An immodest breakfast: how brunches have become popular in Russia
Over the past decade, our gastronomic vocabulary has expanded not only with new names of dishes and cooking techniques, but also with previously unknown formats. Brunches that combine elements of breakfast and lunch have become one of these well-established innovations. This format came to us from the hotel culture of the USA and Western Europe, where it has long become a popular way of Sunday leisure. Izvestia found out what types of brunches can be found in Russian restaurants today and what the local specifics are.
Why did Russians like brunches?
Brunches have been actively appearing in restaurants in major Russian cities since the 2010s, and this format almost immediately proved to be in great demand among Russians. The idea of brunch flowing smoothly into lunch with close people quickly gained a lot of fans. Perhaps this was facilitated by the fact that many of our compatriots have already tried out buffet tables in restaurants at hotels in resorts operating on an all-inclusive system.
"A buffet is a format for serving dishes in the public domain, whereas brunch is a way of conducting gastronomic leisure," Atrem Martirosov, chef of the Black Thai restaurant of modern Thai cuisine (Moscow), told Izvestia. — It combines the desire for a beautiful life, the opportunity to eat and drink a lot and for a long time, without thinking about the final score, because the amount is known in advance. At brunches, people celebrate holidays and arrange meetings with friends — it's very convenient.
Sunday brunches at Black Thai appeared last fall and include about 80 Thai dishes displayed on a huge bar counter. Guests are offered top items from the menu: green papaya salad, tuna tartare with mango, pomelo and shrimp, tom yam, pad thai, curry, sea bass with crispy basil, Bangkok duck, etc. About three months after the launch of the brunch, it became clear that the booking depth for Sunday dinners reaches six months and many people can not get to them in any way. As a result, this spring it was decided to divide it into two streams — morning and evening, ending at 6 p.m. At the same time, the same set of constantly updated dishes is served in both sessions.
One of the first projects to popularize brunches since their appearance in Moscow was the Turandot restaurant. Unlike most places, feasts of this format are held here not only on Sundays, but also on Saturdays.
— We are setting up a large buffet line with an assortment of Asian dishes and a number of European dishes, — Dmitry Yeremeyev, chef of the Turandot restaurant, shared the details. — Some appetizers, such as tuna and mango aburi, marbled beef mini skewers, baked oysters, crab bao, are served by the waiters to the guests at the table. And at about 15:00 we bring out a large dish, with an assortment of either baked fish and seafood, or meat dishes (lamb loin, marbled rib eye, beef ribs).
Along with weekend brunches, Turandot immediately launched a series of thematic events in this format. First of all, the guests appreciated the New Year's Eve brunches, where they are served whole baked sterlet and the restaurant's signature dish, Peking duck. Oyster brunches held in December have become a good tradition, during which you can try and compare six types of shellfish from different countries. Easter and school brunches (timed to coincide with September 1) are also popular, as well as the Cosmonautics Day feast, when salads and desserts are served with dressings and creams in tubes.
What is the difference between Russian brunches?
In Russia, brunches borrowed from the West have been reformatted, adopting some of the features of the traditional national feast.
"In short, the difference between domestic brunches is that they are more plentiful and generous here,— says Maxim Tarusin, chef of the Voskhod restaurant (Moscow). — Both in terms of the number of dishes and the format as a whole. In Europe, brunch is more often about a croissant, a poached egg and a glass of prosecco. We have a table full of appetizers, hot dishes, desserts, with good wine, sparkling wine and even vodka. It's our culture to treat, surprise, and delight. We have made a bet on a celebration of taste and nostalgia — so that everyone can find something native, but at the same time beautifully served and with restaurant quality.
Guests come to such events in Vostok for the tastes they remember from childhood. Absolute favorites are Olivier salad with sausage and beef stroganoff made from marbled beef, with classic cream sauce and mashed potatoes. Another hit is a toast with minced meat on Borodino bread.
Brunches here are also divided into morning and evening, but the menu remains equally generous in both parts, so guests can try all of the 170 items regardless of time. In the morning, they often take cold snacks, desserts, and drink sparkling coffee. And later in the evening, there is more interest in hot food, meat, pilaf, vodka. The kitchen team takes this difference into account and ensures that everything is served fresh, the dishes are updated, and the rotation takes place on time.
How new varieties of brunches appeared in Russia
Gastronomically, brunches are becoming more diverse: restaurants are experimenting with international dishes, adding elements of fusion cuisine and offering signature cocktails. There is also a growing interest in healthy eating, which is why many establishments are introducing vegetarian and gluten-free options to the menu.
"In recent years, there has been a tendency to create unique concepts where, in addition to delicious and varied food, there are also entertainment programs, such as cooking workshops or wine tastings," adds Mamiya Jojua, brand chef at Kazbek Restaurant (Moscow). — National vocal and dance groups perform at our themed brunches. This creates a festive atmosphere and makes the whole process more emotional.
According to our interlocutor, the brunch at Kazbek can be considered as a kind of daytime interpretation of supra, a traditional Georgian feast that takes place in the evening and includes many dishes and toasts. Among the cold appetizers on the menu are salads with tomatoes and cucumbers, which are prepared with Kakheti butter or walnuts, vegetable stew with eggplant and pepper ajapsandal and assorted phali. From the hot one, you can try lamb or chicken kebabs, as well as baked vegetables with spices. The brunch hit is khinkalioli (mini khinkali) with lamb in pepper sauce and salmon in caviar sauce. Colorful khinkali and mini khachapuri in Adjarian style are prepared for younger guests.
Another relatively young trend is guest or touring brunches, when a chef from another project joins the resident chef in the kitchen and each offers guests a set of their own signature dishes, which make up the overall menu.
"The most interesting thing about the chef's guest appearance is a completely different view of products and their preparation, recipes, and traditions," says Alexander Kucherov, brand chef at 0.75 Please Moscow. — Moscow cuisine has its own style, and when a master from another region arrives, he demonstrates a completely different handwriting, which is perfectly revealed in a very light brunch format through the prism of a comfortable dining meal.
On Saturday, May 17, the 0.75 Please Moscow restaurant will host a French-style guest brunch with the participation of the chef of the Novosibirsk Pardon my French project, Francois Fournier. The invited participant will prepare oysters with jasmine and wild cherry ice cream and Crimean asparagus with goat cheese. Brand chef Kucherov will add onion soup with dried venison and tete de moine cheese and trout with poached tops, and for dessert there will be creme brulee with dandelion sorbet, which were delivered from the Smolensk region.
Brunches are no longer directly associated with late hearty breakfasts, but are gradually turning into independent gastronomic events, sometimes resembling sets or chef's tables.
— The struggle for new guests and for the loyalty of regular customers every day forces the industry to develop and come up with new positions and combinations, — Daniel Shitov, the founder of the gastrobar Blush, is convinced. — The restaurateurs do not just want to feed the guests, but to pleasantly surprise them so that they return in the future. And a set brunch is great for that. It is aesthetically pleasing and delicious, as the chef selects dishes that are combined with each other.
A seafood set brunch has been popular at Blush for more than two years, featuring phalanxes of crabs, several types of shrimp, and sea urchins or oysters, depending on the season. Among the full—fledged signature dishes are tuna tataki with yuzu sauce, truffle oil and ginger, trout tartare with grapes, passion fruit and almond sauce, scallop crudo with ponzu sauce and mango jelly and sea bass ceviche with compressed cucumber, tamote salsa and passion fruit sauce. "This is no longer just a number of dishes to choose from, but a plateau of seafood delicacies assembled into a single gastronomic cocktail weighing almost 1 kg," concludes our interlocutor.
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