Every month, the project organizer, sommelier Nikita Rudnitsky, and restaurant chef Evgeny Kabanov, hold a gourmet dinner at one of the leading restaurants participating in the project. The format involves a deep dialogue of cultures: the host reveals regional traditions, while the Millionka team represents the Far East — its flavors, philosophy, and local products, among which pollock, whelk, and king crab hold a special place, revealing themselves in new ways in each city.
People in 10 cities across the country will be able to discover the flavors of Far Eastern seafood as part of a series of dinners
"We always saw great potential in these products. Take pollock, for example — today it is largely undervalued, although it is a noble fish that is convenient to work with and can be revealed in a wide variety of gastronomic interpretations. Whelk, king crab, mollusks — all this is the wealth of the Far East, and it is important for us to show it to our guests",
Each gourmet dinner consists of an average of six to seven courses, which will allow the project to create about 70 signature dishes in different interpretations over the course of a year. The best of them, incorporating the Far Eastern cultural code and gastronomic features of the route’s cities, will be presented at the final meeting in Vladivostok.
"We have strategic partners, including RFC, thanks to whom we can showcase some of the best products of Primorye and the philosophy of our restaurant",
According to project creator Nikita Rudnitsky, Russian Fish Industry Company is an example of maintaining a consistently high level of product quality even with large-scale production volumes.
"Our company has been supporting significant gastronomic projects for several years, and they have become truly dear to us. We work closely with the best restaurants in our country. One of them is Millionka in Vladivostok. We really like that the guys aren’t afraid to experiment. Through festivals and projects like this, we try to show that pollock is really tasty and healthy food, which can bring out emotions",
A Journey Across Russia
Dinners already held in Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, and Krasnoyarsk clearly demonstrated the wide potential of Far Eastern products: from pollock pie with béarnaise sauce to king crab roll with kimchi and truffle ponzu. The guests of the dinner in Krasnoyarsk were surprised with another signature interpretation — lasagna served in a crab head.
As the project hosts note, each gourmet dinner differs not only in atmosphere but also in content: the menu, presentation, and flavor combinations are created taking into account the characteristics of a particular city and its audience. The Millionka restaurant team strives not just to surprise guests but to build a subtle emotional communication through taste — to offer combinations that are memorable and form a vivid gastronomic language. Again and again, the same ingredients acquire a new aroma and reveal themselves from an unexpected side; however, among the dishes there is an established one —whelk shaokao with bao bun. The restaurant says that this hot appetizer has established itself outside the region.
In some cities, the team plans to experiment with a new “à la carte“ format, which means ordering individual dishes from the menu at a restaurant, as opposed to “table d’hôte,” where a set menu is offered. Also marked on the country’s map will be such gastronomic destinations as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Murmansk. The tour will end in Kaliningrad.
"We can play up regional characteristics in our own way, interpreting them through the lens of our local products and offering guests a completely new gastronomic vision. Our restaurant is built at the intersection of Russian and Asian cultures. We feature recipes from classic Russian cuisine but with Asian sauces. Or conversely, we serve some Asian dishes but in the interpretation of Russian cuisine. With this symbiosis, you can evoke very strong gastronomic emotions. During the gourmet dinners, we create vivid impressions in our guests and a desire to come visit us in Vladivostok",
Feedback and Professional Community
The team already has several large-scale trips behind them, unparalleled experience, and first positive feedback, with ambitious plans and new cities ahead. At the same time, proposals are already coming in for holding dinners in other regions of the country, the project hosts say.
"According to the team, which hosted us at the restaurant, and guests of our gourmet dinners, the feedback is simply incredible — lots of emotion and inspiration. It doesn’t end at the dinner: after the event, we discuss the dishes with guests for a long time and collect feedback. This is exactly one of the main goals of the project. Such moments strongly motivate us for further travels around the cities, create an inspiration and desire to create more, to show our cuisine to all of Russia",
As for teamwork, the chef of Millionka restaurant noted that there were no difficulties in the collaboration process. An important element of every culinary professional’s success is exchanging experience and broadening professional horizons. According to him, mutual respect and willingness to help each other remain in the restaurant community.
"We’re all like one family — the restaurants, the chefs. Therefore, when visiting colleagues, no one is left out. There is always support",
The team has seven more cities ahead, where guests will be introduced to Far Eastern cuisine. The project is implemented with the support of Russian Fish Industry Company — one of the largest Russian producers of wild white fish and the leading producer of pollock products in Russia and the world.
