Ivan and Sergey Berezutskiy, chef owners, Twins Garden in Moscow

Chefs Ivan and Sergey Berezutskiy opened Twins Garden in Moscow in November 2017  - it 'aims to change the gastronomic world in Russia'. In the same year, the twins were awarded Çhefs of the Year from Where To Eat. 

Ivan has staged with chefs such as Ferran Adria at El Bulli, Danny Garcia at Calima, and Joan Roca i Fontané at El Celler de Can Roca. Additionally, Ivan has worked in some of Russia’s finest kitchens including Chipollino with Adrian Quetglas, Doce Uvas and Grand Cru. He was awarded the best Chef of St. Petersburg, 2013 and the winner of the International Haute Cuisine Contest, 2011 in Spain. 

Sergey, like Ivan, has also done impressive stages with chefs such as Grant Achatz from Alinea in Chicago. He was also the winner of the San Pellegrino Young Chef Cup. In 2013, Sergey became a head chef at As Eat Is restaurant in Moscow, and thanks to Sergey’s inventive cuisine, As Eat Is became one of the most important institutions in Russia’s food scene.

In 2014, the pair opened Twins restaurant in Moscow. In 2015 and 2016, it was included in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (51-100). In the next two years, they also opened two Wine & Crab restaurants and launched Twins Farm in the Kaluga region. 

The Staff Canteen spoke to Ivan and Sergey about ingredients native to Russia, opening Twins Garden and the key to their success. 

Why did you both want to become chefs?

We became interested in gastronomy when we were children, as soon as we could hold knives. First at home, helping our mother in the kitchen, of course.

What do you love about being a chef, what keeps you wanting to cook and do you enjoy working together?

Creativity, imagination. We love the fact that for us, gastronomy is not a job but a part of life.

We just can't imagine our lives without it. And of course, we like working together.

What was your first experience in a Michelin kitchen and was it a shock in comparison to your previous roles?

Ivan: When I immediately got into El Bulli with three stars, of course, it was very difficult, very challenging and everyone knows about it. But it was happiness and delight.

Sergey: Same.

Sergey why did you want to work at Alinea?

Because for me personally, at that time, it was the best restaurant in the world. I gave up everything and saved money to go for this internship. I spent all the money that my family and friends gave me as a present for the wedding on this trip and also spent my honeymoon there. My wife is a hero! (laughs). I was there for 2 months and I took from that experience attitude to the product and, most importantly, the system of work.

Are there any significant differences between working in kitchens in America and Russia?

It was obvious at that time, and that is why we went there to learn – exactly how to build a working system in the kitchen. Now we all aspire to perfection.

Ivan why did you want to work at El Bulli and El Celler de Can Roca?

Because it is the best restaurant in the world, and not only in my opinion. In addition, I liked the fact that they were quite creative, perhaps, El Bulli is the most creative restaurant in the world, which created a whole era. I wanted to see how El Bulli team thought, what inspired them and of course to work with them – and see how it all was organised. El Bulli was my first experience of the kind in my whole life, and of course I enjoyed every minute of being there. I was there for 3 and a half months and I realised that I really like creativity.

Are there any significant differences between working in kitchens in Spain and Russia?

For me, the system of work at El Bulli has become a standard for building work in my own kitchen.

Which ingredients native to Russia do you love working with?

Russia is a huge country, and there are many interesting products. Probably one of our favourite is Kamchatka King crab. After a global study of all the crabs that inhabit Russia, we opened Wine & Crab restaurant. But we also travel around the country every year and discover more and more new, unknown and rare products, and this gives an impetus to the use of these products in our kitchen. Finding them and starting to use them, we popularise them and we are happy when other restaurants start to include them in their menus because of us.

For example, the Northern prawn - nobody used it in restaurants in Russia before us, although our country exports it to Japan. There is also Arctic raspberry and caviar of Kamchatka crab - all products not only appeared at our restaurants but people began to use them everywhere.

Tell us about Twins Garden?

Twins Garden is a project that is unrivaled in Russia, and it is designed to take Russian cuisine to a new stage of its evolution.

The word "garden" in the title is of strategic importance: about two-thirds of the grocery traffic comes to the kitchen from the private farm.

The Twins Garden Farm is 125 acres of land in Kaluga region, cultivated and designed considering international experience and advanced technology. Under our supervision, about 150 types of vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs are cultivated there; in the natural environment, they breed fish and poultry, cows of dairy breeds and rare Nubian goats for our own production of cheese. Scientists of K. A. Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy also take an active part in arranging the farm. They help to organise the space and carefully monitor the growth of rare species unique to the region.

Twins Garden’s wine list is the biggest in Russia. At the moment, it includes more than 1000 labels, from popular affordable wines to rare and exclusive items, carefully selected by the experts of the restaurant throughout Europe. The collection is dynamic and will be updated regularly, so 1000 is just the beginning.

How would you describe the food you serve at Twins Garden?

This is Russian cuisine using seasonal Russian products from our farm, as well as products that we find while traveling across our country. It is based on traditions and flavours. This is Russian cuisine in a new, non-classical interpretation.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date and why?

It is Adrian Quetglas, and of course our internships. They have influenced our approach and view of products, our world view, and this cannot be disregarded. But what was also of great importance was our huge desire to change something in the whole approach, globally.

We didn't have good products and we built our own farm to change that. We do not know a lot of products, because our country is huge. We spend our energy, time and money in order to find rare Russian products and make them remarkable.

What dish on your menu best showcases your cooking style?

Gastronomic set called Twins.

What is the food scene like in Moscow?

In our opinion, it is developing, and not only in Moscow but also in Russia as a whole. Now there is a boom for our own products and gastronomic development. Moscow is advancing very quickly in terms of gastronomy.

Other than your own restaurant, what's your favourite local restaurant?

Chestnaya kukhnya (Honest cuisine) - it is the restaurant where you can try Russian cuisine with classic combinations. Savva restaurant, which also cooks Russian cuisine but here it is based on the classic French techniques.

Have you always strived to achieve accolades and what’s your key to success?

We did not ever seek admiration and universal recognition. It has always been more important for us to make an interesting product and an interesting restaurant. A restaurant that will be built not on advertising and marketing but on what it really does. We want to make a mark in terms of products and relation to Russian cuisine.

We want Russian cuisine to be perceived differently. We have become the first and so far, the only Russian restaurant with its own farm, and this gave an impetus to the development of Russian cuisine. Our main mission is to help the development of Russian cuisine on the world stage as much as we can.

The key to success is to work hard and work a lot. You have to be obsessed with the idea. If you live with it and really want it deep in your heart, it's going to happen. And if this is caused by the fact that it is fashionable – you will never be successful. We don't just go to work, we live with it.

Having worked under a number of top chefs how easy has it been to find your own style and niche?

When we went to internships, we did not go for chef’s style, we had another goal. We wanted to see what influences the chef, where he draws his inspiration from, and how he later transforms it into dishes.

We did not go to look at someone's dishes, we wanted to understand what is on his mind, what he thinks of, we wanted to learn the principles of work in the kitchen. Therefore, there is no such thing that some chefs had an influence on us, we always wanted to create something of our own, even when we were still studying. We never wanted to copy. There is an expression I heard while working in Spain: a copy is not creative. Copiar no es crear.

What are your future plans for the restaurant?

We want it to become one of the leaders of Russian cuisine.

More images from Ivan and Sergey Berezutskiy and the Twins Garden: