Mr Avi Cohen, the owner of 7 haute cuisine restaurants Yakimono, has a talent of warm hospitality. He was awarded by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences for all his Yakimono restaurants at the International Star Diamond Award ceremony in 2005 in Berlin.

He works very hard and able to do without meal for a whole day and to sleep only 2 hours a day flying to the other continents and carrying on negotiations. The clients of his restaurants can enjoy haute Japanese cuisine anytime, that’s why these restaurants are very popular among the leading statesmen of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries.      

– Currently there are a lot of Japanese restaurants in Moscow. Please tell what is Yakimono`s speciality and features that can make an impression on fastidious Moscow residents?  

– Yakimono differ from other Japanese restaurants not only in Moscow but everywhere in the world. We have worked on the particular development concept for many years. The speciality of our restaurants is not only the traditional Japanese cuisine (although it is the basis of our menu, of course) but also the new taste combinations. We have a very high-skilled chief cook. We call him Pop, because his real name is too long. He knows a lot of recipes including hot Japanese cuisine such as Teppanyaki (the dishes are cooked in client’s eyes). He used many national Japanese ingredients in his dishes which he masterly combines.    

Another important thing is the absolute freshness of all seafood ingredients. When I was in Moscow 2 years ago to check the situation in Japanese restaurants, I could not find the absolute fresh fish to satisfy my requirements. But I was lucky: a year ago I met Bahri Uahim from the company La Maree and I was promised to get all the necessary seafood products daily.  They have been doing it till now. Only then I decided to open the restaurant here.

Why Moscow? Russian clients often have visited my restaurants. Many of them tried to persuade me to open a restaurant in Moscow, but the preparations took a long time because I wanted to be sure that I would have the best and fresh seafood products.

– In your opinion, why Japanese cuisine is so popular?

– First Japanese cuisine came to the USA and enjoyed wide popularity. In Europe people was making themselves familiar with it for a very long time. However now everybody talks about it. This is the healthiest food in the world because Japanese dishes contain no cholesterol, fat, sugar, cream or bread. Each ingredient is good for health. As regards ginger – this miracle product even used in medicine. We use only fresh ginger, but not pink marinated one which you can see everywhere. We use no chemicals and colouring agents and appreciate only handwork, no machines.   

– Do you prefer only Japanese cuisine?

– Yes, but I also like some dishes of other countries. There are always interesting combinations in every cuisine. I like Russian vodka but I prefer to drink it only on ice and with friends. Sake, for example, is very different matter. It can be drunk during the day and it’s not important if you are alone or with friends. I prefer only cold sake. Hot sake can be of any quality and the nuances could hardly be tasted. But cold sake should be ideal otherwise you would feel all its faults. By the way, Moscow Yakimono has the biggest sake bar in Europe.  Ones can try the best sorts of cold sake there. I always try to choose only the best things. If I don’t enjoy my food, I would refuse to eat. Sometimes I do without food for a whole day and sleep only 2 hours. I live by the maxim: "will have a rest in the next world".  

– Do you manage to have some rest having such a very busy schedule?

– Sea holiday is the best rest for me. I don’t like swimming pools. I like all water sports: diving, water ski and parachute. When I was young, I was the second captain on shipboard and the water was my favourite element of the world. However now I spend the most time overland or in the air during my flights. I have a dream: when I decide to give up my business, I will live on a yacht and spend every day on the sea.  

– Avi, why did you give your restaurants such an interesting name – Yakimono?

– Before opening the restaurant I thought over the name for a long time. By chance I ran across the word Yakimono. The association with the well-known "kimono" appeared immediately. The word Yakimono means a piece of the Japanese kitchen utensils. Another meaning of this word is "something eatable".  As in the Russian language, the word "bludo" has two meanings: a dish and a plate. The same situation is with Japanese word Yakimono. I think this is a very good name for a restaurant.

 – Yakimono is a respectable restaurant with imposing clients. Please tell what is the secret of your marketing success?   

– Every client is treated equally well. It does not matter if he has only one rouble or a milliard roubles.  Any client is important for us. He may spend only one rouble today but nobody knows what will be tomorrow. We respect each our guest. This can be called "boomerang effect": the clients come back again because they like Yakimono. Very often the clients give preference to our restaurant when they stay in such hotels as Hilton or Marriott abroad.    
 
I have one more secret: all my staff has worked with me from the restaurant’s opening day till now.  All managers are the friends of mine.  I take care of everyone of them and always ask: how is their health, how is their family, if they have any problems, if they need anything, how are their parents… And always try to help. People never forget it. They always return and work perfectly.

Natalia Andrianova

13.03.2009

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