Nikita KuzmenkoCommunity profile

Nikita was born in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. At the age of 16, he started working in the kitchen of the Zaporizhzhia restaurant "Meet Street," where he immediately impressed the head chef with his enthusiasm, curiosity, and desire to create food that was unique. Thoughtful, well-read, and passionate, three years later, Nikita became the head chef of the new restaurant "Lucky" and won the international competition "Best Chef 2017." In 2018, he moved to Russia and took a position as the brand chef at WOW Group (WOW Event Hall, WOW Club, MyMoscow Terrace, Rivergate Club), where he set up his first laboratory and began experimenting. It was here that he became fascinated by fermentation, actively studying its technology and striving to create new flavor combinations from familiar ingredients. After three years, this new technique not only became a powerful flavor tool for him, but also allowed him to simplify and speed up work in the kitchen, and its active use led many to consider the young chef as a representative of "modern author's cuisine of fermentation."

In reality, Nikita Kuzmenko's interests are much broader. He sought new combinations for traditional recipes, opening the restaurants "Millionaire" and CAVIAR in Astana, and skillfully juggled exotic ingredients and flavors at Asiatique Kitchen X Bar in Depo. His culinary philosophy, inspired by the octaphilosophy of André Chiang, was fully realized in his first independent project, Touch Chef's Place & Bar. Here, using modern techniques and fermentation technology, he develops Russian culinary traditions and creates new narratives.