Bar Delicatessen

The heroes of our new interview are Delicatessen manager Ivan Semchenko and Delicatessen senior bartender Sergey Pushkin. We remembered the history of the creation of the restaurant, talked about why it still does not lose popularity, why a cocktail menu is sometimes unnecessary, and discussed the meaning of the profession.

Tell us a little about yourself: how did you get into the profession? How did you start working at Delicatessen?

Ivan: My name is Semchenko Ivan, I got into the field about 8 years ago. I got there by chance - I was invited to work as a manager at a summer cafe for a season - they needed a person who could be trusted with the cash register. I knew nothing about this area, and entering it was very difficult for me. I was 19, so it was very difficult to fine people, fire those who were older - it was wildly stressful. But then I thought that the job was great, good money, women around, affordable alcohol - at that time this was the maximum of my interest, and since they also paid - great, I’m definitely going. And I already began to try myself not as a manager, but as a bartender, I was still very far from a good manager, and even more so from a good bartender, but I already realized that I liked the bar more.

Sergey: My name is Sergey Pushkin, I started working at the bar in 2012, when I was studying at the university, my friend just invited me to work. I came, also knowing absolutely nothing about the field, and for about six months I carried and polished dishes - it was a very strange and difficult time. After about two years of completely unconscious work, I already became a senior bartender, then a fairly well-known Moscow bartender came to our town of Vladivostok - where all this happened, 9000 km from here - and showed everyone the way to a bright future. Then my work became more conscious - I realized that I was interested in working with alcohol, that I saw the rest of the world. In 2016, I moved to Moscow and, in search of work, wrote to Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lankin, and for that I thank him very much - he has an amazing habit of responding to all the people who write to him.

Ivan: And a lot of people write.

Sergey: I advise everyone to start such a habit - if they write, answer)

Ivan: Exactly, sooner or later it will come in handy)

What was your biggest discovery in your work?

Ivan: For me, the biggest discovery was that it is not limited to alcohol and fun, but there are many books, a lot of stars - the more I began to work, the more this amazing world opened up, I fell in love with it and realized that in the future I would connect life with this sphere. Not necessarily at the bar - the field is quite multifaceted - you can be a manager, you can do consulting, all this can even be converted into some kind of event agency, and now the events include not only alcohol, but also waiters, lighting, decoration, etc. you can do accounting and finance, so there is something to do.

And which of these interests you most?

Ivan: I tried different things, and most of all I like making preparations, because I really like to cook, and I really like working in a bar - preparing drinks and communicating with people, although I am an introvert myself. I always thought accounting was boring, and now I know that for sure) And when you catch yourself starting to evaluate the thickness and color of the paper, the thickness of the files, thinking something like “these guys are cool, they have a cool office staff” - this is complete bottom, what kind of thoughts are these - it’s time to do something about it)

Sergey: You think like Seryozha Besov from “Demons of Printing” - we have a friend who is engaged in letterpress printing, all his files are contractual, this is craft paper in a chic shade - he sweats over every little thing.

Ivan: Well, he enjoys it, it’s interesting to him, I’m still talking about more mundane things, but this is also certainly a useful experience. The more you try, the deeper and broader your understanding of how an establishment works: how much money you need, what risks and pitfalls there are... You stop perceiving it through rose-colored glasses, thinking “maybe I’ll open my own bar after all.. .” – it’s easier to shoot yourself in the mouth and not suffer). In general, the devil is in the details, and this sphere is made of precisely such little things.

Sergey: And for me the biggest discovery was... Well, as Vanya said, not only is it quite closed, but it seems to me that Delicatessen turned out to be a container for people who find themselves behind the counter and open up to this world. So what was a revelation to me was the diversity of people and their personalities, and how these people can interact with each other, onthere are points of contact, contacts, and from this a wonderful process is born.

What achievements in your profession are you proud of?

Ivan: It’s a difficult question, for Sergey and me, for sure... I’m proud that Delicatessen is almost 10 years old, and we are still popular, they love us, people come to us, which means we are doing our job correctly. Now, this is the greatest grace.

Sergey: I think I would completely agree with this. That's all)

That's all?

Ivan: Well, the rest is personal, materialistic and uninteresting.

Why is it not necessarily personal – mercantile?

Ivan: Well, for me it’s mercantile) So I don’t know, it’s just nice to be here, with other people.

Sergey: Due to the fact that this field, this profession takes a lot of time, you associate all your achievements with it in one way or another, and to talk about some victories in competitions...

Ivan: I slept for 7 hours today – it was wonderful, my small victory. And if we talk about competitions, we are still preparing the world to reveal ourselves.

Sergei: Of course, we have to wait until the world is ready to accept all this.

I'm afraid to imagine what you are preparing for us)

Sergey: The world too.

Ivan: So for now we keep the intrigue.

Well, then tell us about Delicatessen - why is it so good, why do people still come to you?

Sergey: Cool question, it seems to me that it can take a very long time to answer. In general, Delicatessen was opened by four people - this is, in fact, Slava Lankin, who headed the bar, Zhenya Samoletov - press attache for culture - who worked in the hall and was responsible for foreign policy, all the visuals and ideological content. Ivan Shishkin was in charge of the kitchen and ideologically inspired the cooks, corrected the style of food, and Pavel Lisyukov -

Ivan: the man who kept everyone in line, was a buffer between everything and was responsible for boarding, banquet reservations and paperwork, for all the most unloved things - the court, firefighters, SES, and other things, in general, he is such an eminence grise who does a lot for Delicatessen.

Sergey: I wish everyone one day to experience the hospitality of Pavel Lisyukov. I was lucky enough to see this once – it’s just art.

Ivan: Well, and accordingly, they were all established restaurateurs, except for Ivan Shishkin, who was a big food enthusiast, began his journey in this wonderful world, and they decided to take him, because he had interesting ideas, and that was what what they wanted to see here. They worked well together and, now as friends and co-owners, they work on all projects together. And most importantly, they do it themselves - this is a big difference. They don’t sit at home checking the balance sheet, but spend a lot of time here, are involved in all processes, no one even shy away from taking a dirty plate, there is no such thing as “I am the owner, here is my table, everyone should bring me gifts.” And before, many people had such a policy. Everything is honest and open with us - we are like a big family: they are like our fathers, and we are our wards - the older ones, the little ones - they care about our achievements, and let us go with a heavy heart...

They decided to open Delicatessen because they were bored - everything worked for them, and they decided “let’s work ourselves, like in the good old days.” They hired assistants, of course, and so began the journey of Delicatessen, which has been going on for 10 years. Now they no longer work behind the bar and in the kitchen, all the work has been handed over to us, but they are always there and never hesitate to close a position if necessary and take up the shaker. This is very revealing and worth a lot.

And if we talk about the format of the establishment itself?

Ivan: Bar, restaurant. A very honest, cool kitchen, the same bar, everything in equal parts. That is, there can be a strong bar, and the food is very mediocre, or the food is very good, but the bar is mediocre. This is not the case here, we work very well with the kitchen, we constantly communicate, exchange ideas, and consult.

Our bar is in American style: wood, mirror, lots of books.

Sergey: The coolest thing is that there is no clear concept here - you come here to eat deliciously and drink deliciously. We don’t have such a thing that everything is only Japanese, and you can only drink sake.

Ivan: In the series “Friends,” for example, there was a cafe - a meeting place for friends, where you can have a snack, chat, drink, but we are more about alcohol than about coffee. Well, we are not on the first line - not in the most accessible place, so those who want to be here come here, this is a kind of filter for us.

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Why don't you have a cocktail menu?

Sergey: There is such a feature - let's call it points of contact - when you walk into the door and it says “thank you for finding” - you didn’t have time to talk to anyone, but they already praised you. You sit down at a table, and you don’t have to look at the menu book - you immediately start talking to everyone. It’s easier this way – it’s easier to have more fun.

Ivan: Besides, not everything can be displayed on the menu, some words may be unknown to the guest, people are often embarrassed to show that they don’t understand something, but this way we’ll tell and show them everything. And in the kitchen menu we have a glossary where we decipher such things.

Sergey: We don’t torment guests with incomprehensible words on the menu, but ask what they want now. Literally three questions, and you can hit the target pretty accurately.

Ivan: If the drink is not right the first time, then we redo it until the guest is satisfied, because this is our game, and we play it honestly. We hit 90% the first time, and almost always the second time.

In addition, we have signature drinks for cocktails; I am not afraid of this word, we flawlessly prepare classics, neoclassics and the entire heritage of the bar, and if you put all this together in the menu, you will get a very impressive Talmud. Often, a large selection is bad: a person scrolls through the menu for a long time, gets lost, no longer understands what he wanted, it all begins to irritate him, and in the end he orders like this: “that’s it, I’ll take this one, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he takes something that is not wanted it, tries it, doesn’t like it, and his mood gets worse. We are not interested in this.

This format helps us in another way: the longer a person chooses, the longer we take the order, the less a person drinks during this time, so without a menu we accept the order faster, the person gets what he wants faster, and we can earn more money, what's there to be shy about?

Does it bother guests that they can't see the price?

Ivan: they can always ask, we, in general, have unified weighted average prices - 550 rubles for Moscow - this is the standard price, even a little lower - we try to keep the bar of democratic prices, but we are also hostages of the situation with the embargo and inflation , course and other things.

Sergey: As a rule, if a person comes to an establishment, he is already ready to part with his money - you can always clarify the amount, and after all, we don’t have a glass bar here for students)

Do you have an extensive menu, but do you prefer to cook classics or experiment?

Sergey: Oh, that’s a tough question. I'm equally interested in fermenting and mixing the perfect martini.

Ivan: And you can’t forget your roots and stand in one place, so it seems to me that there should always be an equal amount of this.

Sergey: And this is 100% about Delicatessen - we really love the classics and cook them a lot. I have guys who come to see me at the White Lady, and I’m always so happy to see them because they really know their way around cocktails. But new readings and twists are also cool.

Can a guest's opinion influence your decision about a menu item or recipe change?

Sergey: Actually, yes. But this is more of a kitchen story

Ivan: We work for the guests, so, of course, we listen - if all the guests don’t like something, we remove it. In a bar, too, some drink may not sell well - because it is super specific or simply unsuccessful - you can’t be perfect all the time.

Sergey: Several times, on the contrary, we have returned dishes to the menu at the request of guests.

What's the craziest guest request you've ever had to fulfill?

Ivan: I don’t remember anything extravagant now.

Sergei: It seems to me that the most classic thing is that they ask for a very spicy Bloody Mary...

Ivan: Or fry tartar. People can be capricious, but for us these are rather ordinary cases, the main thing is not to take everything to heart and just try to find an approach to everyone.

Sergey: We won’t fry tartar, if anything :)

Is it difficult to come up with new drinks?

Sergey: Depends on the situation. If you have a task and some kind of framework or deadlines, then there is no escape from it.

Ivan: The brain begins to generate ideas, because you understand that the deadlines are running out. There are, of course, periods of stagnation, when nothing really comes to mind, you do other things, mextremely down to earth, and there is no talk of any creativity at all - you sit like Hemingway in front of a typewriter and bleed, because you have to do it. And it happens that you are in a good mood, and the process begins. I constantly make sketches - I came up with something, saw it, and compose it - if there are a lot of sketches, then a map can turn out - I always write something down. Recently I thought I’d quickly write down an idea before going to bed, but in the end I sat for an hour and came up with 10 drinks. It’s clear that I haven’t tried it yet, and everything is completely different in my head, but I think four of them will definitely be viable, and that’s already good.

Sergey: Yes, it’s either a question of a task or a question of inspiration. The coolest thing is when you come up with not just a cocktail or some combination, but an idea or a joke. This is what is interesting to do - a personal impulse. It’s not even necessary that the guests understand this, but if they do, then it’s nice and cool.

Ivan: We are for meaning.

Sergey: And awareness in everything.

Can anyone learn to make drinks, or do you still need talent?

Ivan: Well, look. I love music, as a child I was put in the very back row with a tambourine, but I still went to learn to play the guitar, there were attempts with a group and so on. Yes, I learned to play, but in my life I can’t pick out a melody by ear, I can play from the notes, but I’m not a musician and I won’t become one. I can also learn to draw, but I’m unlikely to become a great artist, only if it’s modern) It’s the same here: you can learn how to make drinks, but someone has more developed taste buds and the right hands, and a priori he will cook better, because he feels better, and the other will do just fine.

Sergey: I think that this is not entirely true - absolutely anyone can learn and hone a skill, and, as Slava Lankin says: “you can teach a monkey how to make cocktails,” but some subtle things...

Ivan: For example, how you communicate with a person, some situational moments - how to make a bill correctly or not to bear it in some situation - there are a bunch of little things that you, as a professional, in a certain situation, read as a manager of moods. It’s one thing to cook, but how you broadcast it is an art. You can be a great showman because you were born that way, but I will never be a showman - I have a different character.

That is, the most important profession, in your opinion, is not mixing cocktails at all, but communication?

Sergey: Absolutely exactly. It has nothing to do with drinks and cocktails. Drinks and cocktails are a vanity fair - you just stroke your ego that you can do something cool and hope that there will be someone who will come, appreciate it and say “thank you”. In general, bartenders are not about this, but about the fact that when people come to you, you try to make them a little happier.

Ivan: You can take two bars - you come to one, and there is perfect, thin, beautiful glassware, they served you the best tasting cocktail, but it was presented so snobbishly, without soul, that you drank it, and you liked it, but it’s so unfriendly and It’s unpleasant that you just count yourself out and leave. You come to another place, they make you an excellent drink, but not beyond the bounds of godlikeness, but it is so soulful there that you happily stayed and did not notice how time passed. So this profession is about interaction. A person can drink a bottle of wine at home and save a lot of money, but he comes here. The wine doesn’t taste better here, it tastes better to drink here. And when you make it delicious and give it away deliciously, it’s absolutely ideal.

What inspires you?

Sergey: In this regard, I really like the scheme that Stas Kireev told me: you simply broadcast all your experience and somehow refine it. That is, if you see something somewhere, you pass it through yourself and can put it in a drink, for example. I think this is the most correct thing. And inspiration can be found in anything, even in the way your noodles crunched while you were eating, in absolutely abstract little things that are not related to anything.

What about professional events, training?

Sergey: All this gives you a skill, it’s like telling people how to hold a pen. This gives you more functions, and everything around this training is exactly the same communication that we were talking about.

Tell us about the current bar trends – do you follow them?

Sergey: There is a story that when sous vide appeared, everyone started using it, but those who had smart cooks - like ours - explained that it is not needed for everything, it’s not very correct for everythingput a row in the sous vide if you have learned how to use it. You just choose the technique you need and use it.

If we talk about technological trends, now in Russia rotary evaporators are gaining popularity very much, but as one of our friends says, this is just another tool for obtaining a certain product. This is exactly the same device as a shaker or mixing glass.

Ivan: In terms of trends, we have always been trendsetters in Russia. Our industry is quite young, and in the context of our country, we were the first to do a lot of things. The first liqueurs were made here - we taught the whole of Russia how to make them. The first cocktails in barrels are ours, the first cocktails in cans and bottles are ours, we always do everything first, then we give it to others - we’ve played enough and learned - please have fun too, we are not vain in this regard, we don’t keep secrets and we’ll definitely come up with something something new. The same thing with fermentation - when no one knew or talked about it, 3 years ago it was already here.

What equipment would you say is your favorite?

Sergey: Bar spoon!

Ivan: For me it has always been a jigger - I always go with my own, with whom I feel more comfortable. You can always adjust, but I'd rather use the most uncomfortable spoon than the most uncomfortable jigger.

Sergey: That’s cool, for me it’s the other way around. It doesn’t matter to me what kind of measuring cup it is - I can work without it.

Ivan: Yes, it was better without her then than, for example, in St. Petersburg.

Sergey: The guys had specially shaped jiggers, they work very well with them, but they are inconvenient to use if you are not used to them.

Ivan: It’s as if a right-handed person was forced to eat with his left hand - of course, I can, but it will be uncomfortable. That's it, Sergei has a spoon, I have a jigger.

Sergey: It seems to me that a spoon is simply more functional - you can pour it from a bottle, but if you don’t have a spoon, that’s a small problem. Of course, you can interfere with your finger, but there will be questions)

And what is the ideal spoon?

Sergey: The ideal spoon is 20 cm with a drop, a thin Japanese one.

Ivan: Someone likes 40 cm large golden spoons for everyone to see)

Sergey: Perhaps it’s convenient for flaring when you have a large spoon, but such a long one doesn’t even fit into all the twists.

Ivan: It’s not the spoon that makes the man!

How do you approach choosing cookware?

Sergey: It should be functional, minimalistic...

Ivan: And cost reasonable money.

I really love German and Austrian dishes, they usually have a good price and good workmanship. The Italians are also not bad, but they don’t maintain drains well, and you bought yourself some dishes, and then oops – they’re gone, and the leftovers are like dead weight.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

Ivan: It’s hard to say - you get used to everything. This is probably an irregular schedule - it’s hard that you can rarely meet people outside the sphere - parents, relatives. Sometimes you want to change the situation, relax, but it can be hard. The same thing with sports, with a regimen, proper nutrition - this is probably the most inconvenient. A big stress factor too, but this is inherent in many other areas.

Sergey: It’s probably the hardest thing for me to maintain some kind of consistency in my work. That is, this is a job where you have to come and perform a certain number of actions and constantly repeat them. This is quite difficult for me - I want to change something, it becomes boring, so I don’t like to rub dishes, but they always need to be polished.

Ivan: Everyone doesn’t like to rub dishes. Even calluses on my hands remain.

Sergey: There are people who get a thrill from it. In movies, bartenders always polish dishes, and this is true - bartenders always polish dishes)

Ivan: In films they show this moment because it’s the easiest thing - you don’t have to buy the crew a shaker and try to cook something. They gave you any glass and any white rag - that’s it, you’re a bartender.

Sergey: In general, thanks to cinema, a huge number of myths have formed. For example, the James Bond cocktail is not called “James Bond cocktail” at all, but Vesper, and the phrase was translated incorrectly - it should have been shaken in a shaker, and not mixed in a glass. But James Bond, of course, understood the methods of preparing drinks)

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What would you say is the most enjoyable part of your work?

Ivan: Probably trips and new acquaintances.

Sergey: When friends come and you stop them from getting a martini – chic, that’s all I would do) Well, traveling is also very cool. You come, do the same thing you do here and suddenly mix martinis for friends in Italy.

Ivan: When you don’t travel as a tourist, you become more immersed in the atmosphere - they show you some more hidden places, you communicate with people on a different level, and this, of course, is very energizing, you discover a lot of new things for yourself and look at old things in a different way. new. And at the same time, you both worked and rested - nothing but advantages and joy.

If you knew for sure that everything would work out, what profession would you like to try yourself in?

Ivan: It’s hard to say, I’m very happy with what we have now. I definitely wouldn't want to be a professional athlete or a doctor. Sometimes, when everything gets boring and I want to hide in a dark corner, I think about why I’m not a gardener. Now I would walk around calmly, trim the bushes, and no one would bother me. I have a day, pruning shears and foliage, and I belong to myself - no one bothers me, no stress...

Sergey: And at the end there is a picture from “The Godfather” - a glass of wine, Sicily, oranges - grace.

Ivan: If you dream, of course, I have a lot of respect for scientists - this is a steep path.

Sergey: And if I really dreamed, then I would like to be an astronaut) There are a lot of interests, it’s, of course, difficult to choose.

What do you need to do to become a professional in your field?

Ivan: Take the profession seriously, and not as a temporary solution. Time, patience, effort - nothing new can be brought here.