The planet’s biggest culinary celebration takes place when The World’s 50 Best Restaurant List announces this year’s popularity ranking on Tuesday June 25th at the dazzling grand theatre of Marina Sands Bay in Singapore.
But already today the list from 51-120 was released with the mesmerizing CoCoCo in Saint Petersburg, gastronomically head by Russian storyteller Igor Grishechkin, entering the list for the first time ranked as #104.
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A B O U T C O C O C O
For many, Russian food remains an enigma, enclosed between stereotypes of the Soviet regime and pre-revolutionary romanticised notions of Russians only eating blinis with caviar.
The reality is contemporary chefs such as Cococo’s Igor Grishechkin are combining staple products and flavours of their childhood with a modern, more technical and creative lens, and in time potentially creating new Russian cuisine as forward (and historic) as new Nordic.
That being said; if you know Russian culture, literature, poetry and history then you quite easily can understand Igor Grishechkin’s universe. But even if not, you cannot but help being amused by his cooking’s playfulness, almost as telling fairytales to a child.
Through creativity he has set a clear culinary path by telling grand tales of Russia’s history though his dishes. From the opulent area of the Tsars, over the Communist Soviet Union, to a tantalising New Russian Cuisine partly shaped through the struggles of embargoes.
Of a proud heart he cooks the very soul of his home country.
Cooking history – here Russian Imperialism in shape of white chocolate Fabergé egg with caviar, sauce hollandaise and gold recalls the Easter jewel that Alexander III would give to Empress Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark) each year.
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This results in an experience that narrates stories of Russian yesteryear in the present, conjures the spirit of especially Saint Petersburg that delights your inner-child and only cooked with pristine products from the North-Western part of the world’s largest country.
“Memory informs a great many of my dishes”, explains Igor. “I set out to bring restaurant recognition to seemingly humble traditional tastes and nostalgic Russian dishes from my childhood that have been forgotten. I re-evaluate them to create a new extraordinary cuisine.”
“My cooking is about authentic Russian tastes, only everything is modernised with a new identity and, most importantly, a new optimism and joy.”
The restaurant’s appearance, alike its cuisine, is modern and undeniably Russian. Bright, ethnic, clear and ironic. Velvet and wood, gold and dinner china, mirrors, shining crystals and hovering black feathers of the restaurant’s symbol; the Hen.
With “cococo” being close to the phonographic Russian for a hen’s “cluck-cluck-cluck”. Over-all the details of Cococo’s decor creates an alluring image of a jewellery box you want to continuously look at, bewitched and mesmerized.
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Matilda Shnurova
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CoCoCo opened in 2012 and is the brainchild of celebrity, style icon, global diner and patron of the ballet, Matilda Shnurova. With a nymph-like elegance befitting of the Silver Age of Russian poetry Matilda has created Saint Petersburg’s most fashionable and forward-thinking restaurant.
Andrey Zakharin, Chief Editor and Chairman of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy for Russia, Central Asia & Eastern Europe, explains;
“Matilda is acquainted with all current culinary trends, and together with Igor she travels the world to study and experience the best restaurants. This knowledge does not change but instead enrich the strict and clear concept of CoCoCo, working only with local products of the North-Western region of Russia.
This conscious asceticism, as well as knowing of contemporary cooking techniques, gives Igor Grishechkin the opportunity to show his talent and Matilda, to present it to the world.”
A mother’s broken flower – the most Instagrammed dish in Russia.
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SELECTED LINKS
ROYALTY OF RUSSIAN DINING – HONEST COOKING
COCOCO WEBSITE – A NEW PRESENTATION OF RUSSIAN CUISINE
IGOR GRISHECHKIN: A RUSSIAN CULINARY STAR – CHEF’S PENCIL
TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN FOOD REINVENTED – FINE DINING LOVERS
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Bon Vivant Communications is a culinary embassy representing star chefs and restaurants, chateaux and high-end wineries as well as working close together with various luxury hotels, gourmets festivals and bespoke concierges services.
The diplomacy speaks to a strong network of 600 journalists, bloggers and writers, as well as 5000+ global diners around the world.
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Hungry for more? Go into depth with Igor Grishechkin’s cooking.
