a menu, there is emptiness. There was no one at the entrance either. Almost. To be extremely honest, I was met by a dirty rag lying on a tray, and a gaping void where a living person should be in the normal world. At first I stood, then calmly walked around the part of the restaurant, where no one even looked at me, after which I returned to my starting position and simply left. The hall is half full, there is staff, but everything is deeply parallel to him. And I still don’t know how to attract attention to myself with the words of Sergey Shnurov’s songs.

On the third day I decided in advance: I will break through - I can no longer pull. The troubles continued, but in a different way. There was a girl at the reception. Real. He undresses, offers to come in and says that "you will be met there." Yeah, how. The situation turned out to be exactly the same - no one greets, everyone passes by, so I turned around, asked me to sit down after all and received the coveted menu. I note: it was on the cover of the menu that I saw the name of the restaurant for the first time in three days. Well, the logo is also written on the form, if you look closely.

Service it's still damp here. The waitress is sweet, like a girl, but how difficult it is to communicate with her: she speaks very quietly and in a completely opposite direction. Everyone is trying to serve. Some people do it with talent, some not so much. Therefore, it turns out such situations when one waiter brings a spoon for soup, the other takes it away and instead puts exactly the same one, but already horizontally. Well, isn't it a joke? Some present dishes, some just put them on the table, there is no feedback, looking ahead. Pauses between dishes range from 3 to 25 minutes, and this is not the most sold out. But the most difficult task still turned out to be calculation. After 15 minutes of waiting, I had to get up myself and hand over the money to one of the waiters. But for a half-empty restaurant, in which there are more attendants than guests, this is wild.

On the fourth day again, the hostess is on duty, who, on the one hand, is nice (because she wears clothes in the wardrobe herself), and on the other, not very (because she lets some of the guests into the hall with jackets). On Sunday the service is even worse. People around are constantly asking for something, reminding of something, making claims about something. I understand them - until you find a girl yourself, no one will accept the order. The stop list, of course, is also not reported in advance, so you have to choose again. The ordered bottle of cold water arrives warm and already without a cap - this is now not allowed even in budget cafes. When you listen to how they take an order at the next table, you want to howl. And also - to meet, help and explain. In general, in terms of service, CoCoCo has rolled back to its very infancy. The one that everyone scolded right after the opening of the restaurant on Nekrasov.

Local interior everything has already been described many times. He seems to be skillful, but somehow sterile. With a huge vase and velvet chairs along the bar and gold edging - everything is strictly according to the hotel standard. There is nothing left of the old CoCoCo, but some miX rudiments, such as a toilet shared with the hotel, are present.

Menu acquired a completely ordinary look, characteristic of a good hotel restaurant. Old hits and new dishes - all this is logical and understandable, but it is a pity that it is collected together and without identification marks. Prices, compared with the moment of the "new" opening, rose by about 5%. Beverages: wine by the glass is sold for 340-800 rubles. Also, for a restaurant of this level, water is very cheap here - 220 rubles for 0.5 liters of Baikal.

Everyone has already seen the photograph of beef tartare (490 rubles), so there is no secret in it for anyone. But as far as taste is concerned, a revelation just happens - everything is bright, sharp, and quite entertaining. Of course, the dish is wonderful and different from the usual tartars. Not only the presentation, but also the impressions. Meat with goat cheese and mustard has not been such an emotional dish for a long time.

Making pea puree with jelly (210 rubles) in the manner of hummus is a great idea. So much so that a seemingly simple “putty” for bread becomes a full-fledged and very interesting dish. Excellent.

Pumpkin with ganache from Roqueforty cheese (310 rubles) is listed on the check as “Pumpkin with ganache from Valençay cheese” and represents an example of a serving that ruins a dish. A bowl of "pumpkin consommé", rather dense cubes of pumpkin, cheese quenelles and pumpkin seeds - all this makes you want to eat it together, with a spoon. But in fact, it turns out only to wield a fork, piercing pumpkin and cheese, catching seeds with it and completely ignoring the broth. All.

Body made from pike perch (450 rubles) turns out to be a steam "patty". Tender, supple and fresh, but slightly oversalted. However, with the "earth", slices of carrots and green "dill" ice cream, you can not notice this fact. Great.

Pickle "Leningradsky" (390 rubles) is good for everyone. Both hot ventricles and ice-cold cucumber jelly are all great. But very little. One hundred grams - for soup it's tough. Still, it’s strange when after the third spoon you have to tilt the plate in order to be able to continue eating. Although, if the pickle was hotter or brighter, perhaps these impressions would be enough.

I didn’t want a sous rabbit with spelt, so I take Pork Neck Pork with Fried Cabbage Cream and Cabbage Roll (650 rubles). The boiled pork turns out to be a strip of cabbage roll with boiled rice and a strip of lean pork. Everything is fine, but the word "roll" in the description of the dish hurts the eye. Down with the rolls!

Duck breast (870 rubles) is wonderful in itself. As expected, it was prepared by a skilled medium, next to it is a too dense “soaked” unsweetened apple-cylinder, with a caramel crust and foam. Apparently, this is the “contrasting buckwheat” declared on the menu? I can’t say that I was delighted (the apple seemed especially controversial to me), but the idea itself and respect for the product are definitely traceable. Such dishes need to be presented, they need to be told and all the ideas of the chef should be explained. Here is silence. And that's what I meant when I said that the service at CoCoCo is bad.

Total. The old CoCoCo that we were all in is no more. I think that if Igor Grishechkin went to work in a restaurant at the W hotel, everything would look about the same. Only a part of the dishes migrated here from Nekrasov Street and all the mess that was characteristic of CoCoCo in early 2013. Well, new problems also appeared. Now, when a hot dish appears on the table ten hours after ordering, you just want to ask for the bill and leave. The restaurant itself, precisely as a complex phenomenon, lost more than it gained with the move. He ceased to be special, became on a par with others. But because of the dishes prepared by Igor Grishechkin, all this will have to endure. Because the local cuisine is undeniably unique.