Within the frames of Days of Armenian Culture, the first gastronomical experiment GOURMET FEST took place at Assunta Madre Restaurant on May 28 and became a step towards the creation of a unique menu connecting Armenian traditional and Haute cuisines.

 

Non-governmental organization Armenian Assembly, with the participation and support of the Embassy of the RA in the RF as well as Russian and New Nakhichevan Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church, is holding the Days of Armenian Culture in Moscow, from May 27 to June 1, 2019.

 

GOURMET FEST – the first and yet the only in its kind gastronomic evening, with the participation of owners and chefs of Michelin Star restaurants – Karen Torosyan (Bozar Restaurant, Brussels, Belgium) and Stefano Ciotti (Nostrano Restaurant, Pesaro, Italy), chefs of leading restaurants in Armenia (Chinar, The Club, Mayrig, Lavash) and chef cook Narek Avagyan from Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow.

 

The event, organized by Armenian Assembly has a two-day format: on May 27, round table with the participation of restaurant industry representatives tackling the discussion on professional points, and on May 28, gastronomical evening – gala dinner.

 

The gala dinner was opened by Tina Kandelaki and the co-chair of the Committee of Sports and Youth, famous football journalist Nobel Arustamyan. Archbishop Ezras Nersisyan blessed the evening and Armenian Assembly’s endeavors to the benefit of the Armenian nation.

 

Nobel Arustamyan

 

“Thanks to the talent of our “Michelin Stars” Karen Torosyan and Stefano Ciotti, as well as chefs of leading restaurants in Armenia, the Armenian cuisine today came forward with new colors, accents and shades.”

 

As a result of this mutual art, the menu, representing a unique fusion of Armenian traditional and Haute cuisines, was created, being based on Armenian ingredients and European techniques.

 

Karen Torosyan, Bozar restaurant, Brussels, Belgium:

 

“Armenian cuisine is my heritage. My specialty is the French cuisine, but there are Armenian accents left in it.”

 

Stefano Ciotti, Pesaro Restaurant, Nostrano, Italy:

 

“I think that uniting cultures through culinary, in a plate and around a round table, is the best way to connect nations. I believe this is a perfect starting point for new culinary explorations.”

 

The menu combined Armenian gastronomical traditions and culinary techniques common in Italy and France. The dinner started with cold appetizers – ceviche from Armenian whitefish with crayfish neck and special filling of basil, oysters with buckwheat and sturgeon caviar, Armenian trout marinated with citruses as per the Gravlax technique, after which the guests were served with hot appetizers – crispy aubergines with sheep cheese and walnut spices. The main dish of the evening was the Risotto from Armenian hachar with parmesan, lamb confit and Dilijan mountain mushrooms. As for the desserts, the guests were offered Fraisier with mulberry, and milk pudding with pistachio and rose petal jam.

 

During the evening guests enjoyed famous wines Zorah Yeraz, marked by Bloomberg as the best wines of Armenia, as well as the legendary brandy Ararat Aznavour Signature Blend, the symbol and pride of Armenia. Special cocktails with pomegranate and Cointreau were also served to the guests.

 

The guests of the GOURMET FEST were the representatives of the restaurant industry, cultural, diplomatic and business elite of Armenia and Russia, as well as members of the Board of Presidium of Armenian Assembly. Among the invitees of the GOURMET FEST were famous figures, like the president and founder of “Tashir group” Samvel Karapetyan, co-owner and chair of the Supervisory Board of «Alfa Group» consortium Mikhail Fridman, entrepreneur, member of the Presidium of Armenian Assembly Vahe Yengibaryan, owner of “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”  Konstantin Remchukov, General Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery Zelfira Tregulova, academicians Dmitry Pushkar and Armais Kamalov, restaurateurs Boris Zarkov, Alexander Sorkin, Alexander Rappoport, managing director of Yandex Tigran Khudaverdyan, Russian state figure Sergey Kapkov, president of Moscow football club CSKA, member of the Board of Trustees and member of Presidium of Armenian Assembly Yevgeni Giner, producer Ruben Dishdishyan, the Ambassador of Armenia in Russia Vardan Toganyan, musician, composer and producer, member of the Presidium of Armenian Assembly Stas Namin, member of the Women's Initiative Committee of Armenian Assembly Irina Pochitaeva, media figures Ksenia Sobchak, Andrey Malakhov and Tina Kandelaki, famous designer Aleksander Siradekian.

 

Aline Kamakian, entrepreneur and founder of Mayrig restaurants

 

“I am truly grateful for this initiative. Indeed ever since I started exploring the world, I wanted to mark Armenian cuisine and put it on the culinary world map. Now the Armenian flag is in many places thanks to Mayrig. And today, in Russia, I can proudly say that we introduced the Armenian dishes to Moscow.

 

The Armenian Assembly did join us together, gathering the largest number of Armenian diaspora under one roof.”

 

David Yeremyan, founder and owner of Yeremyan Projects (“Tavern Yerevan” restaurants chain, restaurants “Lavash”, “Sherep”, “Smoking Chief”)

 

“This kind of forums should be carried out systematically, to achieve our common objective, which is popularization of Armenian cuisine in the world, its representation as a brand. Many countries are famous by their national cuisine, and Armenian one by no aspects concedes to the French, Italian, Chines or Georgian cuisine. We even have advantages: Armenian cuisine is one of the healthiest. Armenia is very rich by organic products and it is a huge supremacy, which can be used by few countries in a world“

 

This outstanding event will have its continuation. During the gala dinner, «Armenian Assembly» announced about the release of the gastronomic project in Armenia. The new project, GOURMET, will start in Yerevan this autumn.

 

Ashot Barseghyan, representative of MBG Hospitality, co-chair of Armenian Restaurant Association

 

“I want to express my deep gratitude to Armenian Assembly for organizing such an important and timely event for the improvement of Armenian gastronomy image and quality. We hope that the announced event in Yerevan will be organized on such a high level as was this one. I am sure that we will organize the first GOURMET FEST in Armenia to the best of our abilities. This was the first event of GOURMET FEST and it went perfect. Next time, we will organize in a wider format, because we, Armenians, have a lot to show, to tell and to see. I wish us all good luck in our endeavours.”

 

The mission of GOURMET FEST is the popularization of the Armenian cuisine in the world, the positioning of Armenia on the world gastronomic map, and the creation of a platform for the exchange of experience and new ideas. The project will annually gather together international experts of gastronomy and restaurant industry in Armenia for holding masterclasses, panel discussions and a festival with the representatives of the restaurant industry of Armenia and surrounding regions. The gastronomical evening GOURMET FEST is a starting point for a big-scale popularization of Armenian traditional cuisine in a new interpretation.  

 

Armenian Assembly is a non-governmental organization supporting and implementing social-entrepreneurship projects in the spheres of culture, education, tourism, innovative technologies and science in Armenia and in the diaspora. During the first year of its establishment, Armenian Assembly has implemented launches and support of cultural, educational, enlightenment, touristic and other projects.

 

 

 

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