Hubert Duchenne, head chef of Michelin-starred Restaurant H in Paris, advised Moscow restaurateurs to choose traditional Russian cuisine, but use modern cooking techniques to achieve Michelin stars. This was reported on Saturday, January 30, by RIA Novosti.
Michelin ratings exist in over 30 countries. In December, it became known that in 2021 he would first come to Moscow.
The young chef noted that during his last visit to Moscow he was very surprised that there is no Michelin in the Russian capital, despite the fact that there are “excellent restaurants, delicious food”. He believes that the arrival of a gastronomic guide to Russia will allow people from other countries to discover Russian cuisine.
Duchenne gave his Moscow colleagues advice on how to win the stars of the renowned and influential guide.
“I believe you need to have an individuality and be committed to tradition. Michelin loves tradition and modernity. There are many chefs in Russia who bring this to the fore. Vladimir Mukhin does it perfectly … I think it is necessary to preserve the Russian individuality and not get lost in European cuisine. If I were Russian and lived in Russia, I would cook a cuisine tied to Russia, but using modern techniques, ”said the Frenchman.
Hubert Duchenne opened his restaurant in the 4th arrondissement of Paris in 2016 and received his first Michelin star a year later.
The Michelin Guide has been published since 1900 and has a three-star rating system for restaurants for countries and individual cities. The selection process for establishments for the guide is strictly confidential. Inspectors travel anonymously and prepare detailed reports on each. Based on it, the rating is compiled at the head office in Paris.
One star indicates high quality food worth visiting. Two are given to those whose cuisine is so good that it is possible to change the planned travel route for the sake of it. And three stars are the highest recognition. The restaurants deserve them, for the sake of which it is especially worth going to a particular city.
On December 21, the Michelin website published a release following the visit of the world restaurant guide’s guidebook inspectors, which indicated that in Russia they “prefer vegetables and aromatic herbs that give a lively and unique taste to favorite gourmet first courses, such as borscht or rassolnik.”