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chef

Renowned for its exquisite seafood and elite clientele, Noa is a temple of cuisine. Decked in rich gold and red, the high-ceilinged central chamber is surrounded by a gold and wooden balcony, and everywhere there’s the soft flicker of red candles. Noa’s Chef Mirko Caldino sat down for a chat with element.

I’ve always been fascinated by Moscow, but it will never compare to my hometown, La Spezia. It’s on the Ligurian coast, a really beautiful place, with sun and sea. It’s always warm there! I always wanted to sea how a big metropolis worked. I made up my mind that I’d head to either New York or Moscow. I never really thought I would end up here but that’s fate for you.

What kind of problems do you encounter on the job?

No problems are unsurmountable, but the trickiest ones involve guests. They’re just not always quite ready for what they ordered. Sometimes they’re unwilling to stray from well known dishes which they know they like, and that’s fine of course. On the other hand sometimes a guest will order a gourmet dish only to find it’s not what they want. You can imagine it, we bring out a rich dish with fish and vegetables put together in an extravagant manner. They take one look at it and think “where’s my potatoes? I just want fish with potatoes!” Another issue that I’m only getting used to is portion size. Italian portions are always smaller, I think it’s a climate thing. I suppose when it’s -30°C outside you want all the energy you can get! On top of that Italians will have much more courses. Over here, it’s just a case of starters followed by a hot main course, maybe followed by some vodka!

Does your menu change with the season?

There are some types of fish only available seasonally but the vast majority of our menu is always available. That was one of the things that surprised me when I first got here, how unimportant season was. In Italy where everything is grown locally season is paramount, whereas in Moscow we find ourselves shipping in food from all over the world, right through from January to June.

What kind of clientele is found here, and have you had any famous guests?

Oh you have no idea, I couldn’t even start to list the famous people we’ve had here. For example, do you see that young lady over there? She’s an Olympic gymnast, just won a gold medal. And that young man down there is a deputy in the State Duma. We have a regular following within Moscow’s upper circles, we know how to look after them. We also very often get foreign businessmen and dignitaries.

Fry the potatoes. Salt, chop and fry the fish in olive oil with thyme. Chop the potato into cubes, the tomatoes into quarters and the shrimp into halves. The octopus can also be chopped.

Maslenitsa Bliny

Tom Yum Soup

avocado tartare and crab

Trapani Fish Couscous