Moscow Restaurateurs Sample Volgograd Cuisine
Volgograd has been included among the cities for the fourth season of the travel show «Geography of Russia». For the filming of the episode, representatives of Moscow«s restaurant industry arrived in the city: chef Ruslan Parshenkov, head of communications for »Chaykhona No. 1« Elena Popova, and brand chef Alexander Volkov-Medvedev.
The gastronomic tour route began in the Krasnoarmeysky District. Here, the guests learned about the process of making mustard oil, then had a snack at an unusual shashlik place set up in the cabin of a Yak-40 aircraft. The next stop was a tasting of iconic Volgograd fast food – Kyiv-style cutlets and their regional version, Volgograd-style cutlets.
Discussing the dishes, the restaurateurs exchanged remarks. «Why are we eating Kyiv-style cutlets specifically in Volgograd?» — Elena Popova wondered. «Because they say they are the most standard here. I don»t know which is which, because you and I have one Kyiv-style cutlet and another — Volgograd-style. Do you know what the difference is?« — asked Alexander. »No.« — »Kyiv-style has butter, Volgograd-style has cheese.« — »So, both will leak anyway.« — »Well, what«s the verdict, Len? When you come to Volgograd, do you need to try the »Kyiv« cutlet?» — «Yes, but only with butter.»
Next, the team visited the Old Sarepta Museum-Reserve, where they sampled German cuisine dishes, viewed the sights of the Central District, and took a boat ride on the Volga. The final point of the route was a sturgeon plant near the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station.
At the enterprise, the guests were shown the full cycle of fish farming. A plant employee explained: «Do you have the full cycle here?» — «Yes, every year we will only increase production. Here we have a crossbreed — the bester. This is a breed developed by us for meat. The average weight is about 6–7 kg, age 7–8 years.» He described in detail the process from incubating caviar to raising fry in cages.
After the tour, the restaurateurs released fry into the river and proceeded to taste black caviar, jokingly urging each other to «force themselves to eat black caviar» for health. The day ended with a traditional dinner — herring with potatoes at a restaurant on the Central Embankment.
