Vyacheslav VyunikCommunity profile

Vyacheslav Vyunik was born and raised in the small village of Aidarly in the Almaty region. From a young age, he showed a great interest in cooking and loved to prepare meals. Already in his final year of high school, Vyacheslav decided to turn his passion into a profession and enrolled in a college program specializing in food technology. He began his career while still a student. In his first year, Vyacheslav gained valuable professional experience working 14 hours a day in a large cafe with 700 seats. This experience taught him discipline, speed, and how to handle large numbers of customers. In his third year, the ambitious young chef began working in an international hotel chain, where he learned from foreign chefs. It was there that he first became acquainted with modern culinary techniques, new products, and the principles of molecular gastronomy. After completing his professional education, Vyacheslav set out to find a place where he could continue to grow and develop. His professional journey took him from Kazakhstan to Russia, first to Crimea and then to Sochi. While working in hotel complexes, Vyacheslav progressed through various stages of professional development: he was the chef in charge of room service, responsible for breakfast, and simultaneously managed several food service outlets. Even at a young age, he managed employees who were older than him, and he successfully embraced this leadership challenge. His rapid career advancement led to him becoming the chef de cuisine at the prestigious Mriya Resort & Spa at the age of 22, where he was fully responsible for the kitchen. In 2019, the chef moved to the Kaliningrad region, where he was invited to head the kitchen of a new panoramic restaurant called "Oblaka" in Zelenogradsk. Under Vyacheslav's leadership, the restaurant quickly became a notable gastronomic project in the region. His cuisine is a combination of modern techniques, local Baltic ingredients, and a unique approach to gastronomy. In 2021, Vyacheslav Vyunik was awarded the title of "Best Chef in Kaliningrad" by the "Pumpernickel" restaurant award. The chef became known to a wider audience through his participation in national culinary projects. First, Vyacheslav won the television show "Young Knives" on the "Piatnica!" channel. This victory opened the door for him to another major project, "Hell's Chef," where participants had to cook under extreme conditions. In December 2022, Vyacheslav Vyunik also won this project. Today, Vyacheslav is the brand chef of the "Oblaka" restaurant in Zelenogradsk and the chef of the "Istoriya v Tareлке" (History on a Plate) restaurant in Kaliningrad. The "Istoriya v Tareлке" project, located in the Königsberg Gastronomy Museum "Blockhaus," has become an important part of the region's gastronomic culture. Here, the kitchen is transformed into a form of cultural storytelling: through ingredients, techniques, and the chef's unique interpretation of dishes, the gastronomic history of the Kaliningrad region is revealed. Vyacheslav Vyunik's culinary style can be described as modern, author's cuisine with elements of fusion, where local Baltic ingredients, historical gastronomic traditions, and modern international techniques are combined. For the chef, it is important not only the gastronomy itself but also the emotional aspect: each dish becomes part of a story that the restaurant team tells to its guests. In 2024, the "Oblaka" restaurant, under Vyacheslav's leadership, received the award for "Best Restaurant by the Sea" from the "Pumpernickel" restaurant award. In the spring of 2025, Vyacheslav completed a professional internship in Spain at a Michelin-starred restaurant, where he deepened his knowledge of modern European gastronomy and expanded his unique approach to creating dishes. In November 2025, the "Istoriya v Tareлке" restaurant received the award for "Discovery of the Year" from the "Pumpernickel" restaurant award, which was recognition of the new gastronomic project and the work of the team.