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A world-class chef decided to accept Bulgaria as his home. Together with his family he created a restaurant for nine months, which will be appreciated by the world organization “Michelin”. Thus, Bulgaria falls on the world map of prestigious restaurants.
He was born in Italy and she was born in Poland. They meet at a restaurant in Hamburg, where they both work. Gianfranco Chiarini and Anna have their pasts before entering the kitchen. She went to university to become a television producer, and he did not want to comment.
“I’m doing it for my safety and that of my family. I’m sorry – I can’t talk,” Gianfranco explained.
Thus it becomes clear that there are rules in their restaurant in Bulgaria. And one of them is not to talk in the past tense. Stick to punctuality for dinner and dress code.
“There is a dress code. You can come formally dressed or sporty-elegant. You don’t need a tie, but you have to come with indoor shoes. They can be tennis shoes, but they have to be covered. You can’t come in sandals or shorts. Also, this is a restaurant that is only for adults.Children are very cute, we love children, but it is not fair to a child to be told to stand still for 6 hours and behave like an adult. I call it “child terrorism.” These are the rules. It’s a non-smoking restaurant, “says Chiarini.
The restaurant is located in the Targovishte village of Devino. It is a settlement in nothingness, with a population of ten. However, they have been 12 for nine months now. Thanks to Gianfranco Kierini and his wife Anna. He has been cooking for more than 30 years, and together with Anna they make their own company, which is rented all over the world. They open 200 restaurants in 114 countries and cities such as Dubai, Hong Kong, India, Bolivia, Colombia, USA, Italy, Ethiopia and Vietnam. After so much travel around the world, the family of chefs decides to settle somewhere forever.
“One day we decided to make our dream come true, which was to have a small restaurant where we would take very personal care of all the guests and make them feel like kings and queens with delicious food and good wine. But we were not sure about the country where we wanted to do this. In 2015, I was invited by a hotel in Bansko to do a gastronomic festival. This was the first time we came and we were represented in Bulgaria, “says Gianfranco.
They have been living in Bansko for three years, but are starting to look for a secluded place for their first family restaurant. Thus they reached the deserted village of Devino in Targovishte, where they found the abandoned building of the former school.
“Anna and I went in and we felt her, we fell in love with her at first sight. We felt the house virtually. It wasn’t something attractive at first sight, but we had the vision to see how it would look finished. First we saw it in our heads and then it Even when we came here, people were obviously wondering, “Why are you moving to such a remote area? Are you crazy? Who will go to this restaurant? You don’t have people around? ” Yes, of course, usually people’s concept of restaurants is that you have to be in a busy place where you have a lot of customers. This is the reality before online media. But in Italy and France, in our countries, there are crazy chefs like us who choose remote areas to attract people to a certain experience, “explains Chiarini.
Anna and Gianfranco find support in a local young man who helps them make their dream come true. Diyan Rafailov from the town of Antonovo is still with them.
The second floor of the old school in Devino is the home of the family of chefs, and their restaurant is where the school canteen was. Only ten people are accepted for dinner. It is cooked only with protected and real products.
“We get vegetables and other products from our neighbors. We have a gentleman who brings us truffles. Another who provides us with honey. We have what the chefs in town don’t have. We have the real road from the farm to the table – fresh and seasonal produce. People here in Devino, they are our friends and they support us a lot.There are some grandmothers who sometimes come with a basket of apples or pears.The next day another woman comes and gives us tomato seedlings to plant our garden.If I have to be honest with you, many people tell us, “Oh, why did you go to the village? What will this whole process be like? ” Personally, Anna and I should be very grateful to be here, “said Chiarini.
“As Gianfranco said, he uses only local ingredients and local wines. For example, in one dish on our menu we transform Gornooryahovsky sausage. We combine it with other ingredients. The taste is familiar and people are so surprised, so pleasantly surprised that they see something different. “It’s like a little souffle with potatoes and Gornooryahovski sudzuk. Something like a cappuccino with potatoes and Gornooryahovski sudzuk. Its simplicity is amazing. It’s one of our favorites,” said Anna.
Thus, the traditional Bulgarian dishes and products have already been transferred to another dimension by Gianfranco. He even included brandy in some of his sauces.
“I put small drops of brandy sauce. I also add honeycomb inside. It’s just a honeycomb shape. I add foie gras. Then I sprinkle with dehydrated Bulgarian tomato extract,” he said.
Gianfranco has repeatedly won a Michelin star – an analogue of the Oscars in cinema. Although only two months old, his restaurant has come under the scrutiny of the organization’s agents. And it will most likely be checked soon.
Getting a Michelin star is not just inflating and making balloons. It’s a long process that requires a lot of teamwork, a lot of concentration to make it happen. It starts with the level of music, the power and the type of light. which you use, the details of the table, the plate you have chosen, the level of service, the sommelier service – the wines you choose.For example, we work with only one Bulgarian cellar.We choose their Bulgarian wines, which are in 39th place out of 50 -is the best wineries in the world.We take products that come from reliable sources.And the most important thing is not to start well and collapse after six months in the service or in cooking.You have to be constant forever.You have to do it forever, and that’s the only way you can get a Michelin star, because they’re more concerned with your perseverance than anything else you do, “said Gianfranco.
He also commented on whether it was true that a Michelin customer dropped a fork on the floor, deliberately to announce that he was in the restaurant.
He doesn’t drop it, he puts it on the floor. He puts a fork on the floor to see if you pay attention to the detail, to see if there is anything on the floor. The Michelin manual is very atypical and inapplicable for Bulgaria. As I said, “There are very good restaurants in Bulgaria, very luxurious. But the consistency and persistence at some point, at some stage they decrease – the service of cooking or the chef changes,” added Chiarini.
The menu in his restaurant is seasonal and 10-course. Presenting it to the guests is more of a theatrical performance. And as for the price – according to Gianfranco and Anna, it is a relative thing. Against the background of Michelin-starred restaurants in France, it is twice as low, but the price was not leading.
“The problem is that there are only 10 places, so you may not find it, even if you can afford it. There is one level of clientele that we like – people with class. I’m not talking about people with money. I’m talking about people. with class. Money does not mean class “, Gianfranco is categorical.
Thus, Bulgaria is already on the world map for prestigious restaurants, and Gianfranco and Anna are intensively learning their seventh and last language in their collection – Bulgarian.
“This is the place. This is our home,” the man concluded in front of Nova.
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