Dmitry Letov Biography

Why should you know me: the chef of the Sage restaurant Dmitry Golenin 6 minutes. I did not study very well at school and, to be honest, even at the cook, I did not care. After the ninth grade, he wanted to become a programmer, but did not act. He decided to study in a cook and was able to do only the second time. After the college ended, I was taken to work in a restaurant by acquaintance.

Without any experience and a clear idea of ​​my duties, I faced a lack of training and support from the leadership. By the middle of the day, it became clear that I was not in accordance with the expectations, and I was informed that this work was not for me. This experience was unsuccessful, I was disappointed in the profession and decided that I would no longer be a cook.

I wanted to do something with my hands and even thought to become a stylist. But mom said: “You spent three years on training. Go and try again! There was a wonderful chef, young and ambitious, with whom I worked for three years and became a la Su-chef. The desire to change something appeared when my wife and I began to go to master classes in Moscow. And after the next master class of the St.

Petersburg chef, I realized that I was doing something wrong. Although at that time it seemed to me that I was doing everything cool - I stuffed squid with bell pepper, baking it on grill - it is tasty. And we began to consider the options for moving. In our list were Moscow, Sochi and St. Petersburg. Seeing photos of St. Petersburg on the Internet, we fell in love with its architecture and developed infrastructure.

Looking ahead, I’ll say that in St. Petersburg we lived for 10 years. When we arrived there and went out at the station, they did not even know where to go. We were 20 years old, and it seemed that leaving our hometown was romance. I decided that the best establishments are in the city center, and went to look for where to get a job. He walked around, looked and eventually got a job in the network Mama Roma.

I was offered rubles for a shift with the possibility of raising up to, if I cope well. The thirst for knowledge and the desire to work prompted me to quickly plunge into the affairs of the kitchen. But, being there, I realized how little I knew. Harvesties, vacuumers, labeling products using special pistols - all this turned out to be a completely different level. There was a lot of work, but if you have at least basic skills, and even better if you do something better than others, then career growth will not be long in coming.

Six months later, I became a su-chef. During this period, I realized that it was to work with large volumes, especially during the May holidays in St. Petersburg. When I received the first salary - 25 thousand, I felt fabulously rich and bought PlayStation for myself. There, in St. Petersburg, he began to study the local gastronomy - he found out who Belkovich is, the Berezutsky brothers, what Ginza is.

A little later, I realized that Mama Roma is not mine. He began to get acquainted with other chefs, watch who does what. So I met Igor Zorin, from whom I received crazy experience. It was thanks to him that I found out what an open kitchen is, where the cooks work cleanly and order, demonstrating a neat and professional appearance. While most of the kitchens were located in basements without windows, and the cooks often walked in shales and t -shirts, my ideal was completely different: the cook should be well -groomed, neat, with an ironed shape.

I continued to work with Igor for a long time and later. Then I got to the internship of Dima Blinov. It was a turning point for me. He completely changed my idea of ​​how the kitchen should function and how everything should be arranged. As a result, I stayed to work with him in Tartarbar. My hobby for vegetables began in the same place, we had a menu study, and we were brought a tasteless bitter turnip.

I was interested in making it a delicious gastronomic dish. Of course, it was possible to rub and pour with fragrant oil, but this is not what I wanted. I used about ten different techniques: cooked, frying, baking, but nothing happened. I could not remove bitterness from her. As a result, in some Soviet textbook, I read that you can cook turnip in milk, piercing a fork, and then the bitterness leaves.

As a result, I made an author’s tasty ice cream from a turnip. After that they brought the beets. And beets in restaurants are usually borsch or salad with beets and goat cheese. But here I also wanted to make a non -trivial and tasty dish, so I started experimenting again. In the process of cooking, the whole kitchen - floors, walls, tables - was covered with traces of this bright root crop.

But the result justified efforts: I came up with Tartar from beef and beetroot. For me, by the way, one of my favorite dishes is still one of the most favorite dishes: grated boiled beets, prunes, cheese and mayonnaise. Naturally, Dmitry Blinov helped to bring all my ideas to mind. Over time, I began to discover for myself forgotten, non -obvious vegetables and plants, such as tournament, trough, various types of goat workers, burdock root.

I realized how rich and multifaceted the palette of vegetable tastes and colors is.Each of these plants opens a new world on a plate, allowing you to create unique dishes. When we arrived at Gastreet this year, I was pleasantly surprised: the entire amphitheater was scored at my lecture about vegetables. People are really interested to learn that vegetables can be as complex and multi -layer as meat or fish.

I always confidently and persistently move to my goals, the main thing is not to lose sight of them. For five years in a row I wrote them - and each time I received a refusal. But I did not give up. And once they answered me that I could come. Then I began to collect documents, but faced problems - they did not give me a visa. I even had to write to the consul.

In the process of preparation, the second wave of Covid and the story with QR codes began. When I finally flew to Sweden, they missed everyone except me at customs. Although I had a work permit and a letter of recommendation, I was interrogated for two hours about what internship is an internship and what the “free work” means. I tried to explain that this is an “exchange of experience”, but at that time I studied English for only a couple of months.

When you have a huge customs officer with handcuffs, a club and a gun, you forget even the little that you learned. I called a friend who owned English and once passed an internship. He reassured me, said this is a regular test. During this procedure, it turned out that I did not have a hotel armor, and I had to urgently book the first one that came across.

I was even suspected that I plan to stay in Sweden. I again began to explain about restaurants, the stars of Michelin, the exchange of experience, but the policeman was deeply indifferent. I was already mentally preparing to return home when the main policeman went out. He said that he did not understand why I came here, but since I have a work permit, hotel reservation and return tickets, “welcome to Stockholm!

I have been working in Sage for almost three years. For me, a chef is not just a culinary specialist, but a manager on whom the whole kitchen is based. Its main task is to build a system so that the whole team follows it. The chef should be aware of absolutely everything: who works and how, where it lies, what product has entered, how the recoil of dishes goes, etc. The chef should always be in the center of events, especially in the most intense moments.

A leader is not just a leader, but one who solves any issues, and if he is not in the moment, he loses control of the situation. I am not a supporter of subordination based on fear of fines or screaming. I am building my system on mutual respect. Discipline in the restaurant is another key factor in success. There are clear rules in the kitchen that everyone should follow, otherwise chaos will come.

Personally, I realized the importance of discipline when, after the experience of working, Sufoof became a chef. At first I thought that you can build work on friendly relations, but I quickly realized that it would not work out. People begin to use kindness, stop obeying, resentment arises. All of our Su-chefs are former cooks that have grown in our team. If someone works better, he receives an increase and gradually becomes the same leader who works in Peckla himself, with full landing.

Thanks to confidence in my team, I can be calm for the processes, even when I am not in place. Although delegation is perhaps the most difficult thing for me. Photo: From the personal archive of Dmitry Golenin to become the hero of the heading “Why should you know me” can be sent a letter with his story on Ab Moskvichmag.