Resident's food: what food trends are being developed by hotel restaurants
A few years ago, hotel restaurants were not very popular. There was a certain stereotype that they were primarily intended for guests. In addition, many of these establishments were often located in enclosed spaces, without direct entrance from the street, so that guests from the outside might not even guess about their presence. But today the situation is changing and many hotels are making an additional bet on conceptual gastronomic projects to attract a new audience. Izvestia found out what trends are typical for hotel restaurants today using the example of five establishments from different regions of the country.
Cafe Claret and Marius at the Helvetia Hotel (Saint Petersburg)
Modern guests are increasingly choosing the hotel where they are going to stay, not only according to the level of service or location, but also according to what additional experience they can get during their stay. And gastronomy is one of the most sought—after components of such an experience.
"Having a conceptual restaurant in a hotel can be a decisive argument when choosing, especially if a person appreciates food, likes to try new things, and wants to experience without having to leave the hotel," Yunis Teymurkhanli, hotelier and restaurateur, owner of the Helvetia Hotel in St. Petersburg, told Izvestia. — The restaurant becomes an extension of the atmosphere, a part of the mood with which the guest associates his stay. This is no longer just a place to eat, but an important element of the overall story. Breakfast, lunch, dinner — they turn into emotional moments that are remembered no less than the room or the view from the window.
Crumpets with truffle and soft cheese
The Cafe Claret restaurant at Helvetia combines in its concept the aesthetics of the author's cuisine with modern European gastronomy, French classics and Asian motifs. The brand chef of the project, Alexander Bogdanov, rethinks different culinary traditions, but relies on local products, creating an adapted, meaningful version of global trends. The dishes remain recognizable, but they arouse interest due to the wow-presentation, modern techniques and taste nuances.
"One of the typical examples at Cafe Claret is trout, which we cook right in front of the guests,— Yunis Teymurkhanli shares the details. — The fish is cooked in four minutes in red-hot beeswax, acquiring a honey flavor and sweetness. The second dish is our interpretation of Leningrad street crumpets, which we make from dough according to the recipe of the legendary urban crumpet, adding a little buckwheat flour to the dough. Inside is homemade cottage cheese with black truffle, on top is grated Lipetsk Gruyere cheese. This is a story about local tastes reinterpreted with respect and light humor.
However, the restaurant offers guests not only a la carte, but also gastronomic sets, which sometimes embody Bogdanov's most daring gastronomic experiments. At the moment, there is a "FoodGik", which we have already talked about.
Meat and cabbage pies
The second restaurant at the hotel is called Marius, and the emphasis in it is on comfortable cuisine with clean tastes and understandable dishes that you want to return to. These are, for example, juicy and crispy mini chebureks with rich minced meat, pies made from our own puff pastry with cabbage and meat, and a homemade cutlet with mashed potatoes and pickled cucumber, which is especially popular among guests, all of which evoke associations with food from childhood.
The hotel has two kitchens at once, while the menu for room service is not abbreviated, so when ordering food in the room, the guest receives the same dish, in the same quality as in the restaurant hall, the source adds. But for a restaurant to come alive, it must be interesting not only to the guests. Therefore, the projects at Helvetia were immediately targeted at a wider audience. And today, the ratio of hotel guests and guests "from the street" is almost one to one. In addition, the entire space works not only as a hotel and restaurant, but also as an event venue. For example, Helvetia Picnics has become a separate brand with a strong gastronomic component (the next one will be held on May 31), for which people come from different cities, book rooms and become part of an atmospheric weekend.
"39" at the 39 Hotel (Rostov-on-Don)
The creators of the 39 Boutique Hotel have set themselves the task of introducing guests and guests to the unique and distinctive Don culture. Therefore, the restaurant "39" and the panoramic terrace-bar Rooftop 39 have become a kind of "embassy" of Rostov gastronomy.
— Our author's menu has a lot of authentic dishes and flavors, and we pay special attention to seasonal products, — Maxim Artyukhov, brand chef of the Sateen Group, shared his approach. — These are farm vegetables, fruits and honey from the steppe apiary, as well as organic eggs and flour of various grades for the breads that we bake. We also prepare spelt and black lentils, which can only be tasted here. We make our own preparations, including the famous Don chapra seasoning according to the Cossack recipe.
Draniki with pike caviar and Don oil
For breakfast, the restaurants at 39 offer potato pancakes with pike caviar and salmon or with salmon and sour cream, as well as an option with oatmeal parfait, poppy seed souffle and cherry jam. In addition, themed breakfasts are held for guests, with dishes related to the work of famous writers who were related to Rostov—on-Don. Suzma with honeycomb and fried kernels of wild apricot kernels is responsible for the Cossack flavor from the "Quiet Don". And in honor of the "Master and Margarita" Mikhail Bulgakov, who, as is commonly believed, often visited the billiard room, which used to be located on the site of the hotel, they serve pike caviar with green onions, sour cream and Napoleon made from Borodino bread, as well as a poached egg with cream of champignons, Serbian truffle and green asparagus. And they also add millet porridge with turkey sausages stewed in tomato chapra to literary sets.
The Royal Breakfast
One of the main advantages of the hotel restaurant is the steady flow of visitors, especially during breakfast. This allows you to experiment with formats, including offering different products from local manufacturers. At the same time, with a heavy hotel load, it can sometimes be difficult to pay decent attention to guests "from the city".
— Our restaurants are not just an annex to the hotel, but an important part of the overall hospitality system, — concludes our interlocutor. — In addition to thematic and guest events with invited chefs, we hold charity Dog's Parties for animal lovers. We set our own food trends in the city — for example, we offer travel packages for travelers, we arrange special dinners in the Chef's lounge format. And this, of course, also increases interest in the boutique hotel as a gastro-tourism destination.
"#SibirSibir" at the Azimut Hotel (Novosibirsk)
It was not by chance that the first large-scale restaurant of Russian-Siberian cuisine in Novosibirsk was opened at a business hotel of a large international chain. It was important for its creators to present both the guests of the city and the locals with all the rich culinary traditions of the Siberian and Ural regions.
— The main trends that we promote are authenticity, traditions, and history, — Evgeny Kuznetsov, brand chef of #SibirSibir restaurants, told our publication. — In our opinion, it is very important today to properly convey the traditional values of regional gastronomy. Not everyone knows how to work competently with game, with seasonal local products, but for us these are priority items.
Roast beef from a deer
The gastronomic concept of the restaurant is a mix of traditional and modern Russian cuisine with elements of Soviet and Nordic cuisine. The main Siberian hit is roast beef from deer with potato risotto. From the Soviet heritage, muksun under a fur coat is especially noteworthy, reflecting the classics of the genre in a new way. And the Russian tradition is represented by dumplings with game, fish or several types of meat, as well as fern, which is served as a side dish and as an independent dish. Seasonal products, including meat and mushrooms, are updated in a timely manner in menu items throughout the year. Since the restaurant is located in a business hotel, there is also a specific moment associated with the request of guests for meeting rooms, separate halls and secluded places. Themed spaces are also popular, such as a hunting hall with a fireplace, a hall in the style of a Soviet apartment or a dining car, as well as a fan hall dedicated to the Siberia hockey club.
"Guests often organize business dinners and meetings with us to learn or show all the charm of the northern region," adds our interlocutor. — Many people come to SibirSibir specifically to taste Siberian-Soviet cuisine, so we can be considered the gastronomic face of the region in the capital of Siberia.
Lea at the Maidens Hotel (Moscow)
The gastronomic concept of Lea is based on a combination of flavors of Southern European cuisine with Asian motifs, which is most clearly manifested today in the fashionable trend of itameshi, in which Mediterranean dishes are adapted to Japanese techniques and ingredients. At the same time, 90% of the products come to the restaurant from local manufacturers, and their use is carried out in accordance with a responsible approach to zero waste consumption.
—Classic hotel restaurants tend to rely on universal room service food (sandwiches, caesar salad) without a clear concept," says Alexey Volkov, chef of Lea Bistro and Bar. — In our case, everything is different: we have our own idea, our own kitchen and a clear positioning. Yes, we include several typical items for hotel guests in the menu, but in general it is an author's, elaborate gastronomy.
Striploin slices with tonnato sauce
One of the restaurant's business cards is thinly sliced slices of aged striploin with tonnato sauce and homemade kimchi paste. The meat is toasted on top, singed with a burner and a birch log, and complemented with Japanese seaweed and wasabi root dressing. Another interesting position reflecting the Lea concept is an appetizer of baked Murmansk hedgehog with lobster, espuma made from three types of aged cheeses (all made in Russia) and Japanese kabayaki sauce. Other iconic dishes include tom yam with seafood tortellini, pasta with langoustines and coconut bisque, Wellington trout with champagne sauce, and truffle tart with vanilla ice cream and sea salt. Each position is precisely adjusted according to the combination of ingredients, the play of textures and the balance of flavors. But the main thing, according to Volkov, is that the food is not overloaded with meanings: with a rather complex technical design, it remains understandable.
The Danish pancake
However, the originality begins with breakfast, where there is a Danish pancake bolognese, green buckwheat with espuma parmesan or roti with langoustines. The restaurant is open around the clock (both bar and kitchen), which is important for guests coming from other countries and time zones.
"When a restaurant lives its own vibrant, independent life, rather than just serving rooms, it shows that the philosophy of the place is well thought out, and it pays off," our interlocutor is convinced. — Here they make appointments, work, relax, create content. This is a full-fledged gastrospace that forms the image of the hotel and its attractiveness not only for tourists, but also for the local audience.
"Black Fox" at the Grand Hotel Polyana (Sochi, Krasnaya Polyana)
One of the most famous restaurants of the popular Sochi resort at an altitude of 550 m above sea level. Andrey Kolodyazhny, a gastronobotanist, is responsible for the project's cuisine, so the menu includes dishes with mushrooms and edible wild plants.
— Our concept is based on the use of local local products and especially endemic ones, with which I have been working for more than 20 years, — explained brand chef Kolodyazhny. — The main trends in cuisine are the sustainable development of not only gastronomy, but also other local products, as well as the promotion of the cuisine of the native region. In short, the taste of the mountains and the sea in your vision.
Duck with chestnut cream
There are about 40 dishes on the menu, but our interlocutor's author's approach can best be illustrated in three positions: "Black chanterelle" made of goat cheese with walnuts, green borscht of herbs and nettles with poached egg and duck fillet with chestnut cream, apple chutney and dried beetroot. The menu features classic European dishes, meat delicacies and fresh seafood, while the bar serves fruit tarts and tinctures.
— The loading of the hotel at the resort depends quite a lot on the season, and because of this it can be difficult for us, - admits brand chef Kolodyazhny. — But the fact that gastrotourism has been really developing in recent years saves us. The "Black Fox" is well known and they come to us specially or often come back, as the guests really like the local and local cuisine.
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