Herring under a fur coat – 105 years!

What dish traditionally decorates the table for all celebrations? That’s right, the adored herring “under a fur coat.” This is a favorite dish of our people, but in other countries of the world, a delicious snack of vegetables with salted fish is very popular.

In Moscow, just on the eve of the New Year holidays, the fifth international culinary festival “Herring under a fur coat”, dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the famous salad, was held. For five years, more than 1000 chefs from Russia, Serbia, Italy, France, Belarus, Argentina, Morocco, Israel, Madagascar, Turkey, Congo have taken part in it, who have prepared more than 200 different salad recipes.

The Herring under a Fur Coat festival has become a good New Year’s tradition for culinary specialists, bringing together Russian and foreign chefs, food manufacturers, food startups, specialized educational institutions, retail chains, and well-known restaurants.

To the anthem of the festival – the song “Herring under a fur coat” performed by Denis Razumny, winner of the Golden Gramophone award, culinary specialists of all ages got down to business.

Herring under a fur coat is perhaps the most popular salad. For many, there is simply no holiday if this salad has not been put on the table. It also attracts with the availability of ingredients: herring, beets, potatoes, onions and mayonnaise. Some chefs add carrots and boiled chicken eggs to the dish. All products are very simple, but their combination creates a bright and memorable taste. The recipe is over 100 years old, and modern chefs are trying to add zest to the dish: shrimp, microgreens, cream cheese, spices, so the “folk” salad may well claim the title of gourmet cuisine!

All the tricks of preparing the famous salad were shown at the culinary competition among chefs and the culinary competition among young chefs of specialized institutions in Moscow “The best herring under a fur coat.”

Interest in the popular dish is noticeable all over the world, among the guests of honor of the festival was even the famous Michel Louis Lenz (France), an honorary member of the IAPK, chef, owner of a Michelin star, author of popular culinary bestsellers.

“Shuba”, cooked in all sorts of ways and served like a fantastic dish, was evaluated by a strict jury: Dmitry Odintsov, a member of the Russian National Guild of Chefs; Andrey Makhov – chef, organizer of the festival of Russian cuisine in Monte Carlo, author of the recipe book “Pushkin”; Cesare Cui (Italy) – honorary member of the VKS IAPK, VIP chef; Khakim Ganiev (Uzbekistan) – honorary member of the IAPK, chef, specialist in Uzbek cuisine, author of books, organizer of culinary records; Nikolai Baratov – honorary member of the IAPC, international culinary judge, certified by the World Association of Chefs Societies; Oleg Belov – College teacher of the Russian International Academy of Tourism; Mira Galyukova is a member of the VKS, an honorary member of the IAPK, a candidate of technical sciences, an associate professor, a certified taste expert, a member of Russian and international expert and tasting commissions, a public and political figure.

After tasting and heated debate, the jury made a difficult decision: “Culinary battle. Chiefs: Grand Prix – Alexander Maslov (Korolev), gold – Yulia Shevtsova (Moscow), silver – Roman Savelyev (St. Petersburg), bronze – Nikolay Lucidarsky (Moscow).

“Cooking Battle. Students”: gold – Philip Bogdanovsky (International College of Technology Rosbiotech MGUPP), silver – Ivan Arkhanov (Russian University of Cooperation, bronze – Ivan Anurin (Russian International Academy of Tourism).

And then there was the most interesting. The masters and young chefs all together, in an artel, prepared the anniversary salad “SH.U.B.A-2022”, weighing 105 kg!

So, despite all sorts of culinary wonders and exotic recipes, the native “fur coat” has been and will remain the queen of the festive table.

Mikhail Kovalyov.

Author’s photo