Australian chef working in Moscow

Meet Jonathon Curtis, a young Australian chef working in Moscow. BISTRO caught up with Jonathon for a cup of coffee.

Jonathan tell us little bit about yourself…

I’ve been passionate about food from a young age and after attending school in France, I was sure food was what I wanted to do. I started working in restaurants on weekends and after school. The day after my last exams I started my apprenticeship at Gastronomy Catering before moving to Aqua Dining, Milsons Point where I worked under Jeff Turnbull for three years. I have also worked at Wildfire, Ocean Room, Bills Woollahra and under Alain Pegouret in Paris at the Michelin Star restaurant Le Laurent. I now work as sous-chef at Nedalny Vostok with Australian chef Glen Ballis.

Can you describe the restaurant?

Nedalny Vostok is a modern, upmarket Pan Asian restaurant in the centre of Moscow, specialising in fresh seafood from around the world. The name “Nedalny Vostok” means “Not so far East”, a play on the Russian term for its East-Asian regions ,“Dalnii Vostok” or “very far away East”.

We have a small bar and chill-out area next to the restaurant, where DJs play nightly. The restaurant was outfitted by International design group Super Potato, and is very modern . It really buzzes. A salt water aquarium houses live Western Australian crayfish, Canadian lobsters and Kamchatka crabs for guests to choose from.

The kitchen is run more as a small hotel than a restaurant and is split over two levels, with an open kitchen in the centre of the restaurant and a production kitchen upstairs with separate butchery, cold salad, hot entree and pastry sections. There are 30 cooks rostered on every shift in the main kitchen and six in pastry.

How did you get this job?

By word of mouth. The Head Chef is Glen Ballis, an Australian, who has been cooking and travelling around the world for 25 years. In the last 10 years  he’s  worked in restaurants in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore. When he started a new project in Moscow and was looking for a sous-chef, someone back in Australia recommended me.

How would you compare restaurant standards in Moscow to Sydney or Melbourne?

Moscow is a very wealthy city with a fast growing restaurant scene. Standards among the elite restaurants are very high. Competition is strong. The city of Moscow never sleeps and there are always new restaurants opening.

Is the language a problem for you in your job?

The language was a bit of a struggle at first. However, many Russian staff speak basic English, and some are fluent. Everyone’s happy to help out with translating, and each day I learn a few new words or phrases that help me get by. Outside of work is a different matter, and simple everyday things that we take for granted become a little harder, but this adds to the adventure of living and working abroad!

Tell us about the fresh produce in Moscow.

Moscow has a vast range of fresh local produce, as well as a huge choice of fresh products from around the world. We use a lot of produce flown in from Australia. All meats are Australian, delivered fresh from NSW, as are most of our seafood, including whole barramundi, snapper, live Western Australian crays and Tasmanian oysters. We fly live lobsters in from Canada

Many other fresh seafood products come from France including dorado, turbot, Dover sole, live Pearl Blanch and Gillardo oyster. All of our bluefin tuna comes fresh from Japan as well as the fresh wasabi, which is grated at the table.

Are the supply systems similar to home?

Supply systems are very similar. The main difference is availability, and some ingredients can take a few days to be delivered. We employ drivers who go to the markets each morning to search for the freshest vegetables. From time to time we join them on these morning runs to look at new produce for menu changes, so we always know what seasonal produce is available in Moscow.

What sort of food do Russians like to eat?

Russians love to eat new and exciting dishes from around the world. They demand fresh products and are happy to splash out and indulge. Most restaurants in Moscow have a sushi bar, always very popular among the Muscovites.  Our tables are filled with platters of grilled whole fish, fresh oysters and whole Kamchatka crabs from the aquarium.

We also have some traditional Russian dishes on the menu, including pirogki, pelmeni and kashas, and of course Borsch, which are all popular.

How does the cost of eating at fine dining restaurants in Moscow compare to Sydney?

Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world and buying fresh produce from around the world is costly. An average meal in a fine dining restaurant in Moscow starts at $US 300 per person.

Wine – what do you stock and where does it come from?

We have a very experienced sommelier and a comprehensive wine list. We stock a large range of red and white wines from around the world including Australia, France, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, Germany, Chile, New Zealand, and the USA.

Describe any bizarre experiences at the restaurant.

Not so much bizarre as fun experiences. It’s always enjoyable looking around at all the famous Russian and international celebrities such as Anna Kornakova and Paris Hilton. We also do outside catering for celebrities and cooking for the President. I have cooked for President Medevev at his house, and have done major banquets, including ‘The Love Ball’ which was held in an ice palace built for the occasion.

Does the restaurant run any training programs?

We have a large team of young chefs who are very eager to learn new cooking techniques. We hold food promotions in the restaurant with celebrity chefs from other countries, including Mexico, Malaysia and Singapore. We’ve done training programs in the past, and often have people ask to come in for a week as individuals. We also do master classes offsite, and cooking at trade expos for international companies including Meat and Livestock Australia.

Describe your food promotions with celebrity chefs.

The restaurant’s latest promotion was for Mexican month in Moscow. The celebrity chef was Martha Ortiz Chapa from the Eagle and the Sun restaurant in Mexico. The chef sends some menu ideas, and we choose seven or eight dishes as well as desserts. The recipes are sent over and what produce we can’t source locally, the chef brings.

The chef arrives a day or two before the promotion and briefs the allocated sous-chef, and the food is prepared under the chef’s guidance. Once all dishes are completed, they are photographed, and the sous-chef starts teaching them to the staff. We start the promotion on a Thursday evening, and on Friday we hold a gala dinner to promote the food to the press and our sponsors.

We also do in-house promotions such as our October tuna promotion. A special tuna menu is offered in addition to our normal menu. We find a sponsor and bring a whole bluefin tuna from Japan. The press and sponsors are invited to the restaurant and the 1.2 tonne fish is carried into the dining room and filleted in front of the guests and served to them.

Has the current economic situation affected Nedalny Vostok?

Not really. It is busy from Monday to Sunday and customers do not spend less. Some people , who never spent much anyway, have stopped coming, but being seen in places like Nedalny Vostok  is a status statement and no one counts roubles for this.

Where do you go to have a drink after work or a meal with friends?

Moscow is not short of small bars and cafes which operate 24 hours a day, and living in the centre, there are many on my way home and around the metro station. Occasionally we get the whole kitchen together and go out for a vodka night, usually in the American bar, or we find a karaoke bar and have a good time together. When I eat out with friends, we’ll go to a small restaurant or bar, and afterwards to one of Moscow’s many night-clubs.

Where do you live in Moscow?

The  accommodation is part of my package, so I don’t pay rent.  The studio in the very centre of the city, station Majakovskaja. (In Moscow the districts are often called by the name of the nearest Metro Station). It would cost around $US4,000 per month. Depending on the weather, it’s a 10-20 minute walk to the restaurant.  Ten minutes in summer, 15 in winter and 20 minutes if the road’s covered with ice!

What else do you do besides cooking?

Moscow has an enormous amount of attractions – museums, galleries, the Kremlin and the tomb of Lenin, where you can see his mummified body behind glass. An English cinema shows all the new releases with Russian subtitles. There are lots of winter sports around town and some are free. We go ice skating in the parks, or skiing just outside Moscow. During White Nights, when the sun doesn’t set until 10pm, I take the overnight train to St Petersburg for the weekend to visit friends’ dachas and relax in the “bunya” (Russian for sauna), a great way to relieve stress after a long week at work. Saturday nights are usually dinner and clubbing with friends.

What do you think about Russian people?

There is common misconception that Russians are rude, but people say that about the French too, and having lived in both countries, I don’t agree. I think the Russians are great people; they work hard and really look after us.

Did you get culture shock?

No, there was no a great culture shock in Moscow.  A lot of expats. live here and the city has great wealth. Moscow is similar to Sydney or Melbourne but with more history. Russians say Moscow is not actually Russia, but an international city with a different lifestyle. I did find St. Petersburg a bit different. It is such an amazing city with the most beautiful gardens, fantastic architecture, yet the streets were full of beggars.

What do you like the most?

The people and the culture. I grew up in Sydney and I still love Sydney. I have lots of family and friends back home whom I miss, but here every minute of every day is a new adventure! I suppose it’s the same in any new country and the expat. life. It’s not for a lot of people but I enjoy it.

What don’t you like?

There is nothing I’m uncomfortable with in Moscow. It can have its downside – like the -20 degree winter days and no blue sky or sunshine for a month! There are no beaches, which means no surfing.  Walking home at night alone can be uncomfortable, but all big cities have the danger factor and you have to be on guard whereever you travel.

What would you recommend  an Australian to see in Moscow?

Wow, there are so many things to see and do; it all depends on what you’re interested in. There are the major attractions such as the Kremlin and Red Square, even the GUM department store. There are very beautiful Metro stations with marble walls, mosaic ceilings and chandeliers. There are massive galleries and museums, fantastic churches, heaps to see and do. St. Petersburg is also a must see, especially the Peterhof Gardens.

The best thing is to join a tour group, especially if you don’t speak Russian, as everything is done for you. My parents did an 11 day cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow and they saw a lot more of Moscow than I have in a year!

Popularity: 16% [?]