Culinary Elevator: how fast food has grown to haute cuisine
The first experiments with fast food dishes in restaurants appeared more than 20 years ago, and over the past time, this trend has not only not lost its relevance, but, on the contrary, has become an important element of gastronomic progress, opening up a new promising direction for the author's statements of chefs. As a result, sandwiches, shawarma, chebureks, tacos and other simple snacks ceased to be associated with something primitive and, in an interpreted form, occupied worthy places in the menu of various projects — from democratic to premium. For more information about how street food is being transformed in the kitchens of Russian restaurants, see the Izvestia article.
Why chefs started cooking fast food in restaurants
Before appearing in restaurants, street food in Russia was developing quite successfully in its own way. During this time, Russians managed to get their favorite dishes. The surge in fashion for some of them was eventually supported by restaurateurs.
— Shawarma, burgers, I remember, there was also a boom of poke, falafel and fo-bo, — Ilya Blagoveshchensky, brand chef of the Sapiens restaurant (Moscow), told Izvestia. — At some point, their popularity seems to suggest trying to introduce such a dish as an experiment. This is picked up by others, so it spreads further, appearing in different author's versions.
Pancake dog with chicken sausage, wasabi and chorizo sprouts,
According to Alexander Bogdanov, the brand chef of the Cafe Claret and Marius restaurants (St. Petersburg), the interpretation of fast food in restaurants is currently experiencing a peak in popularity. In some places, you can only notice a slight twist on street food, while others experiment with the hits of Soviet catering, reinterpreting them in a modern way. In the restaurant format, such positions are saturated with new bright flavors and are offered in an interesting presentation, which the guests really like.
Donuts with crab
— Fast food itself is a very popular food, there is always a demand for it, so by adding such items to the menu, restaurants demonstrate loyalty to guests and thereby expand their target audience, the brand chef is sure Atlantica Seafood and Atlantica Bistro (Moscow) Denis Krupenya. — In addition, street dishes from different countries, despite the great differences, are easily adapted to different cuisines. For example, Mexican tacos, Peruvian ceviche or Japanese okonomiyaki may well fit into the menu of a European restaurant, adding a touch of exoticism.
Spicy roti flatbread with scorched trout, kimchi cucumbers and tobiko caviar
One of the reasons for the popularity of restaurant versions of fast food is that guests are tired of dishes with complex flavors, says Ruslan Petrov, chef of Mishka Restaurant (Moscow). Simple positions better reflect another popular trend for comfortable, familiar and understandable food today, which has replaced molecular cuisine.
— And another reason that is not obvious at first glance, but, in my opinion, one of the main ones is the shortage of qualified personnel. There are staff in the kitchen and in the hall," our interlocutor continues. — Fast food dishes are prepared quickly and simply enough, there is no need for a high level of skills from the cook, the dish can be served quickly, it is quite difficult to spoil it, and it is easier for the waiter to tell the guest about such a dish, because everything is quite simple and familiar in the cooking technology and ingredients.
What burgers are prepared in restaurants
Of all the variety of foreign fast food, burgers were the first to arrive in our country, back in Soviet times. Thanks to the efforts of fast food restaurant chains, they have firmly entered the diet of our compatriots. The first full-fledged restaurants with burgers on the menu appeared back in the early 2000s. Over the past 20 years, this dish has been presented by chefs in a variety of interpretations, and experiments have been conducted not only with meat, but also with rolls and all other ingredients from the filling.Nevertheless, the masters of haute cuisine still manage to surprise guests with completely new variations of popular sandwiches.
Beef tartare in brioche buns
— Street food sometimes undergoes drastic changes when it gets into the kitchen of a restaurant, and our burger with tartare in the Fitz bar is just a vivid illustration of this," says Alexander Ermakov, brand chef of the Fitz Gastro Project (Moscow). — We baked a special bun suitable in shape, size and taste, and added a little of our signature smoked ketchup and fresh salad to the beef tartare, liberally greased the bun with truffle mayonnaise and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. When the guests eat it, they have all the ingredients of a good burger in completely new textures.
Another burger, invented by our interlocutor for the bistro De Torino, uses a fried glazed rib, which is removed from the bread during serving. This detail is added not only for the sake of the show, but also gives the whole dish an additional flavor. The beef rib for the burger is pre-marinated in special spices, then stews for about 12 hours and smokes a little at the end. The rolls for the dish are baked in the oven at the bistro, and the filling includes pickled cucumbers and homemade ketchup.
Burger with smoked beef rib and cheddar
Another unusual burger with a bear meat patty is offered to guests at the Moscow Mishka restaurant, which has other game dishes on its menu.
— Bear meat is a complex product, you need to be able to cook it properly, and besides, not everyone likes its taste and few people would dare to try it, — says Ruslan Petrov, chef of Mishka restaurant. — So I came up with the idea to make a burger with bear meat, as it would be easier for many guests to experiment with a familiar dish. I spent a long time choosing the recipe for the cutlet, and came up with a sauce that perfectly complements the taste of the bear meat (it later turned out that in Europe and America such a sauce is called "Russian"). We prepare a brioche bun for a burger by hand and complement the dish with a generous portion of cheddar cheese and caramelized onions.
Burger with bear meat patty, caramel onion and cheddar cheese
According to Cihan Deniz, brand chef of the meat restaurant Cihan Turkish Steak and Kebab (Moscow), an important argument in favor of including burgers in the menu of his project was the "flexibility" of this dish, which makes it possible to quickly change its composition in accordance with the specific wishes of the guests.
— For example, for those who adhere to the principles of proper nutrition, a burger can be cooked in salad leaves, and for those who value a spectacular presentation, it will be covered with food gold," our interlocutor explained.
How shawarma is prepared in restaurants
Shawarma is a very popular oriental fast food dish in our country, which has actually become a symbol of street food. It appeared and spread massively in the 1990s. It is not surprising that restaurant chefs began experimenting with this snack (which is also called shawarma, roll, or even shvarma) especially often and in a variety of ways.
Pancake shwarma with hummus and masala chicken
— The pancake shvarma appeared at our place last year, but it made such a strong impression on the guests that we decided to keep it for this Carnival. — brand chef Bogdanov admits. — Besides using a pancake instead of lavash, the filling combines Israeli, Oriental and Indian traditions. It consists of crushed cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, kimchi and masala chicken, so all together it creates a spicy-sweet-sour mix. We serve fried sweet potatoes to the shwarma.
Shawarma with marbled beef
Another version of shawarma can be found on the menu of the Sapiens restaurant, where brand chef Blagoveshchensky complicated this dish by adding a brisket of marbled beef to the filling and combining the meat with his signature plum-based barbecue sauce. All these ingredients combine to create a very powerful taste palette. "It was an absolutely intuitive story, an experiment for the sake of an experiment, which, fortunately, turned out to be very successful," recalls our expert.
Lavash roll with chicken and vegetables in curry sauce
— As for me, "fast food" in restaurants is a rather arbitrary concept, — says James Reduta, chef of the restaurant MoreCofeOcean by Erwin. — We do choose well-known street dishes, but we cook them with higher-quality products, with the addition of some sophistication or special feature. In our case, these are lavash rolls that we make with crab, chicken or duck. At the same time, we add bright accents to the dishes with the help of sauces. The chicken goes with curry, the duck with hoisin and cucumbers (which resembles the Peking duck version), and the crab with kimchi cabbage, avocado and tomato.
What varieties of hot dogs and roti tortillas are found in restaurants
In recent years, experimental versions of hot dogs have increasingly appeared in restaurants, many of which already vaguely resemble traditional sausage rolls.
— Instead of buns in our hot dog, we use pancakes, and the Prague sausage is sent to the original dish, complemented by wasabi spice, which gives the whole treat a new interesting taste, - said brand chef Bogdanov
Big Crab Dog
At Atlantica Seafood and Atlantica Bistro restaurants, you can try crab dog, a kind of marine "hot dog" filled with Kamchatka crab meat, in soft brioche buns baked according to a special recipe using our own equipment. The restaurant also serves a popular Indian fast food dish today — roti tortillas with seared trout, kimchi cucumbers and tobiko caviar.
Roti flatbread with langoustines
Another version of the roti tortillas has recently appeared on the menu of the new Moscow bistro Lea. Avocado and langoustine meat fried on the Japanese robata grill are added to them, so that as a result, the seafood is saturated with a pleasant smoky aroma. "These are not classic ingredients for roti tortillas at all, besides, the whole position has a beautiful restaurant presentation, and it cannot be called fast food in the literal sense of the word, rather, it is a kind of twist on the street food loved by many," says Alexey Volkov, the chef of the bistro.
What other fast food dishes are prepared in restaurants
Relatively new fast food dishes that have appeared in restaurants include Mexican tacos and burritos. A few years ago, chefs began experimenting with these dishes as an interesting national food that deserves special attention.
— In the traditional version, burritos are made with meat, rice, tomatoes and cheese, but we cook them with crab, rethinking the way they are served in the restaurant, but retaining the concept and significantly improving the taste," Pavel Filatov, chef of Sangre Fresca restaurant (Moscow), shared his experience. — All types of our tacos combine sweet, salty and sour notes, which makes their taste more interesting and memorable.
Crab, burrito and guacamole
To make tacos with duck, the bird is boiled in spices and barbecue sauce and hot sauce are added to it. The peculiarity of tacos with chicken is that the meat is pre-soaked in a salty solution and cooked in breadcrumbs, after which pineapple is added to it, which makes the dish very fragrant. In barbacoa tacos, the pure taste of meat is delicately combined with the sweetness of confit onions. Chef Filatov added sweet potato fries to other popular fast food dishes that are especially common in restaurants today.
Tacos with chicken, salsa, pineapple and guacamole
Russian chebureks should also be added to the list of the most popular street food that has migrated to restaurant menus. In recent years, there has been a certain fashion to cook these huge dishes. But there is also a lot of experimentation with traditional options.
— The peculiarity of chebureks is that each one is cooked and fried exclusively "from under the knife," that is, to order," explained the chef of the Redoubt to our publication. — For meat chebureks, I use marbled beef, which I pre-marinate for 6 hours, and also add various sauces to the minced meat for a special taste. I cook crab filling for chebureks with spicy sauce and flying fish caviar, which is also atypical for classic chebureks.
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