Mircko Zago is the brand chef of the Aist restaurant in Moscow, and La Fabbrica in Rostov-on-Don.
Press PhotoEver since childhood, Mircko Zago has loved experimenting with flavors, combining sweet and salty, blending unusual ingredients to get something new. At 15, he found a job as a washer-upper at a restaurant, and left high school at 18 to work in a kitchen. That was the start his career as a chef. In 2001, he was invited to Moscow’s Syr restaurant, where he was as a chef until the establishment’s recent closure.
Restaurant La Fabbrica in Rostov-on-Don
Press PhotoZago is now the brand chef of the Aist and BRO&N restaurants in Moscow, and La Fabbrica in Rostov-on-Don, and his immediate plans include opening another place inside the Arctic Circle in Murmansk.
“For me, modern cuisine represents a completely new look at classic Italian recipes. I try to make them lighter and healthier, with more vibrant flavors,” Zago told Russia Beyond.
Beef tartare with artichoke
La FabbricaZago also experiments with Russian cuisine, and admits to having fallen in love with soups, marinades, cutlets, pelmeni, and solyanka. “But most of all I like okroshka and the amazing drink kvass,” he notes.
In conversation with Russia Beyond, Zago shared his vision of Russia’s beloved Olivier salad.
Russian salad
La Fabbrica
Russian salad
La FabbricaRead more: Said Fadli from Morocco cooks the Olivier salad
In our new series “How foreigners change Russian cuisine,” Russia Beyond sits down with Moscow’s brilliant foreign chefs to talk all things food and to get you, our readers, a special Russian recipe in their own original interpretation, that you can easily make at home.
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
