Kirill Berger. Four levels of Italian classics

What is the main difference between working in a restaurant and creating a similar service?

The fact that the service food is more strict in terms of nutrition. Working on it, we limit ourselves in the ingredients. It was important for us to completely eliminate the harmful and find some kind of compromise with the service's nutritionist Yulia Pigareva.

And who had the last word?

Of course, nutrition was more important, so I had to give in. But so that it was both tasty and correct from the point of view of nutrition.

Is being overweight a chef's professional problem?

Of course, extra pounds appear from time to time, but they have nothing to do with work. It's just that sometimes I don't want to deny myself the food that I like. By the way, the last time I lost weight was thanks to work. The development of the vegan menu for No secret by Valeriya coincided with Lent, so I ate mostly dishes from our service and lost 17 kilograms. So our program is working. Tested on myself!

That is, you are most proud of this particular service program?

In principle, I am proud of the entire No secret line, we have been developing it for four months, it contains a lot of my signature dishes. But, of course, the vegan program is dear to me more than others. So that she does not seem boring, she had to work with the most. But our menu is aimed not only at losing weight, but also at maintaining weight and forming the right eating habits.

Now there are many such services. What do you think it is connected with?
It is very comfortable. Many residents of the capital simply have no time to cook. Basically, the market presents services with the usual balanced everyday food, which uses standard products. The difference of our project is that it is based on dietetics, and when preparing our dishes, we use organic products. There are only a few such services.

Do you use the delivery service yourself?

This is very convenient, but unfortunately, I do not have the opportunity to fully use our service, because I constantly have to try something at work. Today, for example, I had to eat desserts and ice cream for half a day. We had a great tasting. Although, in fact, I prefer dishes without sugar, but alas - not a gram of normal food for the whole day!

In a shopping center, like in an electric train - sooner or later the thought of food inevitably comes to visitors. Therefore, today every self-respecting complex has on its territory a variety of cafes and eateries. However, the recent trend has been the opening of real restaurants in such shopping centers - with a full menu and exclusive design. So the Crocus Group company in Vegas Crocus City shopping mall launched its new project Forte Bello - an Italian restaurant with a "story of family happiness".

When conceiving the institution, the creators initially wanted to place Forte Bello in a large space. And, while building the shopping complex, a significant part of the volume of its left wing was equipped taking into account the technological nuances necessary for the functioning of the restaurant. As a result, Forte Bello was given as many as four levels, which can be accessed through three entrances: from the street, from the first floor of the shopping center or from the second.

The main attraction of the main hall of the restaurant is the largest wood-burning oven in Moscow, which was delivered from Italy and where two pizzaiolo bake Milanese pizza with various toppings at once. The floor of this hall is tiled with classic cream-terracotta tiles, creating a three-dimensional pattern. From here, a wide wooden staircase lined with pots of live plants leads to the two upper levels. The "highlight" of the middle hall is an open vinotheque. While it is being formed, but soon they promise to collect wines for every taste and for every dish. Panoramic windows of the upper level of Forte Bello offer a view of the Myakininskaya floodplain with yachts. The lowest level of the restaurant welcomes guests with a cozy twilight. There is an opportunity to watch the work of the open kitchen, where the team is working under the guidance of chef Evgeny Veselov. Behind the voluminous columns is a contact bar counter. There is also a playroom for the little ones.

The restaurant, despite the distance from the center, already has regular visitors. Although the concept of remoteness is, in a certain sense, a convention. Thousands of citizens come to Vegas Crocus City and the neighboring exhibition building every day to spend their money. And Forte Bello happily welcomes them - on the second level, the first tables start even before the entrance	Bright accents are a distinctive feature of Forte Bello. Cheerful yellow upholstery of a row of chairs can cheer up even shopping-weary guests.
The abundance of lively greenery in Forte Bello, warm oak parquet boards on the upper levels of the restaurant, large ceramic planters - all this creates an atmosphere of a Mediterranean patio.	The wine cellar Forte Bello has a large selection of noble drinks from different regions of Italy, France and other countries. And with a glass you can comfortably sit right at the bar on the lower level of the restaurant

The interior, created by architect Alexei Fursov, is modern and unobtrusive, it has a lot of light and wooden trim, soft chairs with muted blue, bright yellow or neutral gray upholstery, laconic oak tables, orange curtains stand out with color spots. Some tables have marble tops. They are covered with paper tablecloths, from which you can find out the news of the restaurant or just draw while waiting for the dishes. The young and ambitious brand chef of Forte Bello, Kirill Berger, created a menu of homemade Italian dishes in the author's vision: bruschetta with tomatoes and basil, warm octopus salad, cappuccino mushroom soup, pastas, risotto, desserts, many items that children like. But while the menu is still starting, and the brand chef promises to double it.

Restaurants by Crocus Group brand chef Kirill Berger talks about favorite dishes, professional secrets and chefs' phobias.

dossier

Kirill Berger, 30 years old. In the profession from the age of 16, he began his career in the kitchen of the Vogue Cafe restaurant, after that he worked at Mr. Lee. In 2011-2012 in Italian, Luchiano grew from sous-chef to chef, replacing one of the most famous Russian chefs, Konstantin Ivlev, in this position. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Federation of Professional Chefs and Confectioners of Russia.

- What did you want to be as a child?

“As a child, I had a dream of becoming a pilot. But then my grandfather explained to me that for this you need to study too much. In general, after a little thought, I realized that, probably, I still do not want to become a helicopter pilot so much. (smiles) And besides, it turned out to be much easier to become a motorcycle racer. Therefore, it was this childhood dream that I realized, I participated in local competitions. From childhood I loved to ride a motorcycle, loved to watch Moto GP, and my idol was Valentino Rossi.

- Can we say that you became a cook because you really liked to eat?

No, I had a different motive. Since I could not decide on a future profession, but since childhood I loved to cook, I decided to go to study at a culinary college. After graduation, he entered the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, after which he planned to move further up the career ladder. But in my fourth year, my plans changed dramatically. I got a job at Vogue Cafe, then it was one of the best establishments in Moscow. As a result, this whole restaurant world dragged me in so much that the issue with the profession was finally closed.

- Probably not. Still, initially you work under the patronage of the boss, for me it was Konstantin Ivlev. Of course, at the start he helped me a lot, over time, author's chips appeared, his own style and a line of personal dishes.

- Do you have a favorite dish?

- It all depends on my mood, so there is no favorite dish. But even if I had it, it would very quickly cease to be my favorite - after all, I would eat it every day! (smiles) Now I like Indian cuisine, but again, this is a temporary period. There was a time when I preferred Azerbaijani, Asian or Chinese dishes. Plus, you always have to try something at work. Today, for example, I was forced to eat desserts and ice cream for half a day - we had a big tasting. Although in fact I prefer sugar-free dishes, but alas - not a gram of normal food for the whole day!

— By the way, is being overweight a professional problem for chefs?

- Of course, extra pounds appear from time to time, but they have nothing to do with work. It's just that sometimes I don't want to deny myself the food that I like. By the way, the last time I lost weight was thanks to work: the development of the vegan menu No secret by Valeriya coincided with Lent - and that's when I lost 17 kilograms. This program is dear to me more than others: so that it does not seem boring, I had to work with it the most.

Are there chefs you look up to?

- It's hard to choose. A lot of them. One of them - Paul Bocuse, according to the American Culinary Institute, he has the title of "Chef of the century."

Do you watch cooking shows? Do they show a lot of nonsense there?

The last one I watched was Hell's Kitchen. Since I myself starred in this show, I can responsibly confirm: there is absolutely nothing staged there! The participants of the show really live like that. By the way, I noticed that all the funniest for some reason usually remains behind the scenes. But you can’t just retell it like that, it’s a living behind-the-scenes life.

Do you have any professional phobias?

- Since I am a perfectionist in terms of work, it annoys me terribly when something does not go according to my plan or something does not work out. In this case, I immediately begin to dislike everything, and this state progresses. This is probably my biggest phobia.