In April, Dorchester Banquet Hall of World Trade Center Moscow hosted the first in the series of meetings of the «Art of Food» congress club, dedicated to a gastronomic journey and a virtual tour of Spain, as well as the life and work of the great Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí. The founders of the club are World Trade Center Moscow and the Architect Agency.
The Congress Club «Art of Food» is a virtual journey through the world of architecture and art from around the world, an immersive program with gastronomic research based on famous haute couture recipes, including a master class from WTC Moscow brand chef Mikhail Kuznetsov and a tasting of cooked dishes.
Opening the event Mikhail Kuznetsov noted: «I am glad to welcome you to our evening, which is dedicated to architecture and food, food in architecture, architecture in food. Today we will tell you the intricacies of cooking, show and let you try the traditional dishes of Spain, as well as Gaudí's favorite dish, which he has been eating throughout almost his entire life, until his last days».
Telling how the idea of the «Art of Food» was born, the club's moderator Addis Gadzhiev emphasized: «Classical art is the interaction of a piece of art created by an artist with the viewer. Food is the same process. The created dish raises emotions, associations, memories. Therefore, gastronomy is a high art».
During the meeting, Mikhail Kuznetsov and the team of the WTC Moscow F&B presented to the public several traditional dishes of Spanish cuisine. During the cooking process, WTC Moscow brand chef also told the story of their creation and shared interesting facts about the taste characteristics of Spanish cuisine.
Two types of tapas were served for an appetizer - with the most delicate roast beef and a vegetarian version with baked tomatoes and peppers, seasoned with herbs and Parmesan cheese.
For the main course, Mikhail Kuznetsov prepared Fideua, that resembles traditional paella because of the large amount of seafood and fish, as well as the way of cooking. The main difference is that instead of rice fideos is used- small pasta that resembles vermicelli.
One of the legends of the appearance of this dish that has come down to our time tells about a young and in love cook who, while preparing paella, dreamed about his beloved so much that he mixed up the nearby boxes and put fideos in the pan instead of rice. Despite this mistake, the dish turned out so tasty that it was fixed in Valencian cuisine, and then spread throughout Spain. Fideua is served with Aioli, a very popular sauce on the northern Mediterranean coast, a mixture of garlic, olive oil and spices. In different variations, an egg is also added to the sauce (either the egg yolk or only the egg white), lemon juice and water, mustard and even a pear.
A surprise for everyone was Gaudí's favorite dish - fresh lettuce leaves, that he dipped in milk and ate with a handful of nuts or sugar-coated almonds.
For dessert, Mikhail Kuznetsov prepared melt-in-your-mouth Catalana cream with sourness of fresh raspberries.
Throughout all the evening, which took place in a soulful club atmosphere over a pleasant conversation with a glass of white Spanish wine, the master class of brand chef Mikhail Kuznetsov was accompanied by a fascinating story from Alexander Chugunov, the club presenter on architectural journey. He spoke about the stages of Antonio Gaudi's personal journey from a dandy to a religious hermit, as well as little-known facts from the history of the creation of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia (or Sagrada Familia) and the fascinating details of the buildings of the brilliant master, who in his creations reflected and emphasized the inextricable connection between nature and architecture.
Alexander Chugunov noted: «All 140 years the Holy Family Church has been constructed illegally. The mayor's office did not allocate a place for it. And only a few years ago the issue was resolved. It was decided to give 2.5 million euros to the community for the improvement of neighboring quarters in order to legitimize this construction. This is the largest unfinished building in the world. Now German, Austrian architects are building the Northern facade. Everything is restored from the pupils’ memory, but it is a slightly different style. It's almost like Homeric art, like Gaudí's idea. The legend continues to be built. This is no longer a Catholic cathedral, but a world masterpiece in construction».
As the guests of the event noted, the evening passed in an atmosphere of friendship and comfort, it turned out to be an absolutely unexpected and pleasant surprise: «It is very pleasant to be in such an environment where you are definitely not a stranger, both personally and professionally. I would like to wish to grow: grow in quality, grow emotionally, grow in quantity. When something absolutely concrete and understandable connects with airy and creative, even without drawings, and merges into some kind of result, everything that happens here is ingenious. Special thanks and the words «masterpiece» and «brilliant» to Mikhail Kuznetsov».
Very soon we will go on a new gastronomic journey. Follow the news on our website, subscribe to the Art of Food channel on Telegram and the event page on VK to stay up to date.
We invite you to become members of the «Art of Food» congress club!
The club presenter on architectural journey is Alexander Chugunov, curator of cultural and educational programs of the Congress, presenter of author's courses at the Higher School of Environmental Design of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARCHI), director of the Agency Architect for International Cooperation and author of travel programs for architecture in more than 65 countries of the world in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
The club presenter on gastronomic journey is Mikhail Kuznetsov, brand chef of World Trade Center Moscow, international class chef, culinary adviser of the Moscow branch of the Chaîne des Rôtisseur World Guild of Gastronomers, which unites professionals and lovers of restaurant and culinary arts in more than 70 countries around the world.
The club moderator is Addis Gadzhiev, theater and film artist and director, vice-president of the Guild of Film and TV Artists of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, head of art programs at the Moscow Film School, author of the «Tasty Meetings with Addis» blog and curator of the «Film Architecture» Congress program.