Interview - Berezutskiy Twins

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In September 2018, The Foodalist attended the Twins Garden Farm Festival in Moscow and had the chance to interview the brothers, Ivan and Serguey Berezutskiy.

T.F.: Ivan and Serguey, where did you grow up?

I. & S.: We grew up in the South of Russia in a small town. And so the love for good products and good vegetables was developed in us there. Then we moved, we lived in St. Petersburg for a long time, and then we came Moscow. 

T.F.: Ivan and Sergey, where did the idea to build a restaurant together come from?

I. & S.: It is a very interesting story. My brother was preparing for the Young Chef S. Pellegrino Cooking Cup, and I had an idea: let’s build a restaurant together! And he said: “okay, if you help me and I win, he , we’ll open a restaurant. If I don’t win, we won’t open a restaurant.” And he won. And we opened a restaurant. Today, 25 persons are working here.

T.F.: And what about the idea of building your own organic farm?

I. & S.: Because in Russia, a farm for one restaurant, there was no such thing. This is a year-round farm, in which we control every vegetable, milk, plant and animal. Because the most important thing is that for us, gastronomy at the restaurant begins with a seed.

Also because we needed the best products. And now I think that we have the best products, the best quality in Russia.

Our farm is located in the region of Kaluga, South West of Moscow.

T.F.: What can we find in this farm? 

I. & S.: At the farm we have 150 different types of vegetables, chickens, goats, cows, ducks, a large pond where we cultivate 5 species of fish, and crayfish as well. There is an open ground, a pond where we grow fish. We even have a chickens bus!

70-80 % of our products are sourced from the farm. 

We also have a lab where we experience new processes about the vegetables. All six months we work on vegetables. We either concentrate the taste of the vegetables by removing liquid or we add liquid to the products to concentrate the taste. We even have created vegetable wines. We have 8 sorts of vegetables wines now.

T.F.: Do you think that working together, as brothers, is a strength?

I. & S.: It’s very good, we like it. We complement each other very well. We’re kind of the same person, but we’re actually totally different.

T.F.: Can you tell me what’s the role of Timiryazev Agricultural Academy here at the farm?

I. & S.: Timiryazev Academy gave us great help. In Russia there was no full-cycle farm for restaurants. That’s why we asked them to help us organize. We needed help to understand how it all works. 

 

T.F.: Where did the idea of organizing the event “Twins Garden Festival” come from?

I. & S.: The idea was developing itself because we have a real farm, it is not fiction. We wanted to organize an event here, to invite our guests from all over the world, our friends from all over the world, to make a great dinner, prepared only with the products from our farm.

 

T.F.: And then, what’s your next big project?

I. & S.: We have now made a great story: we have created the first organic farm for a restaurant in Russia. We want to go further. Recycling is a big deal for us. We want the waste from the restaurant, to go to the farm, to be recycled into compost, and to make somehow a complete system, a full cycle. 

We also wish that everyone gets to know about this restaurant and that people come specially to our restaurant from all over the world.

We want toglorify Russian cuisine, Russian gastronomy, Russian ingredients all over the world. Because we have something to be proud of.

 

T.F.: Can you tell me what are the typical Russian dishes that we shouldn’t miss while we are in Russia?

I. & S.: Probably mushrooms, slow-cooked in a Russian oven, it’s super-typical for Russian cuisine. These are not just the standard borsch and caviar. Mushrooms are more used in Russia than other ingredients because they are everywhere.

 

T.F.: Do you think that the History of Russia had an impact on the Russian cuisine?

I. & S.: Of course, History has influenced Russian cuisine. In any case, History has much influence, the influence was exerted by the French at the time and by other countries. Like any country. There was, and there is now development of Russian cuisine.

 

T.F.: Well, Ivan and Sergey, thank you so much! We had a wonderful time here. We love Moscow. The event was so great! We’ll be back soon.

I. & S.: Thank you!

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