Evgeniy Sidichkin, AZIMUT Olympic

In a new interview, we talked with the new chef of the AZIMUT Olympic Moscow hotel, Evgeny Sidichkin. Evgeniy told us about his path in the profession, about the specifics of working as a chef in a hotel and how important it is to take a break in time to find (or not lose) yourself.

Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get into this profession?

My name is Evgeniy. I entered the profession in 2000. I didn’t enter the Institute of Food Industry - I was missing a couple of points, so my father said: “You’ll go to PU” - to a cooking school. I had to study there for a year, so I said: “Okay, next year, maybe I’ll try to go to college again.” So I entered a vocational school, completed my studies, graduated with honors and got an internship at the five-star Marriott Grand hotel. It so happened that I was noticed there, and out of ten people from the practice, I was the only one hired. I immediately got an internship in a VIP restaurant with French professionals, and my career ladder at Marriott took off. I worked at this hotel for 12 years and left there as a sous chef - I went ahead to develop further. I worked in a spa hotel in Barvikha, but not for long, because the volumes were small, and I was used to large ones. Then he worked at Korston as a chef for three years, got laid off, then wanted to change his profession, but couldn’t find himself. Somehow it happened that they called me from here and offered me the position of deputy chef. I agreed, did a tasting and they hired me, and I have been working here for almost 4 years. In November, our boss left - at first I replaced him, then I was offered the position of chief, but I didn’t agree for a long time...

Why?

I have already worked as a chef, I know that this is a big responsibility.

Has your entire career path been hotels?

Yes, I only worked in hotels, because here it is more interesting: there are restaurants, banquet services, and outdoor events - everything you need. It's not boring here.

What achievements in your profession are you proud of? Which ones make you happy?

I know how to work well with a team. This is probably what makes me most happy. Because a cohesive team is a single working machine, this is how it should be in the kitchen, as well as everywhere else. A close-knit team is the best thing that can happen to a chef - when his subordinates support and respect him. And this still needs to be achieved.

Is creating dishes more of a creative or technical process for you? How do you approach this?

It all depends on what exactly this or that dish is created for: for a restaurant, some kind of celebration, or something else. There are creative dishes. For example, now for the shooting there was complete improvisation - I was guided simply by my knowledge.

So, in some sense, creating a dish is the result of your experience?

So to speak.

What do you like more: cooking classic dishes or experimenting?

Differently. It all depends on what you are preparing for.

Is it difficult to come up with new dishes for hotels? There is also a special contingent here – many guests from abroad. And what guides you when working on the menu?

Now there is such a trend that there is no need to invent anything special. European guests just want to eat delicious food.

Is taste the most important thing for you? Tell us more.

It is important that at the first glance at the dish the guest has a desire to eat it, it must be presentable, which is why, in addition to taste, quality is very important. But if a delicious dish doesn’t look presentable, then you won’t want to eat it.

You said that it is more interesting to work in a hotel than in a restaurant. Why?

You have to think not only about the restaurant, but about many things at once, this helps development. About the same canteen for staff, about restaurants, bars. There are many areas that you work with.

Are there any trends among guests other than the fact that they just want to eat delicious food? Can you predict what guests will definitely like or, on the contrary, not like? Any flavors or types of serving?

This is working directly with the client. We talk with guests, learn about their preferences and try to meet them. We create a specific menu or introduce a new pricing policy. PracticallyWe work with each client individually.

Catering and banquet menus are characterized by working with guests directly, upon request. Is the food you serve to your guests more universal? Does the work differ between these areas and how much?

There are small nuances, but there are no big differences, because when creating a menu, for example, a restaurant menu, we rely on our guests and their wishes. We collect all the opinions and reviews in a pile and start raking it in. The same room service - many guests ask: “Do you have this?”, and when creating the next menu, we rely on such questions.

How often do you change the menu?

About once every six months. Now we will change the room service menu, and then we will update the banquet menu. Recently there was Maslenitsa - there was also a new menu. Accordingly, the Lenten menu is now.

It turns out that you traditionally follow seasonality and holidays.

Certainly. We understand that it is better to cook a regular pancake with butter and caviar for Maslenitsa than to sculpt something unusual and unusual. There is no such trend, at least here, judging by the wishes of our guests - no one needs it.

That is, no frills, the main thing is that it is tasty and pleasant to look at. Does it happen that guests say that they do not want to see a certain dish, and they would prefer to see another? How often do such precedents happen? Do you change the menu immediately if this happens?

No, we are not changing the menu at the moment. We have certain acceptable limits where we can do something at the guest’s request. This is a completely normal practice in all restaurants if a guest is not satisfied with something on the menu.

Are there any things in food that you pay special attention to guests? For example, a seasonal product or some kind of presentation, some fashion trend or trend.

The hotel business is developing with the times, and accordingly, new products are appearing; of course, we are looking at this.

But the restaurant has a certain audience, ours is a tourist destination: here are children, grandmothers, adults, and companies. We rely on each group, but do not set such high standards. There are certain banquets where, at the request of the guest, we can use both black caviar and oysters. And we did client events to surprise as much as possible.

In this matter, we still pay more attention to our clients than to fashion.

Despite all the variety, do you have any specific concept that you adhere to?

I work in different directions, and there is no purely one direction for me. I change, I mix.

Do you cook at home? Do you have the strength and desire for this?

I cook at home, of course.

Do you feel pleasure from this?

I feel pleasure when my wife and children say “thank you” to me.

Do you feel that sometimes you are so creative at work that you no longer feel like cooking at home?

It's the other way around for me. Especially when I come out of town: I love everything related to barbecues and will cook it myself with pleasure.

What is the most challenging part of your job? What is not fun or annoying at all? For many, this is paperwork.

You know, I have a lot of paperwork. You have no idea.

Sometimes, when something new appears, it happens that I overthink myself, but as they say: “the eyes are afraid, but the hands do.” It can be annoying when something is not delivered or found during procurement. In short, some work moments are sometimes not enjoyable.

What's the best part?

When guests are happy, when you receive letters of happiness, when clients thank you: “everything was delicious,” “thank you very much.”

Do you have any favorite techniques, technologies, equipment? Work with textures, for example, or something else?

We have a lot of equipment, but I mostly work the old fashioned way: board, knife, stove, frying pan. If, of course, you need something - sous vide, cream, texture, it’s all there, but I leave it to my employees.

You said that there is a good relationship with the teamIve - this is important, but is there any secret or strategy on how to achieve this?

I am a loyal, simple, open person. Maybe this helps. My doors are always open - any chef can come and talk, no problem. Because before, in five-star hotels, a simple cook could talk to the chef... well, that wasn’t the case. And they were more afraid because they were mostly foreigners. Maybe this is an open Russian soul.

You said that you tried to find yourself, but couldn’t when you wanted to change your profession. But maybe you had some kind of childhood dream?

We've all wanted to be astronauts before. I definitely didn’t want to become a cook. I wanted to repair cars, but you see how fate decreed - it took its toll.

Is there any profession or activity now that you would like to do and devote a lot of time to? Maybe a hobby?

I have already found myself in my life; apart from the profession of a cook, I have no reference points. The moment I left the chef life, I needed to rest. I had to change something, free my head, do something else. In the end, I came here when such an offer came. Still, the cook's hands are in place, his head is in place - you can go back.

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

You just have to remain professional. If you are a professional internally, then you already have everything you need. You have to love your job. Respect your colleagues. Just do what you love. If the matter is unbearable for you, then it is better not to do it.