Q & A with Anatoly Komm

Asia Tatler Dining: Your restaurant, Varvary, is the first Russian restaurant to make it onto S. Pelligrino's World's Best 50 list: can you tell us more about your restaurant? What sort of food do you serve? What is the clientele?

Anatoly Komm: Varvary conception is based on the old Soviet cuisine, the traditions of food which our grandparents and parents were brought up on. I use only local products and it is written in the menu of my restaurant: "All the ingredients used are made on the territory of Russian Federation and are Russian National Agriculture Pride". My cuisine is a deep knowledge of classic gastronomy with a gentle touch of vanguard techniques.

ATD: Not a lot of people here in Hong Kong are familiar with Russian cuisine: could you tell us what is considered classical and traditional Russian food, and how your style of cooking is different?

AK: Russian cuisine is very diverse, as the country is very big (from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad), so we use a lot of fish and seafood and a lot of various groats. I make Russian haute cuisine with contemporary implementation. My cuisine is based on "traditional Russian taste raised to the opera art rank" (as one Italian critic wrote not so long ago).

ATD: You were educated as a geophysicist and also worked as an importer of designer clothing: how does your past experience influence you as a chef?

AK: In my opinion, a chef of the 21st century – especially one engaged with haute cuisine - must be well educated. As for the work with such artists as Versace, Ferre, etc. – they no doubt enriched my experience which I use with pleasure in architecture and design of my dishes.

ATD: You opened your first restaurant in 2001 and now you are the chef-owner of five restaurants: how has the dining scene in Russia changed in the past decade?

AK: There are radical changes in Russian cuisine as for the last 20 years Russian chefs have had more chances to travel and get acquainted with haute cuisine of other countries, which enabled Russian cuisine to become richer and more varied after such trips. And also we have a lot of local ingredients of the finest quality now.

ATD: Tell us about the menu you will be cooking at the Landmark Mandarin: what dishes can diners expect?

AK: My menu will contain all my signature dishes such as Spring Lawn, Borscht, Dumplings with Crab meat, Silver Cod with peas and beans, and so on.

ATD: Vodka is a large part of life in Russia: do Russians pair vodka with their meals, along the lines of wine pairing?

AK: It's a myth. Vodka is good only for an aperitif.

ATD: Have you ever been to Hong Kong before and what prompted you to travel all the way here to do a pop-up restaurant?

AK: Yes I have visited Hong Kong before and having met Richard Ekkebus of Amber at San Pellegrino last year, I feel the hotel is a good match for my cuisine, in terms of quality, standards and service. Hong Kong is part of my world gastronomic tour which is called "Around the World with Borscht and Foie Gras" - the aim of which is to show Russian haute cuisine to the world. I will try to show people that Russia is not only famous for its oil and gas and that Russian cuisine contains not only vodka and caviar. I hope that people from all over the world will come to understand Russia, its culture and its "mysterious" soul.

ATD: How do you think customers here will react to your pop-up?

AK: I think the reaction will be positive as always - I believe that it's always interesting to get acquainted with the history and culture of another country. And, in my opinion, cultural diplomacy through cuisine is sometimes much stronger than the official one.

ATD: The pop-up restaurant will also feature wines from Abrau-Durso winery which produced its first wine in 1898: are homegrown wines popular in Russia? What style of wines are produced there?

AK: They produce mainly sparkling wines. You know, they have been developing this business seriously for the last 20 years only and the popularity of the local wines has just started to make money. Nevertheless the fanaticism of the owners of Abrau-Durso and their appreciation of their establishment has allowed them to get impressive results. I strongly believe that they will not stop at this point and will continue to get even better.

ATD: When most people think of Russian cuisine, caviar will naturally come to mind. But what are some of your other favourite quintessentially Russian ingredients to cook with?

AK: Beetroot and unrefined sunflower oil. Beetroot is a fantastic element of my cuisine as I use it for making in numerous dishes: appetisers, salads, main dishes and desserts. Sunflower oil is the pride of Russia, it gives a unique flavour and taste to my dishes. These two ingredients are inspired by my homeland. And the third is an egg. As the egg is the beginning of everything.