Naberezhnye Chelny in the 1990's – what kind of city was it?

I remember that there were a lot less cars, huge playgrounds, quite a lot of kids, playing in the playgrounds. It was basically the lack of parents' fears for their kids: we would play, we would walk to school in the mornings without any problems. I would walk to kindergarten alone, no one would walk me there. Well, very rarely I wouldn't be alone. Like all those bandit complexes and fights – all of that sort of passed me by, I had, probably, a different environment, and a different perception of it.

At school I was in an experimental class, we were the only one like that in the entire school – part of the subjects were taught by a music studio, and part were regular subjects. Those first three years we had all of that, but from the fifth year, we were basically a normal class.

I remember really well how in the third year I had a choice to make: either to continue on with the music class, or transfer to choreography. It was like this: we would have the end of year concert, and the dance students and the choir students would perform at it. And so what would happen is that I would finish dancing, and the next number would be me performing in the choir. And I'd need to be in costume.

In the dance classes, for example, the teacher could casually smack our legs so we would keep them straight. And that was normal.

I chose to go with music classes, because, well, dance…I wasn't like an extraordinary dancer, and in any case I had a musical instrument at home, and the effort needed for music classes was much bigger – so I wanted to finish, so that it wouldn't have all been a waste.

I had a linguistics class with a focus on English, because there was a lot of literature, Russian and English.

Did you decide to be a confectioner back in school days?

I always told my mum that I want to work in catering.

I wasn't always trusted with the oven and gas, which is why I started with merengues – whipped egg whites with sugar, because it's delicious, it's easy to make. Basically I would break the egg, get the whites out, pour in some sugar, I'd eyeball it, whip it with a mixer and sit there eating it with a spoon.

How old were you there?

That was back when I was still at kindergarten.

Wow!

When I was already in school, that's when the cakes started, and the nuts, and waffles. You probably remember those cast iron waffle makers we had?

Mhmm. So does that mean you always made sweet goods?

Yes, I've always had a sweet tooth. Like, we always had something to eat at home, made by mum, but I always wanted sweet things. And I liked making sweet stuff.

And so I'd say that I want to be in catering. But in our city, that means the Polytechnic, so not even higher education. Every parent wants only the best for their child.

And, well, she would also say that catering – is an ungrateful affair, too many regulations, hard physical labour – to be on your feet, a great responsibility, that it's easier to work for someone in an office at a computer desk: you come home, forget about work.

So I thought: fine, I'll get a higher education.

Mum really wanted for me to work in banking, in finance. It was those kind of times: you either become a lawyer or an economist.

So basically I applied to the Kazan Institute of Economics and Finance to study Finance. And, well I handed in my application to the Journalism Faculty at the same time – I was interested in journalism – I got accepted into the paid class there too, but ended up going into economics. My red diploma is still at my house.

I would pass all my papers automatically – I never had to go in and be tested in person.

Study came easily to me. I didn't have the mindset that my life depended on straight A's. There was no contradiction in the fact that I wanted to work in catering, but was studying Finance because technically, finance is interesting, and I understood that even if I wouldn't make it to banking, that it would still be useful.

This gave me a solid base, because we studied marketing and financial planning too. We had really interesting games, where we would create banks, come up with brands, company profiles. This all develops your knowledge from different angles: how to run a team, handling conflicts, sociology, it was that foundation which can never be considered superfluous.

I worked in my profession for a little bit – overall, just over a year. At first I worked at VTB with people on the front-lines, it was psychologically difficult for me, I couldn't give out loans. As in, I see the person and understand that it's hard for them as it is, and how can I push them into a loan? I felt sorry for people. It was too emotionally challenging for me. Then I moved to Avtograd working with companies. So it was loans for businesses – you can understand, that that means extra opportunities for them. It was easier there.

Then I took maternity leave. At the same time I would always be making food, my culinary passion hadn't gone away anywhere. By that time some of my recipes had even been published in some magazines.

I talked to my family, my relatives supported me, and said: "We'll help, we'll look after the child while you're studying". I decided take courses, so I would instantly get the most from it, so it would be informative in the shortest times possible (although those short times in the end turned into a few years for me). And so in 2016, my study began.

At the same time, professional equipment started to appear in my house, in order to hone my skills, because if you don't practice what you study, you'll forget everything. By the way, I was gifted a professional mixer on 8^th March in 2016, it was just so big, and it moved here to the production kitchen. Technically, everything I had in my apartment, I brought over with me once we opened. And it's equipment I'm used to, that's stood the test of time.

Does that mean that prior to the opening of 'The Moment', you were taking orders from home?

No. I didn't take orders from home because I didn't want to be associated with being a stay-at-home-mum with a temporary hobby. I would make and share my creations with my friends, because you can't eat all those volumes by yourself. Plus, it was good to get feedback.

Because for me, it's always been like this: if you work, then you do it professionally. I never considered it as a hobby, as something I took an interest in only during maternity leave, for me it was a responsibility.

I went to Moscow to take pastry making courses – that's croissants, that was Alexander Kislitsyn's school. Over there, I saw the entire process and understood that it's impossible to make croissants at home by hand, it's all much more complicated. At the very least, you need a dough sheeter, which is quite a bulky thing. And, well, not with our produce, but I'll return to that later.

And I taught myself, I tried making more complicated desserts: my mousse-based ones and the macarons would turn out perfectly. I would search for recipes online, and work through them, add to them using trial and error.

When I returned back there in the summer, to the next course 'Beginner Confectioner', it was taught by Alexander Kislitsyn himself. And, potentially, getting acquainted with him influenced many things. Like last week, I had a live chat with him, so like, how many years has it been…it's been 4 years already, and we still keep in touch. And our class, we also periodically write to each other, we have a group chat in Whatsapp, most of them work in the confectionery sphere.

Kislitsyn's course gave me a good foundation, one which I was missing. Specifically in terms of techniques: what combinations work, the actual techniques of production of many things, what I may not have fully understood, why that was so. Plus, I saw what a professional's actual production kitchen looked like.

Then I traveled to Moscow to learn from the famous chocolatier - Stephane Leroux. He's a Belgian chocolatier, and I came to watch his work, how he makes a chocolate sculpture. It was really fascinating to see the new techniques.

And how did he do? Tell us something from behind-the-scenes of the culinary world?

Well, I got more behind-the-scenes from other chefs - Olivier Bajard for example, when I went to Perpignan in 2017 – it's a small town in France, not far from Barcelona.

Olivier holds the title of MOF — one of the best workers of France, it is given specifically to those who work with their hands, it is one of the most honourable state titles of French craftsmen. The French value these titles very much, they like have the labels on their collars, which says 'MOF', because it's the highest honour from the government.

That was the tipping point, when I knew for sure that I want to work specifically as a confectioner pastry-chef and to create something unique. And that very trip formed my understanding of what I want to see in my cabinet displays, what desserts these have to be, what kind of minimalistic design it has to be, what kind of tastes there need to be, what the kitchen needs to look like. His class, where Olivier taught, was a small production, a lone standing building, where his staff work behind the wall, and the class for his students is right next door.

There was no time set aside for meals. However in France, the subject of meals is a topic in itself, and everything is done strictly by the hour, and you are expected to sit there and eat, rather than wolfing down some sandwich on-the-go.

He has very strict requirements, he treats his students just like he treats his staff. He might yell at you, threaten, send something flying at you, like a whisk, if you're doing something wrong.

In principal, I now understand his demands. Because we're used to working at home, rolling out the dough on a side bench, if it needs to be rolled in that direction, or we'll bend down for sugar and flour.

But when you're working on a large scale, that's a sure way to throw out your back. That's why you don't rotate – the dough needs to rotate, while you remain standing straight. You need to lift up the container with sugar, or flour, correctly – so that means, you need to crouch down and then stand up, instead of bending down, at the expense of your lower back, because you'll wear it out. And these are the type of small details that you don't understand at first. That's what he will tell you off about, so that they become a habit.

When I arrived to Lenotre (it's one of the first confectionery schools in France), I was wearing my chef's whites from Olivier Bajard and the chef, as soon as he saw my autographed uniform, was so happy: "That's my friend, he is a wonderful chef, I am so delighted that you learned from him!".

In France, they don't view others as competitors, it's like two painters – they can't create two of the same paintings.

Or for example, there will be a presentation happening and we showcase the results of our study, and other chefs will come and try it and say: "Wow, that's amazing, so delicious!". And you really do see the genuine happiness what one chef is pleased with the work of another chef. And I like crazy like it, specifically that sincerity and kindness, that attitude towards one another, how cool is it: such great chefs communicate so easily, they support each other so much.

And that excites you. Each prepares something in their own way, and that's wonderful. You can try different things, and that's cool.

Something else from behind-the-scenes, by the way, so before France, I attended a masterclass by Peter Yuen, the famous baker. That masterclass gave me some knowledge, of course, but I was confused about how he would do one thing, but say another, and then be sprinkling something from under the table.

After Perpignan I went to Spain to Jordi Bordas – he is simply a genius person, very charismatic. In 2011 he was named the World Pastry Champion.

Then he started developing his B-concept, for which he is now famous for. As in he started breaking down ingredients used for desserts: for example, he'll take a cherry, he'll test the density of this cherry, the amount of sugars like specifically in that sort, and he will create a recipe specifically for that sort of cherry. His eyes still light up from this concept!

I found out from him how to create desserts that are gluten-free, dairy-free, what you can substitute in, how to make it lighter, so that, for example, the calories in a dessert made with a classic chocolate mousse with a calorie count of, say, 340 cal, how you can make a lighter mousse with just over a hundred calories. He's a vegetarian so that concept is all about not using fats, without substitutions, so that they don't affect your health. You know, his mousses, when you try them – it brings on such unusual feelings, you take some mousse, you put it on your tongue and it disappears somewhere, the taste of chocolate remains, but where, where did the mousse go? Like when we make mousse with cream, we get this fatty texture, it envelopes the mouth and the same aftertaste lingers. But here it completely disappears.

Probably getting to know people like that, apart from the masses of knowledge, which they actually share with you, you get charged up with this incredible energy and you understand that you want to bring it with you, so that it will be here, in Chelny. It's like a puzzle that comes together.

Let's talk about the difference in produce, you mentioned that they are different in Europe.

Yes, there is a difference, you're forced to adapt some things. So, like, basically, the most difficult adaptation is butter and flour.

For example, French butter. At 24 degrees it won't melt. Its flexible, and doesn't emit water. Our butter, even if you take it at 20 degrees, it'll be soft, crumbly, watery. That's why the only solution with butter – is lowering the temperature in the production kitchen, only then it's possible.

In terms of flour – we don't have the same strong flour like they do in France – every time you need to work it out anew.

What does strong flour mean?

It's when there's a lot of gluten in it. Like in France, every type of flour is marked. And recipes all go like, for example: combine this many grams of flour no. 55, or no. 65. But here, we have 'Makfa' in the best case scenario. And so you try to adapt those recipes with flour, changing the amounts, changing and combining different types of flour, you do everything, in order to make it as close as possible to the real thing.

Is importing not an option?

After 2014, they have banned the import of goods. After 2014 I think, yeah, if I'm not mistaken. It's still the case now, we've just forgotten all about it. Right now we have many things that come to us through Belarus.

But otherwise, technically, it's impossible to ship over flour from France. Before, pastry chefs could work with French butter, no problems. Yes, it would cost more, but it was possible. Today, it's not on the market, suppliers don't have it, no one has it.

Then it's also a simple matter of our mentality. The French and Spaniards really love chestnuts, they like have chestnuts in their desserts, chestnut cream, chestnut soup. They grow up with that taste, it's familiar to them, but to me it tastes like sweet potato, I don't really like it.

Similarly, for example, the yuzu citrus, it's very popular in Japan, but here it's relatively expensive.

You have probably tasted desserts in local confectioners' kitchens over there. Did you find anything else memorable that was interesting?

Well during my very first visit to Perpignan, I tried oysters for the first time, it was one of those dinners where I was like - did I really just eat that for the first time? Similarly it was the first time I saw a meat restaurant and for me what was new was that they had fridges where they mature the meat, different kinds would be hanging up, they have different maturity times, and you choose which one you want them to cut you a piece off and they prepare it. All of that was so unusual for me because I haven't seen anything like it here, specifically that kind of culture and approach to food.

Later when I started attending Lenotre to study French classics, I went to a fish restaurant - Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie.

It was something else. It was such a cool place, there's an entire street, where there's confectionery stores, and it's located among them. We were told that they have a truly delicious foie gras, and so we came there especially. Foreigners and actual local Frenchmen line up to get in there. Having said that, it's not even a Michelin star restaurant. They have these ancient floor to ceiling bookcases, all filled with small jars, butter, conserved foie gras, spices – it was so atmospheric, so beautiful. And they have the tastiest onion soup I have ever had.

I got to know Katya in France, she lived in Moscow and then moved to France, studied for 9 months in that Lenotre school, so she is a graduated confectioner with a diploma. She was the translator at Olivier Bajard's course. That too, was probably a fateful introduction, which opened up to me other schools, and opened the path to study in France. And she is such a good supporter, such a kind person, so smart, her unbelievable support meant a lot to me. And so it was time for me to leave too, my course was supposed to start in June, but unfortunately due to the pandemic I won't be able to go, so they have postponed it until September, I hope they let us out in September.

How do people react to you guys in Chelny?

Differently. Some say "Oooh your croissants cost 120 rubles, but over there they cost 60 rubles". That generally comes from people who are older. I have found produce that is of high quality and we do try to lower the cost price as much as possible: we buy in bulk. But we knew that we will still come up against that - there's no other way when a bakery next door is selling pies for 20 rubles.

But overall we have now been open for half a year and I wouldn't say that people don't understand it, and that it's 'too outside the scope' for Chelny – overall people are happy that a place like that exists. In any case people travel and have seen similar places. Although many would tell me prior to the opening that Chelny won't get it, that people won't come, that the population aren't used to natural high quality desserts.

I have a principle to use natural products, of good quality. For example my macarons don't have any added artificial colouring. I do not see the point in adding artificial colouring which doesn't bring anything to the taste, and is technically just bad for you. As in, of course, the filling is different colours because it's a natural puree: the sea buckthorn one, for example, is orange. We already have a not very good ecology, so why voluntarily consume artificial colouring?

You know, most likely, the nicest thing is when you see, for example, people you don't know who post Stories where they share how good our desserts are, how delicious the coffee is. Not many people know that I work here so when you hear someone somewhere saying to each other "Oh, let's go there, they have delicious desserts" - it's very nice.

And that's given that we don't actively advertise, we don't do banners, you won't find us anywhere, we only have Instagram which isn't managed by a professional SMM manager. In principle we don't promote ourselves, because well, first of all we don't have the time for it and second of all we don't want to create a sense of expectation and reality, most of all we want people to come here to try it for themselves and decide on their own whether they like it or not. You can't please everyone.

When people ask me who did the renovations, I say that many people contributed to it. An easy example - the table tops were done by one team, while the cement pillars for the tables were done by someone else. Because those who made the table tops , they quoted me a price for the cement base that was much more expensive. And so like that, bit by bit, everything came together so it would all look nice.

Another thing I realized was that people aren't wrong when they say that you will get a lot of pleasure when you do the work you love.

I used to think that, for example, I'd only take custom cake orders only in my minimalist style. But with time you understand that if a person wants small figurines and gingerbread cookies on the cake for a child, and the child will be happy as a result, while your minimalist design won't make the child as happy, you cater to their needs.

That's why we don't even have a catalog - each design is customized to the client.

People would also tell me that it's easier to open in Kazan. Yes, the client base that gets it in Kazan exists, and it would be easier, but I wanted to be specifically in Chelny, so that we would have those summer verandahs, where you can snuggle into a blanket and drink your coffee, read a book, listen to some vinyl record music - the romance of all of that. So that everything was calm, comfortable, delicious and not over-the-top food, desserts. I really wish that we start seeing more places like that, so you could sit outside, enjoy it.

I want to create the feeling within people that it could be nice at home too, and home can be a beautiful place too. When people ask me: "Are you not afraid that someone will come and break your entire summer terrace? Dig up the plants?". And I always say: "In order to live in a civilized society, you don't need to move to a different society, simply start with yourself".