St. Petersburg Officials Say City's Royal Cuisine Chef Challenge To Become Annual Event

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) St. Petersburg is eager to promote the cuisine of the Russian Empire, based on the recipes from the country's historical royal court, and looks forward to hosting on an annual basis the chefs' competition for the Governor's Cup Award, Sergey Markov, the first deputy of the chairman of the committee for external relations of St. Petersburg, said at a press conference on Thursday.

The first Governor's Cup Award will be held in St. Petersburg, which was the capital of the Russian Empire for two centuries, from September 21-22. The competition is designed to popularize the city's cuisine not only among professionals, but also among residents and guests in an attempt to boost tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We expect that this culinary challenge will become an annual event which will help to promote and integrate royal cuisine to the city's hospitality concept as they make their way into menus of local eateries and attract professional and public attention," Markov said.

An international jury for the competition will include among others well-known and awarded-winning professionals such as the renowned president of the World Association of Chefs' Societies, Thomas Gugler, the president of the Russian National Culinary Association, Victor Belyaev, and the president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia, Igor Bukharov.

"We are very happy to welcome foreign participants, renowned foreign judges. For this competition it is quite natural. We are, in a way, in such a privileged position, as St.

Petersburg's royal cuisine has multi-national roots. In the past, it absorbed German, English, Swedish culinary traditions. In the middle of the 19th century, French cuisine also joined the list. In fact, St.Petersburg's imperial cuisine is a union of Russian culinary tradition and foreign," Victor Shabalin, the director of the St. Petersburg culinary association, said.

Awards for the competition, in the form of a plate with a champagne sterlet peeking from inside a half-open ram, are expected to be presented by the governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov.

Sterlet in champagne is a traditional dish of imperial and diplomatic receptions," Sergei Markov, the first deputy chairman of the city's foreign relations committee explained, adding that, during the era of the USSR, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin honored the tradition, treating Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to this very dish at the Yalta conference.

"Sterlet is a royal fish while champagne came to Russia through St. Petersburg. The first fans of champagne were the Russian hussars, who had tried it in France and brought it to the capital of the empire," he added.

In addition to sterlet in champagne, Markov named the "Anna Pavlova" cake as one of the deserts originating from St. Petersburg, as well as Guryev porridge and blancmange.

In 2020, 2.9 million tourists visited St. Petersburg, 2.4 million of whom were Russians and half a million foreign. Compared to 2019, the tourist flow decreased by over 70% due to the pandemic.