VDNH’s ‘House of Russian Cuisine’ hosts gastronomic presentations by several Russian regions

The ‘House of Russian Cuisine’, which opened as part of the International RUSSIA EXPO exhibition at VDNH, has hosted a gastronomic show from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area.

A team from the region treated guests to a gastronomic performance, with tutorials on making Siberian dishes using local ingredients and considering both the culinary traditions of small ethnic communities in northern Russia as well as the latest gastronomic trends across the region.

A Farmers’ Fair is also taking place at VDNH in pavilion 48, where vendors from all over the country are presenting their unique produce.

For example, from November 28 to December 3, visitors can sample or purchase captivating confectionery from a farmer representing the Republic of Bashkortostan. According to the press service, the brand is named ‘Artisanal Chocolate from Bashkiria’, and only cocoa beans and natural locally sourced ingredients are used.

“These include herbs, various berries, fruits, vegetables, grains, cheese, honey, and even koumiss,” the release adds.

Guests will have the opportunity to taste or buy “very unusual” sweets, such as milk chocolate with porcini mushrooms and basil, the organizers said.

Chefs from Tyumen prepared dishes that were much loved by famous Tyumen natives – Dmitry Mendeleev, Grigory Rasputin, and Pyotr Yershov.

On the day devoted to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, visitors to the Farmers’ Fair had the chance to try fish delicacies, tea and dishes using reindeer meat hailing from the region.

On November 26, chefs from Nizhny Novgorod presented a special dessert named ‘Gorodetsky gingerbread’, as well as Volga street food – the catfish burger. They also prepared special dishes popular in towns along the Volga River – Volga brined catfish with katanka porridge, scrambled eggs and farmer's cheese, ‘Kalya’ soup, made from five kinds of fish, with pickled green tomatoes and farro, and Voskresensk bread with smoked bream cream.

The opening of the ‘House of Russian Cuisine’ pavilion at VDNH took place on November 4 as part of international exhibition and forum RUSSIA EXPO. The Moscow government, restaurateur Aleksey Vasilchuk and Ekaterina Shapovalova’s ‘Gastronomic Map of Russia’ project presented a new gastronomic food hall that revives Russia's rich culinary traditions and gathers together some of the gastronomic highlights from Russia’s regions.

The new pavilion will host the ‘Russia – Territory of Taste’ food festival that will run for the duration of the exhibition, from November 4, 2023 to April 12, 2024. There are more than a hundred events already on the program, featuring chefs, restaurant owners and experts from all over Russia.

The festival showcases the culinary traditions and cultures of Russia’s many different peoples, as well as restaurant projects from Karelia to Sakhalin. Guests are welcome to attend tasting events and workshops, as well as performances by creative groups.

Teams of chefs, restauranteurs, farmers and food producers from 63 Russian regions will treat guests to local delicacies and dishes, and give workshops on how to prepare them.

Cuisines on the menu include Buryat, Far Eastern, Don, Pomor, Siberian and many more, including antique Russian street foods (like kalach bread and pirozhki, or pasties), northern delicacies, sweets and traditional drinks.

Up to January 14, popular folk groups and musicians will perform at the festival, including the famous ‘Grannies from Buranovo’, Sofiya Gorbunova, the bell ringer of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Tashtyp, and bands from Arkhangelsk and Kamchatka Region. Other themed programs are scheduled after the New Year’s holiday period – Days of the Arctic, ‘Maslenitsa – 2024’, ‘Feast of Pies’, wedding table spreads of the peoples of Russia, ‘Five Seas, Three Oceans’, and more.

The ‘House of Russian Cuisine’ features 15 corners dedicated to different Russian regional cuisines, stretching from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka all the way to Kaliningrad, as well as a stage for regular culinary masterclasses and the ‘Library of Russia’s Tastes’ tasting events. There are traditional sweets, culinary mementos, Russian wine and national drinks on offer, as well as a festival atmosphere!

More than 400 food producers from 89 regions of Russia will participate over the six months of the Farmers’ Fair at RUSSIA EXPO, bringing a wide range of local products with them – including cheese, sausage, meat delicacies, teas, mushrooms and much more. Visitors can sample all of these things at free tasting events, and buy whatever takes their fancy.

According to the organizers, visitors can reach the food fair on foot or by free electric bus.

The bus stops are located to the right and left of the central entrance to VDNH. For more information, see the map that the organizers have provided.

You can find the full list of events at the website of the Exhibition https://russia.ru/events.