Viktor Belyaev Kremlin cook biography. Former Kremlin chef: Putin loves ice cream: ice cream or fruit

Viktor Belyaev has been working in a special kitchen in the Kremlin for 14 years. "I'm not a politician, my job is to cook porridge," he jokes. But anyone knows that food for everyone, and even more so for the first persons of the state, is a more than serious issue. And being the main person responsible for this is not an easy mission. "All politics goes through the stomach," explains Belyaev. And how does it happen?

"I want red soup"

Russian newspaper| Viktor Borisovich, there is a photo hanging in your office where you are with former US President Nixon...

Viktor Belyaev| This is 1987. He came here as an intermediary before the start of negotiations between Reagan and Gorbachev, and I had to work with him for two weeks. For me then - I tell my children about this - the "iron curtain" opened. Because when foreign delegations came, we had special conversations: do not go through other doors, no comrades, no gentlemen - do not communicate! And with Nixon, it turned out that after the first dinner, he himself came to the kitchen: "Where's the boss?" They don't have the word "cook".

He was surprised by our variety of dishes and table decoration. The 37th President of the United States walked around with a glass of Bordeaux and asked the assistant to photograph all the dishes.

RG| Do you remember what was served then? Why was he surprised?

Belyaev| Decorations on cold dishes. We have been working very hard here. If, for example, we prepared a platter of fish and meat, then the decoration of one dish should not repeat the decoration of another. It is now a lot of all sorts of products have appeared, but before what? Greens, vegetables, lemon.

I cooked dairy veal for Nixon, which he ate with pleasure. And in the evening I found out that, it turns out, he is an adherent of fish dishes. And began to serve him fish. Two weeks of such communication for me, then a young man, really revealed a lot. I saw in Nixon an ordinary normal person who does not pretend.

RG| How old were you then?

Belyaev| 30. Nixon thought to see the big boss, and a young man appeared before him. He looked at me like that: "You boss?". Answer: Chief. And he said in French: "Fine." And every evening, if there was dinner or lunch, he would definitely come and thank you.

But the most surprising was the last day before departure. Nixon had come before this visit earlier - to Brezhnev. And so he wanted to visit the places where he had been before - he asked to be taken to Zavidovo. Then for some reason he wanted to go to the market. He says: "You have a collective farm market, we were there with Leonid Ilyich." They began to raise the archives, it turned out that it was the Cheryomushkinsky market. We arrived there, and Nixon offered to take a walk, but not with the whole retinue, but with two or three. Like, no one knows him, so as not to attract attention with an abundance of protection. He was so surprised when, after 10 minutes, of course, everyone recognized him, they began to give fruits, flowers ... However, the most amazing scene happened at the end. As he was leaving the market, an old woman who sold seeds approached him. She hands him two bags of seeds and says: "This is what I can thank you with. My two sons died during the Great Patriotic War. Make sure that there is no more war." Imagine, now I remember and worry, but Nixon was already aged at that time. When he returned, he was so excited, he did not immediately go to dinner. I went out to the park, walked for a long time, calmed down.

RG| You met with many famous people, cooked for them.

Belyaev| Yes, we served a lot of people. Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl. The presidents of such countries as the USA, Canada, France, all foreign delegations who came on a visit, stayed on the then Leninsky Hills, today's Vorobyovs, in government mansions.

RG| And how did you prepare for such visits? How did you get to know the tastes of your guests?

Belyaev| Here, on the one hand, it is simple, on the other, it is difficult. Of course, the national flavor is sure to come to light. Indira Gandhi... The Indians, as we always joked, went to work "under the gun." Because - the most difficult delegation. For some, the cow is a sacred animal. Others ate only fish. If vegetarians, then vegetables were also divided into different categories. And if the European delegations were fed in the common room, then for the Indians they prepared separately for each (!) member of the delegation. And trays of food were handed out to everyone. If for one delegation, 10-15 people, usually one cook cooked, then for the delegation of Indira Gandhi we sent two at once.

Naturally, they always communicated with the embassy, ​​with the chefs of a particular country, read literature, because it is impossible to quickly master the entire cuisine. But the guests, in general, were very fond of Russian cuisine. Therefore, when they asked their wishes, they said - they say, here you have red soup ... It can be seen that they once tried borscht or heard about it.

RG| What do you remember about Indira Gandhi?

Belyaev| Amazing woman. When I first saw her, I was amazed at how small she was. Pretty. Brought up. Good energy emanated from her! Good energy. And when she said hello, she had a firm grip. She also practiced yoga: she got up early in the morning, sat in the lotus position, and stood on her head.

RG| What did Margaret Thatcher eat? She must have been on a diet?

Belyaev| I would not say. She really liked our pancakes. Respected Russian cuisine. I didn't eat much, but I enjoyed it.

RG| What about Helmut Kohl?

Belyaev| Kolya has diabetes. Because, of course, he was on a strict diet. We talked to the doctors and tried to please him. But, to be honest, he violated the diet all the time.

Dad, cook kharcho

RG| Do you follow any dietary rules yourself? When so close to the kitchen, it's hard to resist the temptations.

Belyaev| Unlike doctors, I adhere (laughs). A technologist is a technologist. Therefore, in the family we never cook rich broths with a piece of large meat. Always vegetarian soups. Meatballs or meat cooked separately are allowed in them. The only exception is kharcho. And they always tell me: "Dad, cook kharcho."

RG| So you cook at home too?

Belyaev| According to the mood and at the request of friends. As for side dishes, we never abused flour: we always have a salad. He's a cold snack. I constantly "pressed" children with mayonnaise, because this is a very fatty food. And they obeyed, especially when they became big. Now Maxim is 25, Masha is 20, and, of course, her daughter is watching her figure.

RG| Did they follow your line?

Belyaev| Masha studies at the Faculty of Humanities at Patrice Lumumba University. Maxim graduated from the law faculty there. Master's degree - with honors. He has French with a diploma in translator-referent, and his second language is English. But somehow he turned around in life, then he came to me, we talked with him ... Now he liked the direction of catering, that is, catering. I don’t know if it’s genes or if it’s really his calling.

Now he works as a system manager in one of the major companies. A legal education - it is useful everywhere.

RG| It seems that there is nothing difficult in your profession, is it not to make government decisions?

Belyaev| Here is the mentality: well, what is there to cook cabbage soup! Can be cooked in different ways. My mother always taught me, as in the Bible: hurry to do good. After all, cooking is a good job. They say that an evil person will never come to the stove. Try, if you are not in the mood, knead the dough. Nothing will work!

RG| When did you realize that your purpose was to cook?

Belyaev| Here, rather, life prompted, because we did not live richly. I was born in Moscow, in Izmailovo, in a two-story hut. There was no father. I was raised by my mother and grandmother.

In the family, my mother has three in her arms, I am the eldest. I was interested in history, I wanted to enter the historical and archival technical school in Izmailovo. First, I applied there. But then my grandfather turned me off this path. He is a member of the Great Patriotic War, ended the war in Berlin, returned without a leg. Somehow he came, sat down with my stepfather and said: “Why is Vitka going to the historical archives? Then he will put on armlets, sit in the dust, with a pen, write something and receive 80 rubles. Call him here!”

They called me. And next to us was a culinary school. Then, on the basis of it, an economic and technological technical school grew up, today Izmailovsky College. It was then one of the best vocational schools. My grandfather went there. And meets on the threshold of my future master, Valentina Petrovna Minaeva. She told him: "Grandfather, are you studying?" - "No," he says, "I have a grandson. Can I see it?"

She led him through the classrooms, showed him models of dishes. And my grandfather was practical. He says to me: "Vit, you are the eldest. Imagine - 26 rubles a scholarship. One week you will suffer in theory, and the second week in practice in the best restaurants in Moscow. And full, and nose in tobacco." The old people had such a worldview. Naturally, my mother intervened: "Yes, this is trade, public catering!" Grandfather replies: "A little from the big one - not theft, but an honest division." I then laughed: "Grandfather, I can not." "And you don't have to. They'll feed you there anyway." And he convinced me so much that I went to this Valentina Petrovna and brought the documents.

RG| Have you been teased as a "culinary college student"?

Belyaev| I have never been ashamed of my profession. For some reason, the attitude to public catering is that some dashing people work there, who come only to steal something. And I think this profession is very beautiful. And he always enjoyed it. I worked for more than 14 years in a special kitchen in the Kremlin. And already in the second year he worked "at mansions" - in residences on the Lenin Hills.

Kremlin diet

RG| Where did the concept of "Kremlin diet" come from? Is it true that the Kremlin adheres to it?

Belyaev| It's all about making money. Under Chazov, when there was the 4th Main Directorate, we heard about the "Kremlin pill", which was developed for members of the Politburo and party leaders. It turned out that this was some kind of fortified drug, which then ceased to be in short supply, and they began to earn money on the "Kremlin pill". I think she lost her healing properties.

And the Kremlin diet? I came to work in the Kremlin in 1978. Started with Brezhnev. I have been to Zavidovo twice. Our leaders in nutrition were very moderate. No gluttony, no black caviar dishes. Moreover, I have already found both Brezhnev and all the other members of the Politburo at a respectable age. Naturally, they were strictly followed by medicine. And there was discipline. They told Brezhnev to quit smoking - he quit.

RG| Do you seem to have traditions from those times?

Belyaev| But how! Once a week, be sure to operative. Events that take place in the Kremlin, on Staraya Square are scheduled two weeks ahead. Plus, we still have the Bolshoi Theater, the Electoral Committee.

RG| Suppose there is a reception in the Kremlin. Where, for example, are recruiting waiters? Are they all yours or do you invite them from somewhere?

Belyaev| If the reception is, say, up to 200 people, we can manage on our own. But keeping 100 or 200 waiters on staff, of course, makes no sense. Naturally, we invite you. We have agreements with the best restaurants in Moscow, plus we invite guys from colleges.

RG| And do not be afraid that a college student will make a mistake, because the techniques of the highest level ...

Belyaev| We are given the fourth year - those who have already unlearned. Masters of industrial training work together with them. Before each serious reception we conduct trainings.

The package of documents for the thousandth appointment is a large folder. There is a menu, and the mode of arrival of people, the actions of each head waiter, who does what. It is scheduled according to the time when they receive the dishes, when they dress in uniform, when they go to wash their hands, when the formation, when the reception begins, how to stand, how to greet guests, when to put on gloves, when the synchronous exit .... Then comes the order of serving guests, everything is clearly regulated in time: serving cold dishes, hot appetizers, second courses, desserts.

RG| Do you create your own menu?

Belyaev| The President's Administration has the General Directorate of Public Catering. There are technologists with whom we sit down and discuss. And then there is an agreement with the protocol of the president, elaboration, tests.

RG| And if a person does something wrong: does he come out at the wrong time or break a tray with dishes?

Belyaev| After the reception, there is a debriefing. People are people, it's the human factor.

RG| Where do you get your dishes from? Who decorates the tables? This year, for example, there was a reception in the Kremlin in honor of the anniversary of Rostropovich. On TV they showed how skillfully the table was decorated - toys were placed in front of each plate - Pinocchio ...

Belyaev| The St. Petersburg company was engaged in this reception. At the request of Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich himself. I think that this is normal. We pass on experience to them, they pass it on to us.

As for crockery, we have a large assortment of porcelain, glass, crystal, cutlery. A good base for tablecloths, skirts, and napkins. For each type of event, we select and coordinate everything. We also offer decor and decoration.

Power Supply

RG| How do you select products? Previously, in the days of Tsarist Russia, the title of "Supplier of the Imperial Court" was given. Are there any suppliers of the Kremlin Court now? What does it take to make doctor's sausage, for example, from the Cherkizovsky Combine, served on the table to the first persons?

Belyaev| If we compare the market of tsarist and today's Russia, then in those days it was probably more perfect, but now it is still disorderly. After all, the main thing is quality. Many factories and workshops make sausage in our country, but their product does not differ in quality. Therefore, there are no special suppliers of "His Majesty's court". Although we have partners with whom we have been working for many years and only for the reason that they do not change the quality.

All products that go to the table to the first persons are checked in the laboratory of the Federal Security Service. We give away a part of a batch of products, they check it, draw up an act and issue a result. And sometimes they turn around. For some medical reason or another.

RG| How do Kremlin residents eat? I was told that when at one time Vladimir Potanin worked in the Kremlin, he never ate local food, personal chefs brought him food. This is true?

Belyaev| I know Potanin, I saw him, greeted him. But I don’t know, I don’t remember about bringing him separate food.

RG| And how do you feed today's Kremlinites? Do you study the tastes of everyone or take into account the general opinion?

Belyaev| The head of state is fed by the Federal Security Service. They have their own kitchen, professional craftsmen. And we are working with the administration and administration of the president, the Federal Security Service and all supporting services that are located in the Kremlin on Staraya Square. Tastes... Again, I can say that people are all the same. Everyone loves delicious homemade food.

RG| Do you adapt, knowing the characteristics and tastes of leaders?

Belyaev| We adjust from the point of view of human health. If fried, stewed is contraindicated, of course, we make steam food. We have a bespoke system. There is a menu and it says what exactly the person wants. After all, what is the Kremlin? It's the same submarine. People are the same everywhere. Why did I say that feeding people is a difficult profession. Here we also need to include psychology. For example, an employee has been working in the Presidential Administration for 15 years. All the time he comes to the same dining room, to the same buffet. Believe me, even the menu itself can irritate him: well, butter again, fresh vegetables ... Is it really impossible to write something differently? I always tell my subordinates: "You stand on the other side of the bar." Firstly, the menu should be colorful, by March 8 - with flowers, by Victory Day - with a military theme. People have mental, intense work. And, of course, they want to come and just relax in those 15-20 minutes that they allocate for lunch. See the smile of the waiter, eat a piece of meat or fish, a nice salad. And the person leaves in a completely different mood. That is why they say that all politics goes through the stomach.

What does the President eat?

RG| You say that the president is fed by a special service. But you still probably communicate with them and know that he likes to eat?

Belyaev| Yes, we are talking, but I myself see at receptions: he has no special priorities. Boris Nikolaevich, for example, loved lamb on the bone. And everyone knew it. Maybe Vladimir Vladimirovich has a favorite dish, but he never singles it out.

RG| In general, I am surprised when the president has time to eat at high receptions.

Belyaev| Right. We need to give everything, but he has already gone to the people - to say hello, take a picture, shake hands ... I think he comes home and eats there in a calm atmosphere.

RG| This month, the Kremlin traditionally gave a big reception for the Day of Russia. They say there was something amazing. For example, on a hot day there was a hill of pure ice, and next to it a man in a archer uniform served ice-cold vodka ...

Belyaev| This tradition is now in its fourth year. The reception is conducted by Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. This is the firm "Concord" - a St. Petersburg company. We met him on the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. He has one of the strongest companies. And catering is very developed - off-site meals. And on the Day of Russia, they bring everything here. Good cars, refrigerators. The tent camp, tents is broken. It was conceived as follows: the cuisines of the regions of Russia are presented.

About 600 people gather at the reception, which is why it was decided to hold it on the street, on Ivanovskaya Square.

RG| And here are St. Petersburg. Can't Moscow cope on its own?

Belyaev| What's wrong with having a relationship, let's say, between Mstislav Rostropovich and Yevgeny Prigogine? And I have many acquaintances in Moscow. They also call me and say: "Viktor, can you organize a banquet or a birthday party for me?" The same here.

How is it heard? Welcome!

RG| Do you remember any unusual reception that you organized?

Belyaev| Every big move is hard. The reception on May 9 is very solemn, because it is sacred: veterans come. And we take care of them, and we conduct training with waiters in a completely different way. I say: guys, you should move a chair and give them a napkin. Don't move away from them. This is a special trick.

And there were so many activities. I remember, I was still a simple cook, the chef calls me on December 28th. He says, they say, it is necessary to make a birthday tomorrow at Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya. And now you need to go and discuss the menu with the hostess.

I'm coming. The door opens… You know, it happens like this: when you see a famous face, but you can’t immediately remember it, because you are stunned. We sat and talked... And it was the famous actress Inna Makarova. We talked to her and then, on the second day, when I was cooking. And on the third, when there was a holiday. Then Sergey Gerasimov and his wife Tamara were still alive. Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Nonna Mordyukova, academician Petrovsky came ... Then Gerasimov asked: "Who cooked?" They answer him: a young man. "Call!" They put me at the table. It was so interesting to me: intellectual people, and chastushkas sang, and played the piano, and told jokes ... This is what is remembered.

Special rations

RG| Do you remember, earlier in high structures there were special rations?

Belyaev| We have an order desk where we select a certain assortment. If people want, they order confectionery, cakes. On Easter we bake cupcakes or the so-called Easter cakes. And before it was individual: half a kilo of buckwheat, smoked sausage, a jar of black or red caviar ... We formed this. But now, of course, this is not the case. Everything is gone.

Favorite dish

RG| What's your favourite dish?

Belyaev| Like Yuri Nikulin. We met with him once and he asks: "Victor, you are a cook. What is your favorite dish?" I say: “You know, when I was a child there was a store nearby. It was called Tsentrsoyuz.” He replies: “I remember such stores. So what?". "Grandma gave me 60 kopecks. I went to the store and bought 10 cutlets. I fried and boiled vermicelli." He looks at me like that: "You're not lying?" I say: "No. I love meatballs.” He half hugged me, and we started laughing… It turned out that he also liked meatballs with vermicelli.

And about cooking: I really love kharcho and I tell everyone: eat lamb, this is the purest meat.

And about art

RG| I once had a case in Germany, on a business trip - during breakfast at a table in a hotel, I knocked over a coffee pot. The waiters reacted instantly, and in a minute no one would have believed that something had happened.

Belyaev| We also had a case. President Putin approached the buffet table at the Bolshoi Theater with Kuchma, the then president of Ukraine. And… dropped the napkin. Despite her, Vladimir Vladimirovich mechanically begins to bend down, but the napkins are gone - one of the waiters picked them up. He appreciated - he looked like that ... Such work is art.

Congratulations

On June 30, Viktor Borisovich Belyaev, the General Director of the Kremlevsky food plant, celebrates his jubilee. He turns 50 years old. Rossiyskaya Gazeta congratulates him heartily and wishes him to continue to please people with his art.

President of the National Culinary Association of Russia
Belyaev Viktor Borisovich

A Muscovite in the tenth generation, he was born on June 30, 1957 at a Komsomol construction site in the city of Norilsk, where his parents came to build a mining and processing plant on Komsomol vouchers from different cities.

Viktor Borisovich's mother was a milling machine operator, and at the age of 20 she received a referral from the Moscow City Komsomol Committee to a northern construction site. And my father was a bricklayer and came in a direction from Leningrad. Shortly after the birth of their son, mother and little Victor returned to Moscow.

He spent his childhood and youth in the working-class district of Izmailovo (at that time this district of Moscow was called Stalinsky, then it was renamed Pervomaisky). Young Victor was brought up, mainly by his grandfather and grandmother, who worked as a milling machine and puncher at the Salyut plant.

Despite the fact that Viktor Borisovich's great-grandfather was a wealthy Moscow merchant and philanthropist, after the revolution, no one left Russia, his great-grandfather was dispossessed, and all of the merchant children had to retrain into the working class.

Mom alone raised three children, and in order to feed her family, she worked at three jobs. Victor was the eldest and helped his mother from the age of 12. Therefore, I didn’t shine at school, I studied for solid “triples-fours”, I didn’t think about higher education - I had to master the profession and help the family.

At the end of the eight-year school, he entered the MPKU - the Moscow vocational culinary school, graduated with honors and was assigned to the then best Moscow restaurant "Prague".

In the restaurant, he immediately showed himself and was enrolled in a group of cooks who worked during large state receptions in the Kremlin. The first time I got to the Kremlin was on the 30th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in May 1975.

From 1975 to 1977 he served in the border troops in the Arctic, near Vorkuta.

He returned from the army to the restaurant "Prague", and a year later he received an offer to work permanently as a cook in the special kitchen of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in the Kremlin.

At the special kitchen, they prepared for the first persons of the state, served state receptions at the highest level and in residences on the Lenin Hills: they fed and served the leaders of foreign countries who came on an official visit to the USSR.

In the Kremlin Belyaev V.B. worked for 30 years and went from a cook to the General Director of the Kremlevsky food plant

In addition to the culinary vocational school, he studied at the Economics and Technology College of Public Catering, and in 1998 he graduated from the evening department of the Plekhanov Institute of National Economy with a specialization in Cooking Technology.

In 2004, he defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic “Development of small public catering enterprises” and received the title of Candidate of Economic Sciences.

Honored Worker of Trade of the Russian Federation, Honorary Professor of the State Ural Economic University.

Recipient of the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", holder of the Gold Badge "For many years of work in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation", the orders of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the Holy Right-Believing Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy from Patriarch Alexy.

Yeltsin made sure that everyone at the table drank to the bottom

In Iktor Belyaev, who worked as a chef in the Kremlin for about 30 years, spoke about the tastes of the powerful:

- Viktor Borisovich, how did you get behind the Kremlin wall?

- He graduated with honors from the culinary school and was assigned to Prague - the main restaurant in Moscow. And then there was such a system: the best restaurants sent cooks, waiters, head waiters to the Kremlin to serve state receptions. So in 1975 I got there for the first time - to an event on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Victory ... Over time, they looked at me, and from Prague I moved to the special kitchen of the Kremlin and the USSR Council of Ministers.

- Which of the greats did you happen to feed?

- Indira Gandhi, Eric Honecker, Helmut Kohl. Once I was able to please Margaret Thatcher herself, who usually did not use our services, she was served by cooks at the embassy. But on one of her visits, she went down to the dining room when the whole delegation had already had breakfast. She was served a cup of tea, toast, jam, juice. And someone suddenly says: “Today, just wonderful pancakes - palachinki!” She became interested. And they've already been eaten. I had to quickly bungle them out of cottage cheese, bake them and present six things to her. She ate all six. The next two days, when she came down for breakfast, I already had pachinki ready for her. Then she came to the kitchen, thanked me and, taking off her glove, personally shook my hand. As a memento of Thatcher, I have kept a small book with the program of her visit to Moscow. One of the points there was the laying of flowers at Lenin's mausoleum. She crossed out this item, put three exclamation points and signed.

In the mid-1980s, American President Richard Nixon came to Moscow as an intermediary in the negotiations between Gorbachev and Reagan on disarmament. I was very worried and thought for a long time about what to cook. Nixon arrived, went into the dining room, forty minutes later the head waiter appeared: “You know, he hasn’t sat down at the table yet. They poured him a Bordeaux, and he walks with his secretary Diana, photographs the dishes and repeats: “Delightful! Amazing!” And I understand it. The appetizer part of that dinner consisted of about 15 courses. These are four types of fish snacks - salmon, stellate sturgeon, marinated pike perch, aspic. Then meat snacks - rolls, boiled pork, tenderloin in an egg. Be sure to three salads, including natural vegetables. Everything was served on armorial crockery. After dinner, Nixon shook my hand, hugged me, and again: “Amazing, Victor!” And the next morning, by 9 o'clock, a car brought me to the residence and, in order not to wake the guests, dropped me off at the entrance gate. I'm walking and suddenly I hear a whistle. I look up, Nixon is standing on the balcony in a dressing gown and whistling at me. I didn’t know then that the Americans whistle is an expression of delight. I waved back at him. For a week he lived in Moscow, we began to communicate. He turned out to be an avid fisherman and asked him to cook fish for hot.

- The man at the desk is one hypostasis. The man at the table is completely different. Has it ever happened that during a high feast people opened up from a completely unexpected side?

- I rarely managed to be with the first persons at the same table. But, for example, Patriarch Alexy II always invited to the table, was a very interesting storyteller, liked to recall episodes from his childhood and youth. And in the process of communicating with him, you did not feel squeezed, but began to dissolve in his stories, easily supported the conversation.

Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov was also a soul-man. Easily opened up and entered into any company. He could skillfully lead the table, like a toastmaster. The same is Pavel Pavlovich Borodin. Once at the table, he liked to tell jokes and at the same time he laughed out loud. When I found myself at the same table with Zhirinovsky, I saw in him the sweetest and kindest person. But with Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin it was not easy, he strained, because he always made heavy toasts and each time he had to drink to the bottom, because he personally followed this. At the same time, I don’t recall cases of someone getting drunk at receptions. Some kind of internal discipline kept.

- From the first persons, did anyone know how to cook?

- I saw how Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin was preparing shish kebabs. And judging by the pleasure with which he did it, it seemed to me that this was not the first time. And Yeltsin liked to teach how to cook fish soup, what kind of fish and how much to put.

– Have you met picky eaters or, say, gourmets?

- I found the leaders of the Soviet era at an age when most of them were already deeply ill people. Doctors carefully monitored that we gave them everything so pure, dietary. In the Brezhnev family, I worked three times in Zavidovo. The requirements are simple: porridge, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese. No overseas products. I remember that in those years the doctors forced Leonid Ilyich to quit smoking, but he always had a pack of Novost cigarettes somewhere nearby. He "Marlboro" sometimes smoked and sometimes asked his driver: "Volodya, light up." Volodya was a non-smoker, but he would take a cigarette and light it up.

Kosygin was also very easy to eat. He loved buckwheat, cheesecakes. But once he struck me with his knowledge. There was a small reception, about twenty people, for the Korean delegation. Kosygin decided to check whether the guests know our cuisine well. He took the menu and reads: "Borscht with a pie." Koreans say: "Well, we know, beets, cabbage." “No,” says Kosygin, “borscht is an old Russian dish. When you try it, you'll be amazed." They ask him: “How do you know?” He says he read it in a book. And borscht is a hazel grouse broth, combined with a strong beetroot broth and seasoned with a spoonful of cognac. In the old days they took it with them to hunt. A strong broth gave nutrition, beets cleaned, and cognac invigorated.

– Do you think Russian cuisine is known abroad?

- I think yes. Once, at one of the congresses of the World Association of Chefs Societies, delegations from different countries gathered for the final evening - five hundred people. buffet. And on the tables only bread and butter. Half an hour passes. They don't carry anything. But the Russians have everything with them. We got caviar, herring, brown bread, vodka, bacon from the diplomats. All of Europe began to pull up to our table, then America, then Asia. Finally, the then-president of the association, Bill Gallagher, takes the stage: “I always said that while the Russians drink, they are invincible.”

Roman Vologodtsev

Chef Viktor Belyaev For 30 years he worked in the Kremlin's special kitchen. During this time, he made a career from a simple cook to the general director of the Kremlin food plant. Belyaev fed the Council of Ministers, served banquets for foreign delegations and served government mansions on Sparrow Hills.

Viktor told the Free Time journalist about how the Kremlin feasts were held in Soviet times and how guests are received now, what world leaders like to eat, and what culinary secrets the personal chef of Joseph Stalin told the chef.

CAREER. Viktor Belyaev became a cook on the advice of his grandfather. At the age of 14, he himself planned to enter the historical and archival technical school, but his grandfather did not like the choice of his grandson, they say, there would be nothing to feed the family with such a profession.

“I was the eldest son in the family - there was no father, and I understood that they were waiting for help from me,” Belyaev recalls. “When my grandfather suggested that I go to culinary school, I agreed.”

After graduating from college with honors and having gone through all the workshops - hot and cold, Victor became a cook of the fifth category. Above him was only the sixth, but he was received with experience. Then, according to the distribution, as the best of the students, he got into the kitchen at the Prague restaurant. It was a great success. But he did not work there for long - it was time to go to the army. True, in front of her, Viktor managed to get to the Kremlin to serve a banquet on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Victory. He worked there for four days, and after that the chef of the special kitchen offered him a place at his place.

The offer could not be accepted, Victor went into the army, where he also worked as a cook. After the service, he returned to the Prague restaurant. A year later, an offer was again received from the Kremlin, and in 1978 Belyaev came to the special kitchen. He worked there for 30 years, and left of his own accord in 2008 as the general director of the Kremlevsky food plant. Now the chef is the president of the National Culinary Association of Russia.

TABLES-SHIPS. Before perestroika, all feasts in the Kremlin were lavish. Tables were laid along the walls with the letter “p”, each of them accommodated 200 people. Such huge cook tables were called ships. They were bursting with treats that were sometimes impossible to eat.

Products were brought from all republics: lard and sausages from Ukraine, milk and sprats from the Baltic states, fruit and wine from the Transcaucasus. Before transferring the products to the kitchen, they were examined in the laboratory for various parameters: heavy metals, toxic substances and other indicators. Ready meals were also checked visually and for taste. There were also stop-foods in the special kitchen. For example, these are mushrooms and canned food. But the game was brought from nurseries.

“I found even those times when they served whole black grouse and capercaillie with feathers,” says Viktor Belyaev. - To cook such a bird, it was necessary to pluck it, disinfect the feathers in vinegar essence, boil them, and dry them. Then the carcasses were cooked. After that, the feathers were stuck back. But in the process of processing, the feathers lost their color, so we also tinted them with paint. It was very hard work.

They also served whole fried piglets, sturgeon, stretched tongue. All this was ready, it was possible to eat, but often these dishes remained untouched and were just decoration of the table. But Victor especially remembered the ice-cold caviar bowls, on which various caviar was served. To make it, it was necessary to freeze a piece of ice in a two-liter saucepan. Then, with a jigsaw, cut out the letters “m” along the edges of the ice, as on the Kremlin walls.

The cooks worked in gloves, but their hands were still very cold. The ice melted and flowed, therefore, after working a little, it was necessary to send it to the freezer, and so on all the time. But this was not the end, after the caviar was ready, it was dipped into a vigorous beetroot broth so that the ice acquired the color of the ruby ​​stars of the Kremlin.

“Somehow we calculated how much food per person during a banquet,” recalls the chef. - It turned out that everyone should eat three kilograms of food. So there was a lot left. Whole foods, such as fruits, were collected and then they went into other dishes. Also caviar was collected from caviar. The rest was eaten by the servants, we set the table for them.

From alcohol they usually drank vodka and cognac, much less often wine or champagne.

“At receptions, a rosehip broth with lemon was often poured into a brandy bottle, this was drunk by the “Kremlin elders,” the chef continues. - So, for example, they did Leonid Brezhnev, because he was not allowed to drink alcohol for health reasons. But on the other hand, he liked to eat simple Russian and Ukrainian food, for example, borscht. As for other leaders, for example, Mikhail Gorbachev was in the care of his wife Raisa Maksimovna, and was always on a diet. Didn't drink. Boris Yeltsin loved to eat and drink well. Lamb, dumplings, and all with a glass of vodka.

Foreign leaders also had favorite dishes in Russia. So, Fidel Castro could eat a lot of tobacco chickens, Indira Gandhi adored Russian pancakes with gooseberry jam, Richard Nixon was a fan of fried fish.

By the way, Belyaev developed friendly relations with the latter. The former US president personally went into the kitchen and thanked the chef for the delicious food, presented his portrait and a pen. And for many years he sent postcards, congratulating on Christmas. All this is kept by the chef at home as a relic.

Chefs have been preparing for such banquets for more than one day. In Soviet times, the shift could start at 6 am and end at 3 am, so they stayed overnight at work - they slept in the St. George's Hall on carpets. This is no longer the case, Victor says.

NEW ERA. With the arrival of the team Vladimir Putin Much has changed at the Kremlin banquets. Firstly, we bought round tables instead of long ones. Secondly, they left from putting all the dishes on the table. Only flowers, pastries and cutlery remained on the tablecloths. Food is served individually in plates. The menu has also changed. All whole dishes and fruits have gone, berries have been introduced. But the cuisine has remained Russian: they serve pancakes, dumplings, pies, cabbage soup, caviar, Kiev cutlets, etc.

Beluga caviar and pastries are of great interest among foreign guests. Preferences in alcoholic beverages have changed, now the basis is wine, and only a small part of strong alcohol. They also began to serve Russian wine from the Krasnodar Territory and the Crimea.

Products for banquets both in Soviet times and now are mainly used by Russian ones. “What is the interest in giving a pork knuckle Angela Merkel, if she can eat it in Germany? Belyaev says. “We need to feed her something Russian, like whitefish from the northern seas.”

SECRETS. If there is no mood, it is better not to cook. “For my forty years of experience as a cook, I understood this,” Viktor explains. - When a person is upset, he is distracted, so he can oversalt, or forget about something on the stove.

This is especially true of the test, which feels hands and human feedback. At one time I was generally afraid of the test - suddenly it would not work. But a personal chef Stalin- Vitaly Alekseevich, taught me one thing. To make dough, you need to sing a good song. I sing Russian folk, for example, "Oh, the viburnum is blooming." With the song, things will go more spiritually, and the mood will become better. This method always helps.

Viktor met Stalin's cook while servicing one of Vorobyov's dachas. In addition to the recipe for an excellent dough, Vitaly Alekseevich shared other cooking secrets with Victor. For example, cutting a salted herring without a knife - with one finger, and also chopping greens with two knives in both hands, it turns out faster and smaller. He taught me how to make the right stuffing and other recipes that you won’t find in books.

“An interesting story is connected with Vitaly Alekseevich, which he himself told me,” recalls Belyaev. - After Stalin's death, his personal staff began to be shot on behalf of Lavrenty Beria. And on March 5, Vitaly Alekseevich was just shifting in the kitchen. When he arrived at work Valentina Istomina, sister-mistress in Stalin's house, warned him that the owner had died, the staff was being shot, leave. He quickly gathered his family, got into a car and left Moscow. He returned to the capital only when Beria himself was shot.

Victor Belyaev fondly remembers his teacher and always uses his advice. Some of them he shared with our readers.

ABOUT CUTLETS. Housewives often add eggs, onions, milk, cream, etc. to the cutlet mass, says the chef. But minced meat should be different for cutlets. Mix 300 grams of pork with 700 grams of beef or veal, scroll through a meat grinder. Soak a piece of regular white bread in water.

Mix bread with minced meat and roll again, add salt and pepper. Then you need to bring the minced meat with water to the desired consistency. When the minced meat easily begins to move away from the hands, it means that there is enough water in it and it is ready. After that, stick cutlets, roll them in breadcrumbs and fry in a pan.

ABOUT SOLYANKA. The basis of a delicious hodgepodge is a strong rich broth. To do this, you need to cook a piece of beef or veal with a bone and strengthen it with chicken (whole or fillet). Boil the meat for 1.5-2 hours. Then peel the pickled cucumbers and cut into small slices. Let them boil for 50 minutes.

Chop the onion and fry in butter until tender. Then add tomato paste to the onion in the pan and saute for another 10 minutes. Remove the cooked meat, cool and cut into slices. Then you need to cut any sausages and ham into slices, cook them for 15 minutes separately.

In the finished broth, put all the ingredients, when it boils, add the capers, olives, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Boil for another 15 minutes. And now the secret from the chef: add a little brine from capers and olives to the hodgepodge. Then the broth will become truly saturated. When serving, put olives on a plate (if you add them during cooking, the broth will darken), herbs, peeled lemon and sour cream.

Dinner is served!

Former Kremlin chef Viktor BELYAEV: “Stalin’s chef taught me how to make raspberry parfait, chop greens with two knives and carve herring without a knife”

The President of the Russian National Culinary Association told the GORDON online publication why the working day of the Kremlin chef began at five in the morning, how he managed to get three service apartments during his work, how many people cook for the president, and why, with the advent of Putin, strong drinks were tabooed in the Kremlin

Viktor Belyaev is one of the most famous Kremlin chefs. For more than 30 years, this man has been preparing for the first persons of the state. Belyaev's signature dishes were tasted by the entire Soviet elite - Leonid Brezhnev, Vladimir Shcherbitsky, as well as the presidents of America and France, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Leonid Kuchma himself came to the kitchen to shake hands.

Born into the family of a bricklayer and miller, he never dreamed of a big career. After graduating from the culinary school, he was assigned to the best Moscow restaurant in the Union "Prague", from there - to the Kremlin kitchen, where he went from a simple cook on errands to the general director of the "Kremlevsky" food factory. But in 2012, at the age of 55, due to denunciations and intrigues, he retired of his own accord: his colleagues brought him to a heart attack and he did not risk his health.

“TODAY THERE IS A DEFICIENCY OF REAL PRODUCTS EVEN IN THE KREMLIN”

— Viktor Borisovich, you have worked in the government kitchen in the Kremlin for over 30 years. What time did your working day start and when did it end?

“Started at 5:00 am and ended at 1:00 am. In the morning, a car would pick me up and take me to work. And how many separate calls there were - do not count! They could call at any time of the day or night. The discipline is serious: every day is like walking on a knife's edge... The responsibility is great, God forbid someone gets poisoned!

The only perk the cook had was that we arrived at work early, at half past four, still asleep. If it was summer, I brewed good coffee for myself, brought fresh bread, I cut off a piece of hot smoked sturgeon, made myself a sandwich, sat on the balcony and listened to the nightingales sing. And then he took a good Philip Morris cigarette from a plastic pack (there are none now) and lit it. Got high! There was a certain bonus in this, but then it could not be told.

- And what, there were such cases when one of the highest officials was poisoned in the Kremlin kitchen?

- Thank God, no, but in order to avoid them, everyone perfectly understood how to select people and build a management system so that there is strict discipline and an understanding of where they work. It required a lot of dedication.

- All Kremlin chefs are now signing a paper on non-disclosure of information. What secrets are implied by this in the document?

- This is a "secret", it exists not only for cooks and not only in our country - wherever people are connected with the work of top officials. This is a document that says that you undertake not to tell what and how is happening in these units. All the personnel who worked for the protected person - cooks, security - all people liable for military service, questioned, checked. I myself did not sign such a paper. As the head of the food plant, I also had a “secret”, but it was connected with other articles.

- The quality of products for the highest ranks, who were fed in a special kitchen, was always carefully monitored. In what era were products of better quality?

“Today, even in the Kremlin, there is a shortage of real food. Before the sanctions, Russia had a large number of foreign cheeses, fish, meat products, and after the sanctions they disappeared. It's probably even better if our producers start working on their own. It's easier to buy abroad and do nothing, but it's shameful when Russia buys garlic from China.

Previously, food was supplied to the Kremlin table from subsidiary farms in the Moscow region, there were farms where they raised calves, they had their own milk, vegetables, fruits, berries - raspberries, currants, gooseberries, we always made large preparations for the winter. And today there are almost no subsidiary farms, there are a few left, but they work for themselves, they supply little products.

- I always thought that such people eat, if not the food of the gods, then definitely the best ...

- Of course, there is a special service there that checks the quality of products coming to state receptions, it was, is and will be. They take tests, check for heavy metals and other harmful substances. If this product does not meet the standards, it is removed. But even if it passes the test, there is still no meat, fish, dairy products that were there before.

- Do modern politicians differ from Soviet general secretaries in gastronomic preferences?

- Our old people, as we called them, did not get anything in their youth - the Stalinist regime, then the war ... Naturally, you don’t travel abroad: if you went somewhere, then on official visits. And the new generation of leaders differs from the previous one in that they traveled around Europe, Asia, tried different cuisines: shrimp, arugula, foie gras ... But in my memory it never happened that in the Kremlin kitchen they invented some special recipes.

- And what do they feed now?

— Russian cuisine is always present. Especially when foreign representatives come. Kholodets, herring under a fur coat ... They never made pizza, but there was a rack of lamb. Fish dishes: sea bass is on the way now, and we used our sturgeon.

Gone are the days when the whole tongue was stretched out, a piglet, vases of fruit ... Imagine: there is a large vase, and there are apples, pears, grapes, plums, tangerines ... You can still eat a tangerine, but how to overcome a whole apple at the reception? Naturally, they were not eaten, they were taken away in pockets. And now we have switched to small individual two-story fruit bowls, where they put different berries on skewers. They began to serve everything individually to each guest. A person sits down at the table, and he has a cold appetizer of fish in his plate, then the waiter takes away and brings meat dishes, after that - hot, dessert.

“I RUN TO THE BUFFET, I ASK THE MANAGER: “How are you?”. I DID NOT EVEN SEE PUTIN, SUDDENLY HE ANSWERS: “YES, EVERYTHING IS NORMAL”

- What did you prepare for the current President of the Russian Federation Putin? Legend has it that he loves some of your famous red soup...

Yes, he liked my cold soup. We prepared it at the summit in Sochi in 2006. We looked with technologists, with management, agreed with the protocol. Why soup? The temperature outside was about 35 degrees. In the evening it was necessary to serve something tasty, but cool. And we made tomato soup. After the meeting ended, Putin called the people who were involved in the protocol and asked them to thank him, saying that it was very tasty. For us it was a holiday. As a rule, everyone ate, talked and went on to work, in this fuss one rarely hears gratitude to the chefs.

- Have you ever crossed paths with Putin?

- He repeatedly approached similar events in other cities. I had my first acquaintance with Putin six months after my work in the Kremlin. He was sitting in the buffet drinking coffee, and I ran in and asked the manager: “How are you?”. I didn’t even see Putin, suddenly he answers: “Yes, everything is fine.” I turn around and he drinks coffee. He always knew everything about the main persons who serve him.

- Do the current president of Russia have any other food preferences?

- He loves ice cream. And the usual: ice cream or fruit. We always tried, when receptions were arranged, to put at least a scoop of ice cream in any dessert, but put it.

- Once you admitted that with the advent of Putin, the level of alcohol in the Kremlin fell. Have you been drinking less? Or do they drink, but already other drinks?

- It's age! In Soviet times, except for Alexei Kosygin (he was not only a non-drinker, but also a non-smoker), everyone in the Kremlin drank. Brezhnev loved vodka. If the doctors hadn’t banned Leonid Ilyich after the stroke, maybe he would have taken a glass and drank, otherwise he abstained. Nikita Khrushchev, according to the stories of the cooks, was also not indifferent to strong drinks.

With the advent of Vladimir Putin in 2000, the strength of alcohol has changed. If, for example, in Soviet times, vodka was 60 percent, and wine - 40 percent, then with the advent of Vladimir Vladimirovich, good wines came - French, Chilean, Spanish, South African. From Russian brands - "Abrau-Durso". I remember when we coordinated the Kremlin menu with the protocol department, we even invited a good sommelier who presented this or that wine at receptions. Until now, good wines prevail in the Kremlin. True, now Crimean ones are also being put on the tables. Although it is not worth it for Russia with its areas and opportunities to do this, after all, we had wonderful wines that won the Grand Prix at various exhibitions.

- I wonder how much alcohol per person was allowed to drink at major Kremlin events?

- At state receptions, there were 70 grams of vodka, 50 grams of cognac and 150 grams of white and red wine per person. Everything was calculated, multiplied by the number of guests, but, of course, a small reserve was also taken in case someone ran out of drinks. Alcohol is never served at executive receptions. There is also such a form of service - a “glass of champagne”: this is when the first person of the state congratulates and awards respected persons, a glass of champagne is served there. Or signing some important documents. But this is protocol. As for lunches and dinners, personal chefs work for them, they have their own calculations. But, I think, they also have a case of good wine in stock - you never know, guests will come - a common thing.

“BREZHNEV WORKED FOUR PERSONAL COOKS. I THINK PUTIN HAS NO MORE"

— And how many cooks are preparing for Putin?

- I do not know this. Leonid Ilyich had four people. I think Putin has no more either. I have never worked with so-called lichniks. We knew them, we talked. But they were on a subscription and tried once again not to shine. It was a taboo, we passed by such people, so as not to light up ourselves, and not to light them up. Of the current chefs who feed the first persons, I do not know anyone. And I talked with the Brezhnevs. These were the most ordinary people from the people who accidentally got there.

“Didn’t they try to lure you into personal chefs for one of the rulers over the years?”

- First they called me from the special kitchen to the special kitchen, I worked there for six years, and then they called me to the KGB, they say, would you like to work with the first persons? But I refused - I knew what kind of work it was. More tension. I already had two children then, and I didn’t want to, I was afraid.

— Is it true that not only the furniture, but also the utensils have changed in the Kremlin now?

- It happened back in 2000, when the tablecloths and tables were changed, then - glass and porcelain. Previously, only on the emblematic dishes of the USSR they ate at receptions. Under Yeltsin, the coat of arms of Russia was made, it was even on the glass. Then they moved away from this, they began to use it very rarely. Since that time, crystal has remained, we exhibited it only on New Year's Eve. It looks much more beautiful and richer than any glass.

- Was there any monthly budget in the Kremlin kitchen that could be spent per month?

- I worked in a special kitchen that provided food for the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the entire apparatus of ministers, for that kitchen for each deputy chairman a certain estimate was made for lunch per day for entertainment expenses, they worked clearly according to this calculation. If lunch was supposed to be around 1 rub. or 1 rub. 50 kopecks, then they invested in this amount, they did not go for it. This was very strict. I remember how at the end of the month it turned out that someone did not get the amount and it was transferred to the next month, and someone went over - maybe they bought cigarettes or a bottle of cognac. If, for example, a person had business meetings, then even they indicated how many glasses of tea with lemon, dryers and sandwiches were spent. This 1967 decree seems to be in effect today.

“I have always wondered where the surplus food that remains after the receptions goes ...

“Today they count on every guest, so there is practically nothing left. In Soviet times, there was a lot left, and after the receptions were over, we carefully removed everything that was untouched from the plates, laid a separate table and fed the cadets and soldiers. After all, receptions are served by many services. People have always been grateful. Of course, unscrupulous people could put it in their pocket, not without it. Now this is out of the question.

“THE WAITERS WERE NOT TIPS, BUT THEY WERE GIFTS. FROM INDIRA GANDHI WOMEN WERE GIVEN CUT-OFFS FOR DRESSES, MEN - WATCHES»

- Didn't you eat from the master's table yourself?

- Waiters and cooks were fed in the working canteen an hour before the start of the reception. By the way, all the cooks were attached to a separate clinic, they underwent a medical examination once every three months. And before the start of government receptions, doctors went into the kitchen, examined the nails, fingers of all the staff, so that there were no pustular diseases.

The waiters were forced to wear gloves. Firstly, it's beautiful, and secondly, girls, of course, with manicures, but guys' nails can be different, someone does a manicure, someone doesn't.

- And the cook?

— Cutting, for example, was very difficult for me to do with gloves, my hand sweats, the knife slips off, so the gastronomic part was done without gloves, and everything related to raw materials was done with gloves.

- For every waiter, less often - a cook, a tip is a good help. Is there such a way to reward employees in the Kremlin?

No, they never gave money. The only thing is that the foreign delegations that came gave souvenirs. For example, from Indira Gandhi, women were given cuts for dresses, men - watches. Others gave the peasants a bottle of whiskey, and the women - something in small things.

You have cooked for many politicians. Who do you remember with special respect?

- I spoke with Brezhnev twice. Once, when there was a meeting with the then President of France, Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, I cooked their fish soup on the island - in the Moscow region there was a separate island where they fished. After dinner, Brezhnev and Giscard d'Estaing came to personally thank me.

I remember serving former US President Richard Nixon. He came to Moscow for two weeks, before the meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan, these were serious negotiations on the reduction of weapons. He was like an intermediary, he lived in a mansion on Leninskiye Gorki. I fed him for two weeks. We talked a lot, one evening for almost an hour. He was interested in everything: where I studied, who are my parents, how life is. He gave me a photo of himself in the White House, then we took a picture with him on the steps of the mansion and he signed the photo: "From President Nixon to the real Russian boss." When he left, something turned over in my head: it seemed that we were doing something wrong, after all, I was a Soviet person, a member of the party, I was brought up at that time ...

- Were any of the Ukrainian rulers fed in the Kremlin?

- I remember Leonid Kuchma well from individual meetings in the mansion and evening receptions. I really liked that he came to the kitchen and began to thank everyone. After all, he could say to the assistant: “Go, pass it on from me.” But no, he came, he shook hands with the cooks, the hostess sister. I remember Vladimir Shcherbytsky, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. When joint receptions were held, he often visited Moscow, always available, without any ostentatious poses. Just like the deceased First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Pyotr Masherov. They were kind of real.

- You came to work in the Kremlin as a boy. Is it without protection? In general, without blat can you get to such a bread place?

- I got to the Kremlin for the first time in 1975, on the 30th anniversary of the Victory, I was sent from the Prague restaurant, where I worked then. I was 18 years old. Even before the army. The chef of this restaurant sent young employees there for practice, he thought: let the young ones study. And I ended up in a special kitchen. The boss looked at me: “Do you want to work with us?” “I’m leaving for the army,” I say. "Well, you'll come after the army - see you." When I returned, I again went to Prague, and I was again sent to the Kremlin, and the boss again came up with the same offer. "Okay, I'll think about it, I'll call." - Why call? Here's a phone for you, go to the personnel department, talk. Just at that time, we had a meeting with graduates of the culinary school, my culinary teacher Zinaida Vasilievna was alive. “Victor, I heard you got married? Maybe you should go to work in the Kremlin? My uncle is the director of the Kremlin food group.”

I came to Anatoly Kabanov, the then director of food, the chef of the Kremlin kitchen was already there, he gives me my profile and says that this guy was already in the personnel department. And he: “I have my own personnel department, my niece called me, she taught with him.” So I got, you can say, I went from two sides (laughs). And so ... they don’t write on the fence that cooks are required for the Kremlin - a queue will line up. Naturally, they get through an acquaintance, although they periodically go to restaurants, look, take away, but this is already a rarity. Mostly people move from each other.

"Who stood on the chickens, carried the chicken home, who was on the meat - a piece of meat"

- Stalin's cook was your teacher. What are his lessons useful in life?

- I will always remember Vitaly Alekseevich. He taught me how to make raspberry parfait, how to chop greens with two knives, how to carve herring without a knife.

- Is it possible?

- Easy! First you need to remove the skin from the fish, then tear off the head (he did it so masterfully that all the insides left with it), and then you raise one fillet with two fingers to the tail, the bones remain right on the ridge. And do the same with the second fillet. I still know how to do it.

I didn't like messing around with dough. Once we were ordered to make yeast pancakes, I honestly said: “Vitaly Alekseevich, I can’t! I’m afraid of this test: it doesn’t fit me, it turns sour.” And he: “Do you like to sing songs?” “Of course I do, my mother is a singer.” - "Here, let's sing and start kneading, and I'll cut the snack." He always said that you need a good mood for the test, and I was convinced many times that it feels the aura of a person. In general, any product, if the chef is angry and not in the mood, is better not to cook, otherwise you will oversalt, undersalt or overcook.

Was there a temptation to bring something home from work?

“There is always a temptation… Although when we worked in government mansions, no one really checked us, everyone was in front of our eyes. As a rule, there were 12 people, if there were 120, there would be more food, maybe someone would be tempted. And when 12, what will you take? Eat a piece, not without it ...

There were people who stole, but I was somehow shy and afraid, I was ashamed to do it. When I worked at the Prague restaurant, I had a case when the chef put tenderloin, chicken, butter into my bag ... He was a drunk and said: “Do you have no family?” I wondered all the time why I didn't take it. Although they carried it there, otherwise it was impossible to live.

Who stood on the chickens, carried the chicken home, who on the meat - a piece of meat. In the 70s, when it was really bad with this product, one comrade worked part-time in Prague ... He carried garbage. He throws five kilograms of meat into the trash can, and tops it off with potato skins from the vegetable shop and carries it, and there other people took it and went to trade on the Arbat, a whole gang worked. But this man was quickly caught, fired, and he could not get a job anywhere. Now they also steal, but not meat, but billions. The then politicians, even in a nightmare, could not dream of such a thing.

- Are today's Kremlin chefs mostly young?

- Yes. The senior staff all left, only the youth remained. There was a French chef, but he had already left, he worked on the exchange of experience.

“DURING WORK IN THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS FROM COOK TO CHEF I GOT THREE APARTMENTS”

- You said that in Soviet times you received a salary of 130 rubles in the Kremlin kitchen. How did you get paid for your work these days?

- As the director of the food plant, my salary was 60 thousand rubles. ( at the rate before the sanctions - about two thousand dollars. — "GORDON"). But there were also bonuses for good work. For example, the summit was successfully held - the president thanked them, they handed over the diploma, and to it also a cash prize - 15-20 thousand rubles.

Enough or not? The question is rhetorical. But there was an opportunity to get an apartment. During my work in the Council of Ministers, from a cook to a chef, I received three apartments. The system was as follows: after working out for three years, you could write an application. If you had poor living conditions or had children, you could get another apartment. Who was smarter, went to the trick: he registered his mother, aunt in his apartment ...

It turned out that we lived with my mother, and then a son was born, there was not enough space, and for two years they allocated me an apartment, first on Leninsky Prospekt. After some time, a daughter was born - they gave another. And then, by the 50th anniversary, already in our time, they gave an apartment on Mira Avenue. Plus, the benefits were good. Now this is not the case, but then there were our own ateliers, where we could inexpensively sew winter boots or a muskrat hat, it was a big deficit. Those who were richer stood in line to buy a domestic car. And there were also subordinate kindergartens, where you could enroll without queues. At that time there were about 40 rest houses and a sanatorium, we were given two-day vouchers. On Friday evening they took the children, got on the bus, arrived on Saturday, rested until Sunday. There was full three meals a day, and everything for three cost six to eight rubles.

“They don’t leave places like this. You said that you decided to take this step because your colleagues were intriguing and brought you to a heart attack. Does it thrive in these circles?

- Yes. What do you think, I was surrounded by some bosses from the movies? (Laughs). I beg you ... Of course, there were intrigues, they wrote and were afraid that I would take their place, they tried to belittle. So much drunk, a three-volume book is not enough to write ...

When I came to the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, there were many buffets on the sixth floor. Employees carried their sausage, alcohol ... They themselves earned money, and the food plant received shish. None of the cafeterias had cash registers. I began to put things in order, I wanted to change and destroy this system. It can be said that he tore people away from their daily bread. As a result, they began to write letters to me. When I left, they didn’t call me back, but even if this happened, I wouldn’t go myself - after all, I worked for 32 years, my heart was not right. Work in the same mode does not allow neither health nor morale. The social and organizational work that I am currently doing as the president of the Russian Culinary Association is enough for me to go on vacation with my wife to relax, feed my family, and most importantly, it's time to share my experience and knowledge.

— But you have no nostalgia for that time? Do you regret deep down?

- Nothing to regret. Nostalgia is always there, but to regret and think about returning is not. What was done was done honestly and with dedication. I am not ashamed of those years. I did not expect that I would be able to grow from a chef into a CEO, to communicate with such people, to work in such a high position. And I try to forget all the bad things, we must remember the good and the present. The rest is to clean up. Then you will remain a kind and sympathetic person. Now there is a lot of evil, it's so insulting when I see how society has changed! But I hope that it will get better, at least I'm still able and will try to do my bit.

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