You can’t learn about gastronomy from a map. You have to experience it first-hand.

The team from SAVVA restaurant and the Shalyapin bar at the Metropol Hotel is setting off on a culinary journey across Russia – in search of local flavours and gastronomic treasures.

The first stop is Irkutsk.

On 19 March at 7 pm at the ‘Pepel’ restaurant, the team will present an exclusive five-course set menu created using local ingredients from the Baikal region. Sous-chef Denis Sakhautdinov, pastry chef Artem Grachev and head bartender Sergey Petrov, under the guidance of brand chef Andrey Shmakov, will be working with Baikal fish, stroganina, wild plants, taiga herbs and northern berries.

The menu is created on the spot – after getting to know the region’s markets and produce. Therefore, it will be impossible to replicate this dinner in another city.

The idea for the project belongs to Andrey Shmakov: every six weeks, the team will visit a new city to explore the local gastronomy and create unique dinners. The chef says that this requires three ‘N’s’: experience, indulgence and observation.

In Irkutsk, the team will be met by ‘Pepla’s’ brand chef Dmitry Arinin and head bartender Timofey Safonov.

A videographer will accompany each tour – the trips will form a video blog, and the project will culminate in a documentary film and a gala dinner in Moscow, where the flavours discovered across the country will come together in a single set menu.

Ticket price: 8,800 roubles.

Book by phone: 8 (3952) 71-71-77

Denis Sakhautdinov is the senior sous-chef at Savva restaurant in the Metropol Hotel.

In 2016, he completed an internship at Coriander Leaf restaurant in Singapore.

In 2017, Denis moved to Moscow and joined the team at Savva, bringing with him experience from restaurants in Yekaterinburg, including the luxury brasserie ‘Restaurant No. 1’ under the leadership of Anatoly Komm. He was involved in the launch of the intimate project ‘Restaurant No. 4’ under the leadership of brand chef Andrey Shmakov.

From October 2020, he held the position of sous-chef at Savva (1* Michelin 2022). In 2022, Denis also worked as brand chef at “AZIMUT City Hotel Tula” and took part in the “Chefs on Wheels” programme on Channel One. In 2023, he took charge of the kitchen at Chekhoff Hotel Moscow Curio Collection by Hilton, and in 2024 completed an internship at the bakery La Petite Boulangerie. He then returned to Savva as senior sous-chef.

Over the years, Denis has risen from apprentice to head chef, mastering classical Russian, French and Italian cuisine.

With the participation of Dmitry Arinin, the brand chef of the restaurants Pepel and Partizan – whose work is based on research into Baikal-region produce and the region’s gastronomic traditions – Denis will serve the main courses and appetisers at a private gastronomic dinner in Irkutsk. 

Ticket price: 8,800 roubles.

Book by phone: 8 (3952) 71-71-77

Artem Grachev is the head pastry chef at the Moscow restaurant SAVVA (1* Michelin Moscow 2022).

At the age of 16, he was already working in the kitchen of the Russian WorldSkills team under the guidance of German Afanasyev — the European champion in the ‘Culinary Arts’ category at EuroSkills Graz.

At the age of 17, Artem received an invitation from Artem Grebenshchikov to work at the Bourgeois Bohemians restaurant in St Petersburg. In 2022, he took part in the cooking show ‘Battle of the Chefs’ on the ‘Pyatnitsa!’ TV channel.

Afterwards, Artem focused on the art of pastry-making and began his training. He was soon offered the position of head pastry chef at the OBLAKA restaurant in Kaliningrad. In 2024, Artem’s recipes were published in the prestigious magazine Arte Heladero, and subsequently in So Good and so cool. magazine.

Artem was nominated twice for the ‘Palm Branch’ award (2023, 2024) and in 2025 was named ‘Pastry Chef of the Year’ by the award. He also won the ‘Rising Star of the Food Industry 2023’ award.

Artem Grachev currently holds the position of head pastry chef at the Moscow restaurant SAVVA and works under the guidance of brand chef Andrey Shmakov, who recognised his professional potential and drive for development.

Together with pastry chef Denis Samulenkov, who combines Siberian flavours with modern pastry techniques for the restaurant Pepel, Artem Grachev will present his unique signature dessert at the dinner.

Ticket price: 8,800 roubles.

Book by phone: 8 (3952) 71-71-77

Sergey Petrov is the head bartender at the Grand Lobby & Shalyapin Bar at the Metropol Hotel.

He acquired his first bartending skills under the guidance of Dmitry Sokolov at the Mr. Help & Friends bar in 2018. Later, from 2018 to 2020, he immersed himself in the world of wine, working as a sommelier and bar manager at the Wine Bazaar, where the cocktail programme was actively developing.

From 2020 to 2021, Sergey was head bartender at the Selfie restaurant under the guidance of Kirill Senchi, and then took part in the opening of the Segreto bar at the Unica restaurant, where he worked as a mixologist and created cocktails under the mentorship of Nikita Gankin.

As part of Maison Dellos, Sergey was bar manager at the ‘Fahrenheit’ restaurant in 2022, and later, until 2024, head bartender and mixologist at ‘Chanuar’, ‘Turandot’ and the ‘Pushkin’ café.

Since 14 February 2025, Sergey Petrov has been at the helm of the Shalyapin bar at the legendary Metropol Hotel. This space, with its rich history and striking architecture, inspires him to create cocktails with character — refined, multi-layered and emotionally precise.

Together with Pepla’s Head Sommelier and creator of its bar philosophy, Timofey Safonov, Sergey will present two of his signature cocktails at a gastronomic dinner.

Ticket price: 8,800 roubles.

Book by phone: 8 (3952) 71-71-77