The results of the Gastronomic Festival "Mother Earth Altai 2019", dedicated to the world of natural products, culture and tourism of the Altai Mountains, were summed up in Gorno-AltaiskAt one of the festival's central venues, presented by the federal project of Rostourism Over 30,000 guests attended the "Gastronomic Map of Russia" festival, sampling over 42,000 servings of authentic and modern dishes and drinks from the Altai Mountains. This is an all-time record for the "Gastronomic Map of Russia" festivals held in regional capitals.
"Russia is home to over 190 ethnic groups, each with its own unique culture, history, and cuisine. Local cuisine, combined with modern culinary trends, creates a magical experience, opening people to new tastes and sensations that create a more complete and multifaceted understanding of a travel destination. This is precisely why gastrotourism is a growing global trend today, in which Russia has a unique opportunity to take center stage. At the festival in the Altai Republic alone, representatives of indigenous peoples prepared over 200 local foods and dishes, which tourists can now sample in restaurants and accommodations during their vacation. Rostourism will systematically support gastrofestivals with the goal of developing them into regional tourist attractions for Russian and international audiences," commented Zarina Doguzova, head of the Federal Tourism Agency.
The first "Mother Earth Altai 2019" festival was held with the support of the Government of the Altai Republic, the Federal Agency for Tourism, and the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers. Rostourism's "Gastronomic Map of Russia" project was presented at the event at the personal invitation of Acting Head of the Altai Republic Oleg Khorokhordin. At a mobile food court featuring regional cuisine, aboard special edition GAZelle NEXT food trucks, a young regional team of chefs from the project presented a menu of dishes from the Altai Mountains, prepared using local ingredients.
"What is the strength and competitiveness of Gorny Altai? Unique regional products and specialties based on local natural ingredients, dishes prepared with these ingredients by chefs—heirs to ancient culinary traditions, enriched by knowledge of modern technologies. In the future, the festival will become one of our brands, a major tourist event attracting guests from all over Russia and abroad. The technologies of the federal project 'Gastronomic Map of Russia' helped us bring together the best representatives of the industry, presenting in one place the cultural diversity and the enormous food, gastronomic, and tourism export potential of our multinational region. One of the most important results of the festival is the formation of a large regional team of farmers, producers, chefs, restaurateurs, and artisans in the Altai Republic. The end of the festival marks the beginning of work on the next one. See you next year at the Second Gastrofestival in Gorno-Altaisk!" Acting Head of the Altai Republic Oleg Khorokhordin summed up the results of the First Gastronomic Festival.
"At the Festival, we showcased a collection of the most interesting and distinctive regional dishes from the peoples of the Altai Mountains, embracing cultural and gastronomic traditions dating back centuries. Thanks to a collaborative team of socially responsible entrepreneurs from the region, we were able to create highly accessible menus of dishes that are deeply rooted in the region's daily food culture. And the methodology of organizing the venue using domestic GAZelle NEXT food trucks from the special edition "Gastronomic Map of Russia" helped our participants present their cuisine in a modern, mobile format," Yulia Fominykh, president of the Nachalo association, which unites the guardians of the gastronomic and cultural heritage and eco-, agro-, ethno-, and gastro-tourism of the Altai Mountains, and the regional coordinator of the federal project "Gastronomic Map of Russia" in the Altai Republic, commented.
The first-ever gastronomic festival in the Altai Republic showcased over 200 regional products and specialties, as well as authentic cuisine and modern interpretations, to a wide audience. Heirs to ancient culinary traditions, representatives of over 40 Altai Republic clans, presented menus over two days that will be available after the festival at restaurants and hospitality venues in the region:
"Rod Soyon" was presented by Chef Timur Toktolov and Chef Turgunai Toktolova: here is horse meat pash (a traditional soup with pieces of dough), Altai buuzy "4 meats" (from the pastures of the Altai meadows: sarlyk, camel, horse, and ram meat), Oromo with ram, mountain goat, and the wild Altai herb goutweed, halva with taiga herbs and nuts; Mountain Altai tea with talkan (a traditional product of the peoples of the Altai Mountains), coarsely ground barley flour, and sea buckthorn juice.
"Rod Toolos" and "Rod Koboly" - chef Irbizek Tolkochekov (Rod Toolos) and cook Radiy Bakianov (Rod Koboly): kocho /meat soup made from Korokobin barley/, tertpek with stewed lamb from farmers in the village of Biltir, byshtak /Altai cheese with wild raspberry and currant jam/, red root tea.
"Irkit Family" — Chef Anastasia Tashtanchina (Irkit Family) and cooks Nikita Tretyakov, Evgeniya Vydrina: Assorted Altai cheeses, kaardak with potatoes from the Ulagansky District, boorsok with kaymak, chok /a dessert made from talkan and honey with wild honey cherries, pine nuts, and Altai pumpkin seeds/, kylbysh-tea /tea with milk and bergenia.
The menu of the cuisine of the small indigenous peoples of the Altai Mountains was presented by chefs Alexander Chumakakov (Tubalar), Elena Kazagacheva (Kumandinka), Olga Pyankova: salad karbalјын /taiga fern, maral meat, pine nuts, dressing based on cedar oil, wild garlic vinegar, burdock root extract, charaandu myun /grayling soup/, Kulahi pies with fish, with meat ettu otpok /Altai flatbread on natural sourdough with fillings of sarlyk, camel, maral meat/, jam with honey, talkan grillage, tea with golden root.
"The Zhylgeldy Family" was presented by Chef Eldar Kuttubaev (Zhylgeldy Family) and Chef Alexey Teteshev: camel meat with wild mushrooms, iremshik cheese, and mountain onions; horse meat shurpa; beshbarmak, a traditional Altai Kazakh dish with Kazakhs; Kazakh pilaf with camel meat; kos pa (a dessert with kurut cheese); and kumys (a fermented milk drink made from mare's milk).
The team of chefs, Maxim Popov, Andrey Leontyev, and Innokenty Sivtsev, presented a menu of Russian cuisine: okroshka with cucumber brine and "Osennaya" kvass; kundyubki (an old Russian dish from the 16th century, filled with mushrooms and buckwheat); cabbage kulebyaka; and cranberry infusion with Koksinsky honey. Chef Elena Bulgakova and chefs Kristina Krestyanova and Anna Ladner presented grayling tel'noye (literally, "grayling"), braised fish rolls with thyme, braised shchi with sorrel and game, spelt porridge with wild mushrooms, duck in a honey-apple marinade, kokurki pies, kalitki pies, and sbiten with honey and herbs.
A representative of the Maiman clan, chef Konstantin Kyymashtayev, prepared a menu of dishes on an open fire, “The Lord of the Living Fire”: kamchy, oromo-et, chuchuk.
"The Gastronomic Map of Russia" continues to showcase the vast gastronomic treasures and culinary traditions of Russia's regions, as well as the country's history, culture, and geography, through regional cuisine. Building on unique gastronomy and authentic dishes, the project's young regional team is building the tourism brand of the Altai Republic. At the festival, we showcased a vast cultural landscape, vibrant and distinctive, which is, above all, a source of services in the Russian hospitality market—one with the greatest export potential. Perhaps for the first time, we introduced Russians to the cuisine of the peoples of the Altai Mountains on such a scale. Only thanks to the synergy between government and business today, thanks to the strength of a shared desire to share this with all of Russia, can we celebrate this success. But we must not forget that the success of each subsequent festival is the result of the work of all the festivals and regional cuisine laboratories in all the participating regions. The positive results in Gorno-Altaisk would not have been possible without the implementation and application of the methodology at 17 festivals." Ekaterina Shapovalova, coordinator of the federal project "Gastronomic Map of Russia," noted.
Dishes from the Altai Mountains were prepared using ingredients from a team of leading farmers—producers of regional produce. On the eve of the event, as part of preparations for the festival and with the expert support of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, Yulia Fominykh, regional coordinator of the federal project "Gastronomic Map of Russia," presented the "Taste of Altai Laboratory" at the Tipografiya restaurant. Kumys was presented by Miron Dilekov, head of the peasant farm (Kosh-Agachsky District), and honey from the highest mountain "Apiary on Ozernaya" was presented by Alexander Zateev, head of the farm (Ust-Koksinsky District). The Rostourism project experts were also presented with kurut cheese from farmer Olga Chendyeva (Ust-Kansky District), fern from the enterprise of Neli Suruskanova, engaged in traditional gathering and processing of wild plants (Turochaksky District), and honey from the farm "Apiary on Ozernaya" (Ust-Koksinsky District). Sarlyk meat, lamb, horse meat, and camel meat from the R-242 farming production cooperative (Kosh-Agach district); grayling and camel meat, sarlyk, lamb, and horse meat from the farming community of Gariy Telesov, a gastro- and agrotourism enthusiast in the Kosh-Agach district (Novy Beltir village); sea buckthorn, fern, and pine nuts from Nelya Kuruskanova, head of an enterprise specializing in the traditional gathering and processing of wild plants (Turochak district); talkan based on Korokobinsky barley from producer Sergei Toboev (Onguday district).
Source: trn-news.ru
