Akhmed OkhunovCommunity profile

The ambitious young chef, Ahmed Ohunov, received his first award in 2013 at the "PIR" restaurant competition. Since 2016, he has dedicated himself to studying the regional cuisine of the Urals and became part of the Authentic Ural Cuisine team. In the past six months, he has shifted his focus and delved into Baltic cuisine. He has reflected elements of both in the menu of the BALT restaurant.

Ahmed regularly participates in and organizes gastronomic dinners. In the past year, he has visited Orenburg, dining at the "Karin" restaurant (the best hotel restaurant in Russia), Arkhangelsk, at the Roomi restaurant, and Touché in Moscow. In Zelenogradsk, he hosted Rashid Rakhmanov, the chef of the Amazonico restaurant in the Maldives, Taras Kirienko, the chef of the wine bar Touche' in Moscow, and Andrey Anikiev, the chef of Roomi in Moscow. In November 2023, he received 3 gold medals for the best fish and lamb dishes, as well as the Modern Cooking award at the international Gastro Antaliya championship in Turkey.

Here is a complete list of his awards: 2013: Bronze medalist, Moscow, "PIR". 2014: 3 Silver medals, "PIR", Moscow. 2014: Gold medalist, "Priкамская кухня" (Regional Cuisine of the Urals), Perm. 2015: 2 Gold medals, "PIR", Moscow. 2015: "Eurasia", Yekaterinburg, Bronze medalist. 2016: Gold medalist, Russia, "Chef a la Russe", Junior category. 2016: Gold medal, "World Skill", Urals region. 2017: "Priкамская кухня", 1 Gold medal, 4 Silver medals. 2017: Best Young Chef of the Republic of Bashkortostan. 2018: "Chef a la Russe" semi-final, Gold medalist. 2018: Chef of the "Metis" restaurant, "Soul and Kitchen", Yekaterinburg. 2018: Best Young Chef of the Urals region. 2019: "Where to eat", Top 5 Young Chefs of the Urals. Restaurant "Metis" - 2nd place in the Urals region. 2019: "Where to eat" - Restaurant "Metis" - 28th place in Russia. 2020: Covid-19. 2024: "Chef of the Year" according to the "Best in the Industry 2024. Palm Branch of the Restaurant Business" award.

"70% of a dish's success lies in the freshness of the ingredients. That's why it's especially important for me to work with local, seasonal cuisine," the chef shares his approach. "Baltic cuisine is a constant search for the unknown: from wild plants to marine creatures, which we try to incorporate as much as possible into the menu."