COCOCO - this is something even for the seasoned St. Petersburg! Some institutions rely on the interior, others take the number of dishes, others surprise in an unusual format, but COCOCO (restaurant), the owner of which, Sergei Shnurov, is a rather shocking person himself, made a revolution in terms of concept. In short and succinctly, this is a gastronomic postmodern.
Idea
The institution’s feature is a combination of the latest innovative culinary practices and exclusively seasonal products that are grown by farmers of the Leningrad Region. Also, the basis of the menu was an old Russian recipe, which succumbed to the author's processing. Why did you get such an idea? Firstly, there are too many in St. Petersburg in particular, and in Russia in general, institutions that promote foreign cuisine. There is nothing wrong with that, but COCOCO founders wanted to pay attention to the original Russian recipes, return to the roots, revive the love of national dishes and show that nettle soup or vinaigrette soup with liquid nitrogen can be no less interesting than exotic ones, but already fed up with risotto or sushi.
Secondly, it is the desire to eat healthy foods. In most establishments, products go a long way from the manufacturer to the restaurant’s kitchen and therefore lend themselves to some processing to preserve freshness, and they are more expensive than domestic ones due to delivery costs. And COCOCO owners are confident that local farmers are able to grow high-quality vegetables and fruits, which will be cheaper than imported ones. In addition, such products do not need any processing, because their path from the garden to the plate is very, very short.
And all this keeps up with world trends in haute cuisine, which was very succinctly formulated by renowned chef Rene Redzepi: "The plate that gets to the table to the client should clearly indicate at what geographical point and at what time of year it is "
In total, seasonality and locality are two whales on which the newfangled COCOCO confidently stands.
Through hardship to the stars
Not so long ago, in 2012, the COCOCO restaurant (St. Petersburg) appeared. Shnurova Matilda — the wife of the frontman of the Leningrad group — inspired by the popular idea of seasonal and local cuisine, decided to open an institution with such a bias.
At that time it was a bold step, because in Russia there was nothing like it yet, and therefore it was not known whether people would go to such a peculiar farmer's restaurant. Mrs. Shnurova approached the choice of the chef very responsibly. They became an amazing master of culinary art Igor Grishechkin.
So, in December 2012, when many were expecting the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar, COCOCO restaurant (St. Petersburg) was opened in the city on the Neva along Nekrasov Street. But to defend his place under the sun was not easy. Indeed, although in Europe healthy food has long been in the main trend, in Russia the farm restaurant was slightly ahead of time. Therefore, there were very few visitors: well, at first they didn’t understand, perhaps ... It took three years to conquer our audience, but the institution persistently adhered to its concept. And recognition did not take long: in 2015 COCOCO (restaurant, St. Petersburg) took fourth place among the best institutions in the city, and Igor Grishechkin was declared the best chef of the year.
Product suppliers
Now the restaurant cooperates with fifteen farms. They are not led by amateur peasants, but by true professionals. For example, cheese products are delivered by a producer from the Vsevolozhsk district, who completed a training course in France and now he bred goats and cows. They include classical music and wine, so that the quality of milk is better. A professional pharmacist in the Volosovsky district collects herbs and roots, and fish is directly purchased from fishermen on Lake Ladoga. In principle, they do not cooperate with large supplier companies, because they usually feed the animals with chemical additives and treat the plants with pesticides.
Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables are brought daily, so as not to succumb to prolonged freezing, herbs - every other day. In a word, the restaurant is responsible for the environmental friendliness and freshness of the products from which the dishes are prepared.
Design
Where is COCOCO now? In 2015, the restaurant changed its location: from Nekrasov Street, moved to Voznesensky Prospekt 6, to the hotel W St. Peterburg. In this regard, the design has changed dramatically. If in the previous look of the restaurant there were a lot of straight geometric lines, wooden finishes (tables and bar stools made of rough bars), now the deliberately simple style has been replaced by refined eclecticism.
Chef
Igor Grishechkin was born in Smolensk, where he began his restaurant career. After moving to Moscow, he worked at Casta Diva, Ragu, Blogistan. Also collaborated with the gastronomic lounge LavkaLavka. There, his skill was noticed by the Shnurova couple, who were just looking for a chef for their new project, which became COCOCO (restaurant). Jobs of this kind provide an opportunity for self-development and implementation of the craziest ideas. Therefore, Grishechkin agreed.
The new chef has turned cooking into a whole philosophy. He believes that every trip to the restaurant is obliged to give the person those emotions that he does not feel at home. Grishechkin compares this to going to the cinema. He creates not just dishes, but whole images, associations. He draws ideas from the taste memory of childhood and youth.
Restaurant COCOCO (St. Petersburg): menu
Here the stake is clearly made not on the number of dishes, and this is understandable, since the menu changes in accordance with the season. There are also permanent positions, such as the famous "Tourist Breakfast". In general, COCOCO (restaurant) speaks a modern gastronomic language, because molecular cuisine is also used here.
So, as an appetizer here they offer assorted farm cheeses with onion jam, pike perch with spicy carrots and dill ice cream, bone marrow with pickled vegetables, capelin caviar and rye bread toasts, baked beets with Adyghe cheese mousse, moose stew . The most popular items in the same series are tubes with the taste of Borodino bread and sprat mousse - the Russian analogue of sushi.
The first dishes are served pickle, cold soup "Vinaigrette", potato cream soup with red caviar.
SOSOSO meat dishes are very popular, especially the already mentioned "Tourist Breakfast", as well as beef tenderloin with baked vegetables and kvass sauce, pork neck boiled pork, beef stroganoff with boletus and rye flour pasta. Among the fish dishes there is cod, flounder and zander in the author's processing. For those who prefer poultry, they cook chicken, stuffed quail and duck.
Sweet tooth will find a lot of interesting, especially intriguing names such as honey cake with wax ice cream and "Mom's favorite flower." Anyone who recalls the good old days can try ice cream according to GOST in a waffle cup.
From the very names in the menu, the brain explodes, because I immediately want to imagine a combination of the tastes of the voiced products. For example: beef tongue disguised in mashed herbs, birch syrup and burdock root, pea jelly with crispbread from flax seeds, nettle soup with Karelian trout sorbet and Ivan tea.
Interestingly, in recent years, many COCOCO imitators have appeared. The restaurant, the menu and concept of which is somewhat reminiscent of its predecessor, is St. Petersburg's "Vinaigrette", as well as "Bird's yard", "Block". This suggests that the new Russian cuisine has taken root and is becoming popular.
Fantasy Serve
This should be discussed separately. What is only "Tourist Breakfast". It is served, as befits a dish of that name, in a tin open tin can. The composition of the dish includes steamed pearl barley, beef tartar and quail egg yolk. And around the can, garlic mashed potatoes are laid out on the hills, sprinkled on top with Borodino bread, ground coffee and seeds - such an imitation of the earth. Immediately imagine yourself around a fire surrounded by bards with guitars.
Sauces for filigree rolls of bacon are served on the palette, like multi-colored paints. Honey cake is laid out in the shape of a honeycomb. All this and much more looks very creative.
And the most interesting dessert "Mom’s favorite flower" is made in the form of a broken pot of violets with crumbled earth on a plate in the form of a parquet board. Everything looks so natural that at first it is uncomfortable. Such a miracle can not be photographed.
Prices
The average bill is 1,500 rubles. By the way, due to the fact that all products are transported only from the Leningrad region, and the prices are not sky-high for restaurants of this level. If you go through the menu, then snacks and desserts, for example, cost from 210 rubles, first courses from 250 rubles, meat from 670 rubles, fish and poultry from 850 rubles.
COCOCO (restaurant): reviews
Although not everyone immediately grasps the idea, but mostly the guests are more than satisfied. Evaluate originality, conceptuality, decor.
Now there’s nowhere to drop the needle, especially on weekends. However, in connection with such popularity of the institution, a table is allocated for 2-3 hours, no more, and then delicately asked to leave. You can understand customers who are extremely unhappy with this.
They complain that sometimes you need to wait for an order from 30 to 40 minutes. But this is not surprising, because almost everything is done from under the knife.
Jobs
In March 2016, COCOCO (restaurant) opened the internship season. The institution now invites young, courageous, talented people to work under the guidance of the ingenious chef of our time Igor Grishechkin. This is a great opportunity to acquire new skills, and in the future, work in one of the most prestigious restaurants of modern St. Petersburg.
COCOCO - a restaurant popularizing local cuisine - has become a cult place for many visitors to the city. Many celebrities come here. So the new Russian cuisine in the presentation of this institution will soon become a role model.