Marina BudnikovaCommunity profile

Marina Budnikova, a student of renowned Italian chefs Andrea Accordi and Valerio Andrisani, draws inspiration from the gastronomic traditions of various regions of Italy, skillfully combining respect for the history of Italian cuisine with modern techniques, creativity, and a fresh, original perspective.

Marina Budnikova was born in Chita. From a young age, she was passionate about gastronomy, but initially, she pursued a degree in philology. In 2014, she graduated from the Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University with a bachelor's degree in Russian language and literature.

While studying at the philology faculty, Marina's focus was on the culinary world, even in a literal sense: the student actively followed the development of the SWISSAM International Hotel, Restaurant, and Culinary Arts University, which was located very close to her place of study.

In 2014, after visiting SWISSAM during an open house event, Marina spontaneously made a decision that she never regretted, and she applied for admission. "From the first glimpse of the vibrant culinary life, my eyes lit up; I realized that this was the career of my dreams, and I wanted to fully immerse myself in this world," she recalls.

In 2015, after completing her studies at SWISSAM University, Marina had the opportunity to intern at Percorso, and shortly after, she joined the restaurant's team, starting as a cook in the cold station. Among her initial tasks in the kitchen was, for example, chopping parsley for sauces and salads, but her curiosity, observation skills, resourcefulness, and talent for improvisation allowed Marina to excel and progress to the position of head chef in the following eight years.

"Italian cuisine is an inexhaustible source of inspiration; it can be explored endlessly," says Marina Budnikova. "What is most interesting and valuable to me is the opportunity to reinterpret traditional and iconic dishes from different regions of Italy, to connect with ancient family recipes, while creating dishes that will be a reinterpretation of the classics and can surprise guests, giving them new impressions from familiar ingredients."

In 2023, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Four Seasons Lion Palace St. Petersburg hotel and the anniversary of the Percorso restaurant, Marina created a retrospective gastronomic set of five courses, in which she told the story of the establishment in five chapters and creatively reinterpreted the most popular dishes from the first decade. One of the dishes, Carpaccio di Polpo, was Marina's original interpretation of a classic Italian dish, reflecting her nostalgic memories of her first day in the Percorso kitchen.

In the spring of 2023, Marina was one of two guest chefs representing Russian gastronomy at the 2023 SCO Summit in India, and in the fall of 2023, the Percorso restaurant, under the leadership of Marina Budnikova, was ranked among the 33 best restaurants in St. Petersburg according to the Lemon Guide 2023 restaurant ranking, whose expert council consists of more than 100 major entrepreneurs – founders and owners of development and construction companies, banks, industrial enterprises, retail chains, restaurants, hotels, automotive holdings, shopping centers, art galleries, and medical centers.