O!Mega Taste wraps up the pollock season: 100 tonnes of products, 40,000 dishes out of pollock, and 216,000 happy guests
The second iteration of the O!Mega Taste pollock festival took place in cities across central Russia, Primorsky Krai, and Khabarovsk Krai, from mid-March to early June. Plans for the new, 2024 season of O!Mega Taste was unveiled in Moscow on March 29, 2024, with organizers sharing their goals for the year, and on March 30, everyone was invited to taste the pollock bounty at the House of Russian Cuisine at VDNH. From May 18 to June 2, the sheer range of culinary masterpieces crafted from pollock would leave the public speechless in several cities simultaneously. Over the course of two weeks, Russian consumers had the opportunity to fully appreciate the unique qualities of wild white fish products. As many as 38 Primorsky Krai cafes and restaurants participated in the project. Throughout its run in Primorsky Krai, the festival was attended by 200,000 local residents and visiting travellers, with restaurant chefs preparing over 25,000 pollock dishes. Russian Fishery Company supplied 10 tons of advanced-processed pollock fillet for preparation of the festival's culinary masterpieces. The festival's partners, the Kven and Meridia processing companies, supplied the culinary workshops with crab sticks made out of RFC surimi.
For two weeks, chefs amazed restaurant-goers with dishes made from wild white fish. The special festival menu featured signature pollock dishes from each participating restaurant. The menu selection was impressively diverse and creative, ranging from salads and appetizers to baked goods and desserts. Another part of the project were gourmet dinners at Millionka Restaurant and More Seafood Bar, courtesy of renowned Far Eastern chefs. These top chefs introduced guests to the lesser-known flavors of pollock during one-of-a-kind culinary presentations.
The restaurant segment of the festival was followed by a street celebration held on May 24 and 25 along the Sportivnaya Harbor quay in Vladivostok. Over 15,000 people attended this oceanside feast. At the food court, restaurants showcased street-style pollock and crab stick dishes. The street festival also included a special venue where the best chefs of the Far East held workshops on preparing dishes from the local cuisine. A total of 10,000 pollock dishes were consumed at the street festival.
Moscow was next to embrace the O!Mega Taste festivities. An entire dynasty of chefs—Svetlana Bokova, founder and brand chef at the Kamchatsky Dom Far Eastern cuisine venue, Svetlana's mother Irina Bokova, a production technologist, and Svetlana's daughter Yesenia Bokova, aged 3—became the spokeswomen for O!Mega Taste at the House of Russian Cuisine at VDNH on May 24, treating guests to pollock chebureki turnovers and pollock with vegetables in caviar sauce. On International Children's Day, the House of Russian Cuisine hosted a gastronomic pollock festival for kids. Gastro Map Russia chefs, residents of the Tavrida Art Cluster, and participants of the 2024 World Youth Festival held cooking workshops for children and offered pollock dish tastings.
On June 2, as part of Moscow Wave Fish Week, city residents and guests were treated to Oh! Mega Ukha. This year's ukha (fish soup) recipe featured pollock, a healthy and much-beloved treat. A team of exceptional culinary masters gathered at Revolution Square. This year, there was a slight deviation from the pattern set up at the workshop: instead of the usual 100 liters of ukha, the chefs managed to make 150. Which means that half again as many more guests were served this delicious soup at the festival.
The retail segment's interest in the festival continues to grow with each passing year. And this year, federal retail chains joined the O!Mega Taste festival. Sales growth across the entire range of products participating in the festival was over 47% and over 100 tonnes. Over 50 types of pollock products were showcased in various categories across regional and federal retail chains. Pollock carcass was popular in the Chilled Fish category, with a 50% increase in sales compared to the same period in 2023. In the Frozen Fish category, pollock fillet emerged as the favorite, with sales up by 30% from 2023. The Delicatessen category featured surimi, pollock roe, pollock in jelly, and dried pollock. Crab sticks and crab rolls were the top-selling items.
The festival is hosted by the Russian Fishery Company (RFC), Gastronomic Map of Russia, and Visit Primorye. The festival is supported by the government of Primorsky Krai.
The strategic partners of the festival included: the Federal Agency for Fishery, the Pollock Catchers Association (launching the country's first initiative to promote the Far Eastern Pollock fish brand) and X5 Group.
The festival was also supported by the RusQuality organization (in promoting fish products and the Russian Fish project), the Fish Union, and the Fishery Shipowners Association (FSA).
The festival has already been held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi and will continue developing and implementing initiatives to promote high-quality and safe pollock products nationwide.
