Boris VartanovCommunity profile

Education: Don Culinary Arts and Business College. He completed internships in Moscow at Semifreddo, working with two-Michelin-starred chef Nino Graziano, at the SAVVA restaurant (one Michelin star in the MICHELIN-Moscow 2022 guide) under Andrey Shmakov, at "Gorynych," and in St. Petersburg at Inner, working with Dmitry Blinov. He began his professional career at the age of 18 at the "Tikhiy Don" restaurant, specializing in Russian cuisine (Rostov-on-Don). He also worked at White Rabbit (Moscow), "Onegin Dacha," and "Bellucci" (Rostov-on-Don). At the age of 22, he became the head chef of the "Yuzhny" summer restaurant, which had 350 seats (Rostov-on-Don). Shortly after, he simultaneously headed the kitchens of both the "Yuzhny" restaurant and the Turkish restaurant BOSFOR (Rostov-on-Don). He was the head chef at Hydra Bar and K by Hydra (Moscow). Since August 2024, he has been the head chef of the neo-tavern Yiayia. "At Yiayia, we have a rule: 'Cook as if you were cooking for your own mother.' We always give our mothers the very best. It's important to me that there are no artificial ingredients in the food. We only use natural flavors in my kitchen. We only use spices, tomatoes, and Parmesan as flavor enhancers. It's important to me that the food is balanced, and that our guests don't feel the need to add more salt," says Boris. Throughout his career, Boris Vartanov has worked with five Italian chefs, which is why he considers Italian cuisine to be the foundation of his culinary style. Other important elements of his gastronomic style include a love for meat, the ability to work with it, and a deep knowledge of Southern produce. Boris places great importance on roots and traditions. He is a representative of one of the oldest peoples of the Eastern Caucasus – the Udins, with a total population of approximately 10,000 people worldwide. Their historical homeland is the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan. In 2021, he won the "Young Chefs" competition organized by Novikov School, which featured 178 chefs from across the country.