Russia Profile, Russia
Nov 1 2008
A Taste of War
By Sergei Balashov
Russia Profile
Ethnic Restaurants in Russia Are Affected by Disputes in the Caucasus
Yet despite perturbations in their ancestral lands, Armenian,
Azerbaijani, Georgian and Russian cooks amicably work side by side.
A few days after the war between Russia and Georgia erupted, the phone
rang in Vakh-Vakh, a Georgian restaurant in the center of Moscow. The
administrator was politely asked whether the restaurant was still open
and whether it was possible to rent the place the next day. Once she
gave an affirmative answer, the man on the other end of the line said
that he and his friends would come over to celebrate her funeral.
Vakh-Vakh is just one of hundreds ethnic Caucasian restaurants in
Moscow that strive to capitalize on Russians’ desire to try foreign
cuisine and explore foreign cultures. It, too, feels the heat when
another conflict in the Caucasus breaks out, causing tensions to
mount. But when it comes to food, politics and nationalism matter much
less than broken dishes and dirty cookware.
Cooking authentically
Moscow is among the large cities of the world widely known for their
restaurants. Just like in Paris, Houston and New York, restaurants in
Moscow attest to its multiculturalism. Visitors ranging from
Australians and Americans to Moldavians and Bosnians can stop being
guests in a foreign country and go to a place where they can feel at
home for a few hours. That, however, is not the primary purpose the
restaurants serve.
The point of this business is to attract locals who have either
developed a liking for a particular national cuisine or have the
curiosity to try something exotic and plunge into the atmosphere of an
alien culture. Due to their proximity and the close ties that have
been developed between the Caucasian nations and Russia over the
centuries, Caucasian restaurants, primarily those representing
Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani cuisines, are among the most
popular with Russians all over the country. Just like the South in the
United States, the Caucasus is known for its hospitality, exquisite
arts and delicate cuisine.
Keeping up with the national profile can be a difficult task. Each
restaurant has its own way of providing the customers with a tour of
their culture. Posh restaurants, such as the Armenian Noev Kovcheg,
ornate their walls with paintings and hammered gold, and put up
stained oak furniture to give their dining halls a touch of
authenticity.
Some places go much further, proclaiming the promotion of their
culture and not just cooking and serving national food as their
mission. The Armenian restaurant Erivan in St. Petersburg limits its
menu only to Armenian dishes, and imports all of the utensils directly
from Armenia. Even the designer who worked on the interior was
imported from there.
The cuisine is kept pure, and the guest can get an explanation for
every course available on the menu. Those who may ask why mussels and
shrimp are served together with Basterma and Moussaka will be told
that the now landlocked Armenia once stretched from one sea to
another, and seafood was an integral part of ancient Armenian cuisine.
`When we opened our restaurant, we didn’t just want to show our
cuisine, we wanted to show our culture; we want people to get
acquainted with Armenia,’ said David Aloyan, the general director of
Erivan. `This is not just a business project for us to make money.’
Aloyan claimed that profits are curtailed by the fact that the
restaurant refrains from adding non-Armenian dishes to the menu, and
goes against introducing novelties that would attract new customers,
such as karaoke, preferring to play authentic Armenian music instead.
But Erivan is more of an exception, as the majority of Caucasian
restaurants maintain purity to a much lesser degree, having
diversified their menus to include European, Russian and other
Caucasian and Eastern dishes to broaden their appeal to customers. Yet
the message stays the same, and the identity of these places remains
tied to the nation they represent. `When someone goes to a Georgian
restaurant they have Georgian cuisine in mind,’ said Jamal Chiladze,
the owner of Vakh-Vakh, which also offers Russian and European
cuisine. `Non-Georgian dishes are also in demand, but people come here
to try Georgian food.’
No appetite for war
The rampant nationalism seems to remain within the walls of the
restaurant, and limits itself to cuisine and environment. Politics are
increasingly taking center stage in international relations,
particularly in the Caucasus, where most of the ethnic conflicts in
the post-Soviet world have unraveled. Georgia recently broke off
diplomatic relations with Russia after a brief war over the two
breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Armenia has been
involved in a bitter dispute with Azerbaijan over the
Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh. But in Moscow, it’s
common to see Armenian and Azerbaijani restaurants next to each other,
and Russians often eat at Georgian restaurants.
`We are an Azerbaijani restaurant, but we don’t position ourselves as
an ethnic eating house,’ said the General Director of the Skazka
Vostoka 1001 Night restaurant Boris Gribov. Azerbaijani cuisine
doesn’t even dominate the 30-page menu that offers everything from
Russian and Ukrainian dishes to sushi. `Our goal is to be liked by
everyone; what we want is to bring people together and give them the
opportunity to try various national cuisines, and not just
Azerbaijani,’ Gribov added.
Apparently, ethnic diasporas that might have certain political
preferences aren’t the target audience of these dining
places. According to Chiladze, the customer base of Vakh-Vakh is 90
percent Russian. `The only Georgians that come to our place are our
friends and relatives,’ said Chiladze, adding that demand for Georgian
restaurants in Russia is higher than for Chinese and Japanese
eateries. `Fifteen years ago, restaurants were pretty much working
around the clock; there were just five Georgian places and 15 million
people in Moscow, and we know that everyone loves Georgian cuisine. We
don’t have anything to do with the politics; people pay to have a good
time at our place.’
Little if any animosity exists between these national businesses. On
the contrary, Erivan would gladly welcome an Azerbaijani restaurant if
one opened next door in what wouldn’t be just an expression of
friendliness, but another opportunity to expand their business. `That
would be great; if we have more restaurants people will know our
street is the one to go to if they want to dine,’ said Aloyan.
It is very common among ethnic restaurants to avoid associating
themselves with a particular community, preferring to identify as
Russian restaurants of a certain national cuisine. A good share of
them are owned by members of diasporas, but it never deeply affects
the way the business is run. `I would open a Chinese restaurant but I
know nothing about Chinese cuisine,’ said Chiladze, who immigrated
from Georgia 15 years ago. `I opened a Georgian restaurant because
that’s the cuisine I know best.’
When it comes to watching the news, the ethnic communities have mixed
feelings when their country of origin is involved in disputes with
Russia. `Any immigrant who has come over here, who lives here and
feeds off this country is more inclined to support Russia rather than
other countries,’ said Chiladze. `Naturally, we’re closer to Russia.’
When politics matters
No matter how hard the restaurateurs try to distance themselves from
politics, political events do take a toll on their business. Besides
the commotion caused by the unpleasant telephone call, a few banquets
were canceled at Vakh-Vakh in August, right after the skirmish in
Georgia. `They didn’t explain, but I don’t have any doubt that it was
because of the war,’ said Chiladze.
The restaurant, which has the capacity to accommodate up to 200
visitors, can host up to 20 banquets each month, making the losses
inflicted by the war insubstantial. The trouble started in summer,
which is a usually slow season for restaurants, but by the time the
season starts, Chiladze expects to get back to business.
It was the Armenian restaurants, however, that did suffer from the war
in August. Armenia’s close ties and strong partnership with Russia is
the first reason that comes to mind, yet in business, other things
matter more. Since Russia severed transport links with Georgia and
recently blocked the Georgian port of Poti, communication with Armenia
has been seriously hampered, causing much trouble for those eateries
importing food and beverages from this country.
`Even when a single plate breaks it’s a tragedy for us, because
nowadays it’s much easier to ship stuff from the United States than
from Armenia,’ said Aloyan. `When we talked to our suppliers, they
advised us to stock up on everything.’
Expectedly, the restaurateurs in Moscow hope that these troubles are
temporary and politics will not interfere with their businesses, where
it’s very unwelcome. `This will pass, maybe now, maybe in a couple of
weeks, maybe in a month, but customers will return; political rubbish
will be here and gone but people will always want to eat and drink and
have fun,’ said Chiladze, adding that he feels very confident about
the future.
Photo: Oleg Lastochkin
pageid=Themes&cont=c1225535432&articleid=a 1225541341
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
