“I’m a chef, I have a
restaurant very well known in Moscow with 100% Italian menu. What if we lack food or raw materials? Absolutely not, here is everything. And what does not arrive, especially Italian products, we have begun to produce within the country. “Speaking at AdnKronos is Ivan Rorato, Venetian chef and owner of the Italian restaurant ‘La Bellezza’ in Moscow, who talks about his experience after so many years of life in Russia also in light of the sanctions that are hitting the country.
“I arrived in Moscow permanently in December 2020, but I have been back and forth since 2008, because I have been married to a Russian woman since 2007 and we have a little girl – says the restaurateur – I also work as a personal chef and we also produce cured meats. here they come only by contraband “. Rorato explains that he had no problem with the sanctions imposed on Russia: “The sanctions were a bit traumatic only in the first days, for the historical memory of the people of the Soviet Union period, then everything returned in a very short time to normality. We still have everything, no product is missing, indeed, the supermarkets are fulli “. And the prices?” The prices of European raw materials have only risen a little, “explains the chef.
That for this reason, like other Italians who have chosen to remain in the Federation, “we are starting to produce everything here, cheese, tomato sauce, mozzarella -revela Rorato- The burrata you find is fantastic, it has nothing to envy to the Italian one, because the cows here have a lot of space, there are a lot of pastures, and the quality of the raw materials is excellent. When the imports reopen they will have to compete with me “, jokes the chef. And he explains that in the capital there are a lot of people who think like him, and appreciate the political management of the Kremlin:” Here there are many Italians who have stayed and we have a group: not there is one who is against it, because we see that the country works, other than in Italy. Of course, you have to respect the rules and, as in all civilized countries, if you don’t respect them, they stop you. “
No problem even with blocked credit cards. “The day before Visa and Materclass disconnected us from Europe here they had already communicated that they had made the deal with China,” the chef tells Adnkronos. “Within four to five days everything is back to normal. The Russian circuit card works for mobile phone payments, while for payments abroad I use a poste-pay”.
European brands “are not leaving Russia entirely, this is a huge fake news from the West – says the restaurateur – Those who are left most are the Americans. They import the goods directly from China, and therefore do not pass through Europe. Apple here is all open, McDonald’s are not all closed, Ikea continues to pay its employees and organizes tours for tourists waiting to reopen “.
On how Putin is seen in his country, the Venetian restaurateur explains: “If they wanted to drop it, they got it all wrong. Even those who used to turn up their noses a little, are now all with him. The feeling, even talking to the many people I see every day, is that there are more people on his side than against “. This is also because “Moscow is a city that has everything, and despite being a metropolis with almost 18 million inhabitants and very well cared for, on a manic level. If I think of Rome, I get chills”. So right now wouldn’t he go back to Italy? “Not even on vacation: it’s much better here“.
#Ukraine #Italian #restaurateur #Moscow #Sanctions #missing #supermarkets #full