“We are people of steel”: Inga Devyatkina, director of a long-standing restaurant – about Russian cuisine at the crossroads of eras and a system without failures

– THANKS! The numbers speak for themselves: we have fed several million guests and won countless awards in every catering competition and food festival. But the main success is the special atmosphere for which customers return year after year. Sometimes it seems like we opened yesterday. And I remember very well the day when Alexander Leonidovich Rappoport came to the Composer restaurant, where I was the director, and told me that Zhivago would be there. This is how our story began.

— What changed at Zhivago during this period??

– For a guest – nothing. Changing something in front of those who love Zhivago as it is is taboo. Neither the interior, nor the menu, nor the staff uniform are unchanged. All the colossal work takes place inside, like in a clock. We just focus on the details.

— Your menu is a hymn to Soviet cuisine? All 250 dishes?

— It is Russian cuisine at the crossroads of eras: the perfect balance between ancient traditions and modern presentation through the prism of the eternal successes of Soviet gastronomy. This place located on the corner of Tverskaya and Mokhovaya is historically destined to be a Russian restaurant. Before us, in the last and the century before last, there were both the Balaklava tavern and the legendary National. The view of the Kremlin calls for pies, borscht and milk mushrooms with sour cream!

— Why Soviet cuisine is still in fashion?

“It’s part of our cultural code, a taste of childhood and shared memory. There was a time when they turned away from this cuisine, but 11 years ago Alexander Rappoport made retro gastronomy fashionable. These tastes will lead nowhere, because they speak of love and home.”

— What is unique about the Zhivago menu??

— The fact is that you want to eat dishes of it every day. We deliberately avoided pathos and maintained affordable prices – this is the principled position of Alexander Leonidovich. I believe our guest should not order just one dish. Our menu is designed to put everything on the table at once and try at least three dishes at a time. This was the philosophy of Soviet restaurants – and we carefully preserve it.

– If you had to choose, what dishes are you particularly proud of??

– Impossible to choose! Our entire menu is stable – from pies and pickles to intricate signature works. Everything is perfect. It’s true, there is a professional distortion – the expression “you should try everything in our restaurant” is not an empty phrase for me (laughs). But this only benefits the guests.

— You have managed to create more than just a restaurant, a cultural phenomenon. What is special about business—models?

— Alexander Leonidovich managed to create an incredibly clean and complete project. Here, everything was there: the music, the waitresses’ uniforms, the view of Red Square. Many elderly people come to us and feel comfortable there, which, unfortunately, is rare when it comes to going to a restaurant. Recently a couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with us – it was here at the National that they once celebrated it. They brought with them a 40 year old recipe with chicken tabaka, steak, Olivier… We prepared everything for them exactly according to this menu, but of course we didn’t get the bill. They and we cried. Making people happy in the same place 40 years later is priceless. And for me, the presence of adult guests in the room is the main sign of success.

— Were there times, when it seemed, that you can’t handle it?

– Yes, only once – during a pandemic. At that time, we even refused delivery by decision of Alexander Leonidovich; we did not risk people’s health. It was the only time I thought everything was falling apart. But we survived. And after the opening, each of our guests came back to us.

— What can be called the main problem over the years??

— Shortage of staff. It’s colossal. Working in a 24-hour restaurant with 700 people a day is a huge burden. You have to get used to the project, feel its rhythm. I bow to our waiters: it’s hard physical work, varicose veins and back pain. The cooks, the cleaners, the runners, all the staff, everyone works at full speed all the time.

— You train your staff yourself?

— Yes, but we don’t have a formal school like other big restaurants. We first look at a new person in the room – we can immediately see if they have potential. If we see a spark, we invest: time, money, pay for an internship. But we can’t have daily planning meetings: the restaurant is open 24/7, and our banquets sometimes start at seven in the morning.

— How do you control the team in 200 man without receipt—leaves?

“We are one of the few restaurants that operates without them. For me, a checklist is a failure. If you lose it, everything goes to hell. Everything has to be automatic and bounce off the teeth. We have about 30 working discussions, where from 3 a.m. to midnight, all problems are resolved quickly. It is a strict system based on discipline and an absolute understanding of everyone’s role.

—Who do you feel like in this system??

– I’m not the boss. I am the coordinator of all activities of my team. I am equal with everyone: the chef, the cook, the cleaners, the dishwashers, the cleaners. I communicate with everyone, I scold, I make peace, I forgive. Sometimes I even bring back the ones I kicked out. Alexander Leonidovich says that I am too kind and that it harms the cause. But I can’t do otherwise. I never allow myself to relax. Tears, sleepless nights, gray hair, this concerns us too. I believe our team is made up of people of steel.