Soviet Background
At the age of 17 I discovered I had a gastritis. I had to abruptly stop eating smoked, hot or fried food. Now it is not so severe and I can manage to break some rules but as soon as I feel nauseated I know I have to stop eating or drinking something.
If I go back further in my childhood I remember that when in the early 1980s my dad started bringing new unknown food from abroad. First yogurt really shocked me. In the Soviet union we had only kefir and ryazhenka. That's what I was used to. I guess I am pretty conservative.
Conservative
I remember I saw the Century eggs for the first time in 1992 and I had none of it. It takes unusual circumstances to get me to change my habits. 2 years ago we went to Bali with friends. All the food was unknown and it was a nightmare to me. But I had no choice. Everybody had no choice. We ate only at that very local place, where the food is not adapted for Europeans. Only local - rice, seafood, chicken, noodles.
So everyone ended up hooked up on the Asian food and we started looking for something similar in Moscow.
Looking for Asian food
We found a Japanese supermarket in Moscow. When we go there with friends we buy lots of funny, weird, unknown stuff. We buy all we see like crazy and then it stays in the shelves for months because it's so weird.
Parties with friends
We do regular out-of-town parties. Girls cook at home salads and stuff and bring it with them. Boys choose meat or fish if it's a barbecue. When you prepare meat it is important to preserve the meat taste. You have to know how to make a marinade to preserve it. Wine is one option. But mostly we try to avoid lots of spices of herbs on meat.
Secondly, cutting is also very important. Because meat has a structure and cutting can help or spoil it in terms of softness.
Choosing food
For meat we go to the open market to one man (vendor) we know. We know him and trust him. Everyone who cares about the stuff he eats has to find one by trial and error.
Spices we choose from the people who cook meat regularly and know how to make a marinade and all that. When people know a lot about spices they deserve my highest respect.
For example at the Crimea we found this lady who asked us "What kind of a fish do you have? How do you want it? How do you plan to cook it?" and then she mixed some spices for us right on the spot. The fish was marvelous.
It is obvious that vegetables form the tent in the street smell like vegetables unlike the ones from the store.
Plus I have this friend who is a real guru. We go to Dorogomilovsky market with him [it is a well known market with quality food]. From him I learned that cooking is a "harsh" art. You have to understand how flavors work vs. knowing the recipes.
Butter
Now that I have learned to manage my gastritis I can fry meat and vegetables on oil (not olive). This is my most common dish cooked at home. I wish I had someone to cook for, but I am single. I have lots of friends but most parties take out of town or other places.
One pack of butter can last in my fridge for 2 months. I usually buy Valio or Vologodskoye. I know that there are different producers of Vologodskoye but mine is the color I remember. I choose it by the color.
I do not trust butter from open markets. When it's unpacked it is suspicious.
I guess butter is not the crucial product for that's why I am not too concerned. That is why I wouldn't care about deals in stores as well. Saving 10 rubles is not too interesting.
Trash Tradition
In summer we go on small hiking getaways with tents and stuff. We bring all the crazy canned food. Like sprat in tomato sauce. All kinds of cheap junk food that goes well only with vodka.
Organics
I am not too concerned. I know one girl who is crazy about it so I hear about it all the time. But I am not seeking it everywhere.
Good Food
My motto is Eat Products with Taste. If it tastes good it is good for you. That's why I will never go to MacDonald's.
But in Moscow even this rule is hard to follow. Restos are a disaster here. You have to keep a list. Meat is good here, fish is good there. There is no one place where all is equally good.
In France you go to any bakery and everything is mouth watering. In Moscow even in expensive bakeries what you get is hired people who don't care about you.
What we need is stores and restaurants where you know the owner. He is your neighbor or someone you got to know. This person will remember you and your habits and you will trust him.
We call it "Let's drive out to eat". You can never find a good place nearby. And it's true for everything in Moscow - everything you do you have to hunt it down across the city.
Shopping
Shopping is also a feat in Moscow. You have to hunt high and low to find stuff you want. So most of the times I am too lazy to drive and just go to the local stores. I guess I am pretty utilitarian in my approach to food.
Observation: People are tired of living in big cities (where you have to spend lots of effort to find sophisticated items), shopping in big supermarkets and chains (where hired people treat you like an object).
Opportunity: Provide more soulful, humane approach to your customers.
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