Arkady Novikov personal life. “I have never been annoyed by my wife
His restaurant empire, which includes more than fifty conceptual gastronomic projects, which have consistently been accompanied by success, in 2016 turned 25 years old.
Childhood and family of Arkady Novikov
The future owner of fashionable metropolitan restaurants was born on July 25, 1962 in Moscow. His father was a design engineer, quiet and intelligent person. The mother is full of energy, a businesslike and determined woman who passed these qualities on to her son. To look after her child, she took a job at his kindergarten. The parents divorced early, and the boy was raised by his mother (sometimes using a belt) and grandmother. They lived on Plyushchikha. 
During his school years, Arkady often got sick from his peers. He was offended both morally (for example, with a mocking rhyme, as an overage lover of fairy tales - "Novikov-Jew" all blush and whiter), and physically (he was the weakest and smallest in the class). In order to rectify the situation, he even enrolled in the karate section.
In early childhood, Novikov wanted to become a policeman, dreamed of riding a motorcycle, like law enforcement officers. At school, however, he did not think about a possible profession, but studied mainly at the "C".
After receiving secondary education in 1979, the young man tried to enter the Institute of Road Transport, but failed the entrance exams. Then, on the advice of his mother's friend, a catering worker, he entered the culinary school. He did not know how to cook before, but with pleasure he began to master the wisdom of cooking, eventually turning from a C to an excellent student.
Then he served in the army, where “oddly enough” (in his words) he never had any problems because of his Jewish nationality. He was a leader (guide) of service dogs in the security company of the aviation unit in Georgia.
The beginning of the career of Arkady Novikov
After the army, the future "pancake baron", as he is called abroad, worked for 5 years as a cook in the "University" restaurant. To grow professionally, Arkady Novikov entered the Institute of National Economy. Plekhanov for evening training. Simultaneously with the acquisition of new theoretical knowledge, he polished his cooking skills in practice in the restaurants "Havana", "Olympic Lights", "Victoria".Arkady Novikov about his first restaurant
In 1992, his first brainchild Sirena appeared, a fish restaurant, the halls of which were decorated with aquariums. 1994 saw the opening of the pompous "Club T" with French cuisine, in 1996 - the "Grand Opera", reminiscent of a stage with a velvet curtain. Then the restaurant "Tsarskaya Okhota" was opened in the spirit of a hunting lodge with pickles on a "cart", where Boris Yeltsin himself dined with Jacques Chirac after their dishes were thoroughly tested - for a month they were tested in the kitchen by experts with test tubes and pipettes.
In 1997, Arkady Novikov opened the legendary White Sun of the Desert restaurant, on the interior of which (based on the film of the same name) the best masters of Uzbekistan worked, then the great idea of a network of inexpensive catering establishments arose - "Yolki-Palki", "Sushi Oars" - and then, approximately every year, he launched a restaurant with a composition and setting, as in a play. Among them, lounge establishments ("Biscuit") that have become a Mecca for gourmets, places for adherents of the atmosphere of vintage ("Attic"), fashion trends (Vogue Cafe), business meetings (GQ Bar), for Bolshoi theatergoers with the practice of discounts for ticket holders to the Bolshoi Theater, Fauchon gastronomic boutiques, where you can order food from any part of the world.
In 2005, the owner of the largest restaurant holding company expanded its scope of activities. He became the host of the Candidate TV show, and also created the Agronom farm to provide his establishments with an uninterrupted supply of fresh and organic fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs. Later, the products grown there began to be sold under the Novikov brand not only in restaurants, but also in stores.
Personal life of Arkady Novikov
The restaurateur has been married since 1990 to Nadezhda Advokatova, she is 5 years younger than her husband. The girl was a friend of his friend's wife, and they often met in the same company. Closer communication happened when he invited her to visit the first McDonald's to open in Moscow, and they had to stand in line at the entrance for several hours. A week after that, they applied to the registry office. 
Soon they had a daughter, Alexandra, then (6 years later) a son, Nikita. Nadia took care of the home and raising children. When they grew up, with the aim of self-realization, she became the owner of the floristic salon "Studio of Flowers 55". In 2007, as an exemplary mother, she moved with her children to the United Kingdom to be with them, since her daughter entered the PR department at the University of the Arts in London. In the British capital, Nadezhda opened her own SPA-salon.
In 2008, the millionaire restaurateur bought for 33 million euros the villa Fontanelle previously owned by Gianni Versace, located 50 kilometers from Milan on Lake Como. Until the death of the Italian designer in 1997, such celebrities as Princess Diana, Sting, Elton John, Madonna were frequent guests of this mini-palace.
In 2011, while vacationing on the Italian island of Sardinia, where their family has another, not so famous mansion, daughter Sasha met the son of Roman Abramovich Arkady. Since 2013, young people have lived together in London. In 2015, there were rumors about the breakup of their relationship, denied in the press by a familiar couple, model Anna Kuznetsova.
In the same period, it became known about the romance of Novikov's 18-year-old son with Yevgeny Kafelnikov's daughter, 16-year-old Alesya. Together with their parents, the young people spent August 2015 at Fontanelle. However, in February 2016, it became known about the end of their romantic story.
In addition to beautiful real estate and picturesque corners of nature, the restaurateur adores fine arts. He does not consider himself a collector, but he is the owner of about a hundred works (landscapes and still lifes) by the artist Viktor Dynnikov.
Arkady Novikov today
In 2011, the Arcadia empire went beyond the borders of the country. He opened his flagship restaurant Novikov Berkley, serving Asian and Mediterranean cuisine in the capital of Foggy Albion. Despite the fact that the reviews about him in the local press were, to put it mildly, not the best, and this businessman's project was successful. A year later, Brompton by Novikov was opened in Chelsea, and another 7 months later - Rextail on Albemarle Street, where an emphasis is placed on meat and fish dishes that are not geographically tied to a specific country or cuisine.Interview with Arkady Novikov
In 2012, his quasi-Soviet projects were launched in Moscow - the sausage "Kamchatka" and the restaurant "Country that does not exist", in 2013 - the famous American donut chain Krispy Kreme, as well as the media platform "Novikov TV", where the themes of leisure, fashion were present , travel and, of course, food.
In 2013, the restaurateur began to broadcast the MasterShef TV show on STS. In 2015, he launched the # FARSh burger on Nikolskaya, another Novikov Restaurant & Bar with Asian cuisine in the stylish Sheraton Grand Hotel in Dubai (UAE), and was also actively expanding on the Internet.
The success story of Arkady Novikov
In 2016, Novikov Group offered visitors to a number of its establishments a live broadcast of football matches from France, cheese lovers - samples of this food product made under the guidance of Italian cheese makers in the new Syrovarnya restaurant, and for lovers of simple food - its options in the newly opened establishment on Tsvetnoy Boulevard Valenok. In parallel, Novikov began developing a project to create a restaurant in Miami, which is scheduled to open in 2017.
Are you here every day?
Usually, when a project is launched, I am with it as a mother with a child. She gave birth to him, feeds him until he gets to his feet, then they give him more freedom, he starts to run, and then he lives his own life. When I do something new, I live by it, I like to invent, create, connect everything, teach everyone. Then I get full, other projects start to inspire me, new ones, and I leave for another place. It’s not that the previous one fades into the background, it just becomes an ordinary restaurant.
Do you spend a lot of time? Half a day?
No, I've been here since 11 o'clock today, tried the burger, looked at what was being done, talked with the chef, with the director, gave some instructions, pulled a bottle out of the corner if you saw it. I spent an hour like that, I'll spend another hour with you, then maybe I'll come again today.
That is, you open a restaurant, and then come up with something else along the way?
Each restaurant has a character. You cannot change or break it, you have to adapt to this character. Accordingly, I try to understand him, to smell what he lives with, how he lives, what he wants - this project. This is how I animate him. I try to make everyone feel good - both the guests, and me, and the project itself.
How is it going? First the idea, then the implementation, and then its improvement?
It happens in different ways. First, there may be an idea for which a room is being sought. And there is a room for which you come up with a project. As in this case. Moreover, this project consists of three projects: a flower shop on the corner, "There is no fish" and "Minced meat". Initially, there was only one room, but the main part is this one (where there is no fish. - Approx. ed.), and we came up with: there will be a meat restaurant. But there were two appendixes left. I figured out that it would be nice to give the place on the corner to my wife so that there are flowers there, and the second part to my daughter (Alexandra. - Approx. ed.), because she is engaged in healthy eating with me, she has a How to Green company. She thinks that someday she will make her own cafe, so we wanted to make a cafe there. But it turned out that the communications of this room, the bringing in and delivery of products presuppose that there will still be meat here. And Alexandra doesn't want her to have meat, she's not vegan, but for healthy food. And we had to make an addition: so we decided to make a burger. I had to. Because it was necessary to fill this place somehow. And it so happened that I had to - but it turned out exactly what I needed. You know, I rarely praise myself, but now we have two bombs here. Okay - three, the flower shop is fine too. But from the point of view of restaurants, there is a bomb here (in "There is no fish") and a bomb there (in "Minced meat"). At least 600-700 people pass in "Minced" per day - with 40 seats - and at the most we sell one and a half thousand burgers a day. In "No Fish" we still have a record of 550 people a day with 120 seats - well, let's see how it goes. You know, there is a fashion for places, but I think that this place should be out of fashion, because it is not made as glamorous, but as usual. I asked today why there are so many waiters, but they tell me that now lunch, there will be a lot of people. I still think that there are too many waiters, but nevertheless: a stream of people begins with lunch. Here the location is still correct: offices around, a bunch of administrative buildings, on the Old Square, on this square, it is convenient that you can drive up, leave the car, plus the hotel (The St. Regis, in the building of which there is a restaurant ... - Approx. ed.) - in short, the right place.
That's right, that's right, but the restaurant that used to be here ( Mosaic. - Approx. ed.) did not survive.
Well, you know these programs where girls dress up? Take it off immediately, Fashion Sentence, whatever. Sometimes you do not see a person: a person seems to be an ordinary person, but if you dress him, put on shoes and comb his hair correctly, you get something very interesting. Each of us is the same. Honestly, I even thought myself: I dress myself, and, in general, I like everything, but if I went there, what would they make of me there? Although there are no such programs about men, I still think: what would they put on me, how would I look. The same is with the premises: sometimes we walk and do not see. And no one suggests that this place can be like this. Everyone who makes restaurants expects that they will be very popular and that a lot of money will go right away. Everyone dreams about it. But somewhere in the distance a thought lurks: what if it doesn't work? What if I did something wrong? I am always optimistic, but with some part of my head I am still a pessimist and a realist, I understand that something may not work out anyway, do not grow together. In general, the story is this: we hoped that everything would be fine, but did not expect that it would be so good.
How did it appear?
By chance. When I was the host of Masterchef, Miratorg sponsored the program. And with my cunning little head I decided that if they are sponsors there and if they start to supply meat, then why not offer them to cooperate with us. Immediately I broke through everything about them (I didn’t know how huge this company was), found the phone, found out who the owner was. I called: I am Novikov, such and such, such and such, let's make a project. They said they would think, and for a very long time they did not answer me. I thought that they would immediately say: oh, come on! And they are like that - they themselves have a mustache, they do not work with everyone. They are very private and very responsible. I can tell you a compliment about them: if you take the top three leaders of a well-functioning business, I think they are in this top three. They are leaders in terms of how they organize their work. The first email they send me is from 7:30 am. Imagine, these are people who have 22 thousand people, and at 7.30 am they send the first mail. The last one is already at night. That is, they are ploughmen. When I was in Bryansk at one of their farms, this was what struck me: it was cold, we went to warm up in the building, and a bull was lying at the entrance next to the urn; the head of this pasture - as we shall call it - came up and threw him into the urn. Believe me, not for show, I cut through such things. The organization of work is awesome. In general, I offered them, they hesitated, hesitated, and ended up convincing them. I hope that now they are not ashamed, we have invested a huge amount of funds, money and energy in our restaurant - this is their face. Can you imagine if the face is not correct and beautiful enough? They tested me how fit I was in terms of honesty and everything else, and that's what happened. There are enough meat restaurants in Moscow, but I think that our restaurant is one of the best. We are at the top. I can also say certain compliments about our Voronezh competitors. I went to see them, I had a choice with whom to do: with "Primbeef" or "Miratorg". The co-owner of the Voronezh combine is an old friend of mine, who also invested a huge amount of money and funds in the production of meat. They also have good meat, but it turned out that Rappoport is still engaged in Voronezh meat (Alexander Rappoport, a Moscow restaurant lawyer who had a joint project with Novikov, "Myasnoy Club". - Approx. ed.) , and Novikov - Bryansk. We have competition, everyone compares us, and we compare ourselves with each other ourselves.
Do you go to Voronezh?
I go. I can’t eat only in my restaurants, sometimes I go to strangers. Well, in any case, I have to watch. Rappoport was here, I was in Voronezh - we are obliged to do this, this is our job.
Burger, you say, happened by accident. So you didn't want to make a burger?
Have you eaten burgers here?
Of course.
By chance. We just filled the space.
That is, you didn’t want to?
I once had an idea, I thought about a burger, but not so much that I had a direct goal to make it.
From the outside, it seems that a more or less solvent class has grown that needs delicious burgers, and you just fit into this niche successfully.
The most important thing, the most basic thing is to come up with the right idea, concept and then implement it correctly. I can't say that I calculated everything in such a way that, while the demand grew, I bang - and I prepared my project. Well, everything has grown together. I, of course, can now come up with something that I dreamed and thought of everything, and decided to do this and that, but I, of course, will lie. It won't be true. The whole case is really.
But now you are doing a restaurant with Maxim Livesey and Fedor TardatyanBrisket BBQ ( barbecue restaurant on the site of Novikovsky " Ju-ju ". - Approx. ed.) - this is also, one might say, a hipster project.
I like these guys for their obstinacy, I hope that we will succeed. Because they are like that - turned.
And how did they interest you?
They interested me in that they try to delve into everything to the end in order to make the right project. We went to America, to Texas, studied everything, they spent two weeks there with the chef. Found a place where they cooked this smoking machine. I don't know if Brisket will shoot or not, but we still have a project with them. We are already doing two projects with them, I hope that everything will be fine. The guys are good. I would not do it if something was uncomfortable for me.
Well, you have chosen them.
They chose me. You think that I walk around the market, like in a harem, and choose: this, this, this. No, not a fig. They chose me. Ask them why.
You have a meat restaurant, a fish restaurant ("Klevo". - Approx. ed.) on the way, and there will still be a Cheese Factory.
I hope I will open the Cheese Factory in the near future (the interview was taken a week before its opening. - Approx. ed.).
Is mono concept also a new trend?
I don’t know. We decided that it would be nice to make our own cheese dairy. And we will make a cheese dairy - it should have its own restaurant. There will not only be cheeses. A good project, such a trendy loft, is located at the Badayevsky plant. We will try to make there a lot of interesting things. I don't want to reveal all my cards, I have to go there to look. We will open the Cheese Factory before the New Year, then there is a hall, which, I think, will be a bomb in general: a very unusual room with a long table for 50 people, the coolest. It will be such a small explosion. Plus there will also be a fish restaurant "Klevo". Plus will be with the guys "Brisket". By the summer, I think all this will be ready.
How much do you usually spend in a new place every day - a month or two?
Until I feel that everything is enough.
Was it the same with Kamchatka?
It was the same. I liked going there. I still go there periodically. But there is no longer this, you know, high, such pleasure when you buy a toy for yourself, a bicycle, or skis, or some kind of gadget: at first you cannot tear yourself away from it, then it seems that this high is going away, you are looking for a new toy. All the same. The main thing is that the place then works and does not slow down. You always feel how this is happening, you can see from the results of activities: I look at the figures every month.
All restaurants?
Everyone, of course, everyone. I compare the indicators: profitability, turnover, expenses, salaries - everything. It is impossible without this. Every day, even if I don’t stop by the restaurant, I see how it works.
How did Kamchatka appear in general? Also by chance?
Also by accident. Initially, we wanted to make dim sum, but upstairs, so that the room would not stand idle, we decided to open a pub, a sandwich bar. Well, that's all, then the hipsters did everything. Then everything fell into place. We opened the basement three times, each time we completed the room and opened it.
“As soon as Kamchatka opened up, an apple (twenty rubles each) had nowhere to fall. And hipsters, and whipsters, and farmersters, and tricksters, and girls with Wuitton clutches, and boys with fingers, "Afisha-Food wrote when Novikov unexpectedly opened the pub.
That dim sum - was it supposed to be expensive?
No, it's cheap. That is why we called it "Kamchatka". It was originally "Kamchatka" was: dim-samnaya, the Far East, Kamchatka.
And why did you make a cheap place where there are only expensive places?
Look, there are a lot of different people there. When you fish, you may like to catch big tuna. But you can also fish small fish, I don't know which one. I do not want to compare Kamchatka visitors with small fish. But sometimes small fish are tastier than large ones. As a fisherman, I will not refuse any fish.
How do you usually make new places? Do you see a trend and, following it, just bring it to mind? Or vice versa - do you like to set trends?
And this and that. I travel a lot, see what works and how where. But I am also wondering if this will work in Moscow. I think that a project like "There is no fish" could work well in some German-speaking country, for example. And of course, we didn’t copy anything, but it’s clear - the refrigerators, where the meat is aged, I didn’t come up with, the showcase with meat, again, I didn’t come up with. A design like this restaurant in New York or London has long been outdated. But, adding one to the other, you get something new. Look, there are not so many bearded men in one place anywhere. (the waiters in "Fish is not present" mostly have beards. - Approx. ed.). The guys go to special salons, we prepare them specially, because everything should work together: music, location, how the guys look, what design, what product, what service, what salt - everything should be right, there are no trifles. And how long the restaurant will work depends on how I did all this correctly with my colleagues.
What drives you to discover new places?
(Novikov makes a gesture with his fingers meaning "money".)
Joke. So write: Novikov rubbed his fingers. What drives me - listen, I'm a creative person.
Well, yes - you can earn money in a different way.
I can't do it any other way, unfortunately. So it seems that you can. I would earn it if I could. Wouldn't do that many restaurants. Of course, I like to invent - it's creativity. I often compare being a restaurateur to producing. You can't produce the same film. Even if you produce Star Wars like Lucas, the episodes are still different, somehow different from each other, effects, something else. A restaurateur is actually a producer. You are looking for a place, you are looking for something else, you are looking for money, a cook, a director - and that's it, and off you go. And every time you, as a producer, come up with an idea. Sometimes it is not the director who comes up with an idea, but the producer: what to shoot and how to shoot. This is my job. I don't understand why we, restaurateurs, are not given Oscars.
So you have achieved everything already? Or do you keep opening, because not everything?
What a fool I would be if I said that everything. Do you want to say: yes, I achieved everything? (Laughs.) Of course, not all. There will be so many more achievements. Probably. Probably.
So what drives you from the inside apart from the production of the artist?
Everyone asks: how do you come up with, how do you do it - but how do I know? Once upon a time my wife called me an ant. At first I was offended, and then I thought: no one is forcing me to do anything. What I earned might have been enough to keep me from running out of restaurants. But something moves me - not only the goal of earning, but also some ideas, a desire to come and be interviewed so that your face was on the cover of the magazine. But I'm really kidding.
But that is also vanity?
Vanity is a kind of engine too. And in general, if I say that I am not conceited, it will be a lie. Everything should be in a person, but everything should be in moderation. You know, a few years ago I discovered an interesting thing for myself: every person is born with all the vices, but in the process of life we understand what is bad in our character, and we try to hammer, extinguish, reduce these vices as much as possible. But everyone has these vices, and they remain. If you tell me that there are people who are not vain - well, this cannot be. Everyone is vain to some extent, all villains to some extent, everyone is envious to some extent. For some, this is reduced to the very minimum, but there are no ideal people. Our task - for normal, educated people - is to understand, distinguish good from bad, try to extinguish the bad in ourselves and develop good. Therefore, the answer to the question whether I am vain or not is one hundred percent yes. In what degree? Does it interfere with my consciousness, attitude towards work, relations with people, employees, with guests, with my loved ones, with friends? No. Today, when I was leaving the house, I saw an old film on the TVC, with Raikin in the lead role. He either lost his documents, or that, in general, he needed money, but he was passing through some city, and came to his old friend, who is the director of the theater. And he says to him: "Come back later." A person becomes great, and he is no longer interested in the people with whom he studied. Today I compared myself with this: who I am, where I am, on what step - so as not to slip. Life flows, we change, our attitude towards everything, including people from a past life, is changing, but the main thing is to remember the past so that the nose is in the right direction. Wouldn't bully.
How strongly does the opportunity to meet new people of a completely different circle, other interests, influence you - maybe this is also one of the motives that you open new restaurants?
In general, it influences awesome. I love it, I really feed on all these meetings, new people. I really like it. I ate here yesterday, and two foreigners, Germans, were sitting next to me. I was tempted to talk to them. I restrained myself, restrained, even tried not to look in their direction, so as not to suggest what kind of meat to order. Then my friend came to them - and that's when I talked to them. I love this. This is the advantage of my profession. I like to communicate with people - and it doesn't matter who they are, what they are, what wealth they have, what restaurant they came to, whether it is expensive or cheap. So many praise and selfies I took in Kamchatka and Farsha, I have never heard and never did. I love it, I live it. I enjoy the fact that I can come up and advise people: take this piece, it is the best, the most delicious. I don’t understand how a manager might not come up and advise. I am trying to teach it, but it cannot be taught. I don’t understand how journalists ask questions: you have written down questions, but all the same - you don’t look there, but simply ask questions - where did you get this from? And all the questions - pah-pah-pah - are normal.
And what are not normal?
Listen, there are interesting interviews, sometimes not. You are still lucky that this whole story is in the morning. Sometimes I have a lot of things to do, problems in my head. I am a pure shell: I open and close, I can open - I’m open now - but I can close, and I don’t want to answer questions. And to be honest, you don't always want to philosophize.
Ginza now often makes projects without saying that these are their projects. Is it important for you that they know about the restaurant: is this Novikov's restaurant?
I don’t think Ginza does it because they have no vanity, it’s some other story, probably there. I - once again - to some extent vain, but I get pleasure not from the fact that it says “M ade by N ovikov”, but from the fact that it works great, there are a lot of people here, and what numbers all in the end gives.
Your company has existed since 1991 - how much have tastes changed in Moscow?
Of course they have changed, I have changed.
And have your gastronomic tastes changed too?
Of course. Now let's talk about gastronomic ones even a little to one side - I remember myself in those years. There is such a magazine, "All Restaurants of Moscow" or something like that. When I earned my first money, I bought myself an expensive tourbillon watch, I had my hair combed back with gel, I didn’t go anywhere except to Brioni stores - and so I took a special photo for a magazine so that everyone could see what a cool watch I had. (Arkady folds his arms over his chest so that in the foreground there is a wrist with an imaginary watch; now he does not wear a watch, he is wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a sweater.) Specially. After all, I could have folded my hands in a different way so that they were not visible.
And now you don't wear a watch.
Here you are. In theory, I could still wear a watch, I have. And I have some kind of costumes. Then I went to certain shops and restaurants and I had a certain idea of gastronomy. But everything has changed. Everything is changing. And it is not known what will happen in 5-10 years. Maybe I'll be taking pictures in Brioni again with a watch. I hope no. Although sometimes it washes away: you have to wear it.
For what?
Well, why are they lying?
I read in one of your interviews that you bought an inexpensive leather bauble and are wearing it instead of a watch.
Here they are with me now, all my baubles (shows multi-colored bracelets)... I still like it. This is all the time, but certain processes are taking place in the head. First you like expensive things, then you realize that you need to give them up, because this is wrong, this is kitsch, this is stupid. I speak for myself - everyone has their own attitude to this. So I remember: I have crocodile boots. Oh no! I have no shoes. I have crocodile straps. Would I wear a crocodile belt now? Never. But I did it a few years ago. Again, this does not mean that they should not be worn, a huge number of my friends wear them - but I would not wear them. Each Abram has his own program.
How do you manage to open both Kamchatka andFumisawa Sushi (opened at the end of 2014, one of the most expensive Japanese restaurants in Moscow. - Approx. ed.)?
I'm a fisherman, I told you so.
Where it bites - is it good there?
Moreover, the pleasure of biting does not depend on whether you catch a large fish or a small one.
Why are you opening in London? Also for fishing?
No, it also happened there by itself. There were ideas in my head, but the place (for the Novikov restaurant; now Arkady has three restaurants in London. - Approx. ed.) arose by chance: I was just passing by. But it was still a sporting interest. You see how difficult everything is in the head - a producer, an athlete. (Laughs.) Everyone who has achieved some results in his own country desperately wants if he has ambitions and, as you say, vanity, - each person wants to prove that he is professional in another country. A kind of Olympic Games. That's the whole story.
I read an interview with Mikhail Zelman (a Moscow restaurateur who moved to London and opened several restaurants there, including a successful chainBurger & Lobster. - Approx. ed.) , he says that, on the one hand, it is harder to do business in London, on the other hand, it is easier because the rules of the game are clear.
This is true. He just feels good, he got into a certain stream, it is easier for him. He created a team, he practically lives there, it is easier for him there. I am torn because my main country is Russia, I am torn into a bunch of parts.
But from the point of view of a restaurateur - where is it easier?
Well, where we do not. Everywhere has its pros and cons. If everything was perfect there, I would do nothing there. If it was only ideal here, I would only do it here. Nothing is perfect.
And what about the new project "Valenok"?
How do you know everything?
You have written on your site.
A huge project, the coolest. Person for 350-400. On Tsvetnoy Boulevard. Large building, large summer terrace. The design is done by Irina Glik, who made me "Novikova" in London, "The Country That Doesn't Exist" and many other projects. We will make the most of Russian products. There will be an open kitchen, awesome energy, live music. Kick-ass will be a project.
Why so big?
It happened.
And what kind of kitchen will there be? Russian?
No, it will still be international. But the basis is farm products. Therefore, and "Valenok". All the best we can find - everything will be there. It will be beautiful. Take a look. I'm fine. I have a problem - you see - with modesty.
"There are no free people, everyone is tied with chains. And I - in general, I have chains sticking out from all sides, even from my ears. Freedom is an imaginary thing."
I was born in Moscow, on Plyushchikha, in a log house. My parents divorced when I was six years old. The divorce did not hurt me, I just opened my eyes one day, and we already live separately. Mom worked as a kindergarten teacher, then as a caretaker. She had a very special character - active, even hyperactive. Probably, a particle of this is in me. Dad was from an intelligent family, his mother was an accountant. He worked as a designer at the Ordzhonikidze plant. Dad has been dead for a long time. He was an amazing person - decent, honest. Disabled from childhood, he had polio, and he fought all the time for life. I tried not to show my illness: I went on camping trips along with everyone, I always tried to prove something to myself. He lived in a communal apartment, he had terrible neighbors - they drank, prevented him from living. As soon as I got my first money, I bought him an apartment so that my dad could live like a human being. But he did not live there for long, he died. I really feel sorry for him. If he were alive, I would have tried for him ... Imagine, the person has never been abroad. And mom was not. Mom was always trying to make money. I spent my life collecting waste paper, buying crystal vases, some small rings, everything material. It is a pity that a person wasted himself like that. Although it’s hard to be left alone, as a breadwinner. So it's hard for me to judge or blame her, I just don't know if she was happy. She is now ill, mostly lies. And before that she loved to go to my restaurants, she liked the attention that she was the owner's mother ... She didn’t show it much, but I saw that she was directly happy, shone from it.
About childhood
I do not remember my childhood at all, even surprisingly. It was erased. It's like someone clicked cancel and deleted. Childhood, school - everything that is usually remembered with some kind of emotion "these are my best years" - I do not have. Mom always worked. I was sent to pioneer camps for several months. I drove with pleasure, I was waiting for it. There were also winter camps where I studied. I will not say that my mother did not love me, but that was probably easier for her. The three of us lived in a two-room apartment, I was in the same room with my mother - it was just awful. 18 or 20 meters room, I'm on a folding couch - horror. My grandmother was kind, and my mother put me on - with a wand, and a palm, and a belt ... I don't remember why. What do I remember? I dreamed about a bicycle ... I fought all the time, or rather, they beat me. But, probably, every slap in the face carried me through life in the right direction.
About teaching
I did not study well. I was ill often, missed. In general, at school, I had no thoughts about what to teach, why, where to go next - none of this was. I often ask myself whether I was there at all. It was like some kind of cotton wool around me. Although there were good guys nearby, teachers, class teacher Nadezhda Ivanovna. But there was no such thing that someone treated me well. I'm sure there were simply more interesting guys than me, who were more interesting to teach and communicate. Someone went in for sports, someone studied well, someone sang, danced ... And I was nothing. After school I tried to enter the road institute. On "Bridges and Tunnels" - because it sounds beautiful. I didn’t get it. And I went to study at the culinary school - it was just there. I had not thought about cooking before, but then my mother said: close to home, go. Not that I loved to cook since childhood, or that I was interested in food - nothing like that at all. I didn't care. Well, I didn't want to go to some instrumental college. I probably wouldn't go to a hairdresser either. You know, I’m ... a little squeamish about hair. Maybe I would go to medical school. In short, I got into culinary by accident. And suddenly - boom! - something burst. I just hatched like a chick out of an egg. I became completely different: I began to study, I graduated from college practically with honors, I fell madly in love with cooking. I began to like relationships, girls, friends appeared. I was really happy, I realized that life has colors. I don’t think it’s connected with the school, it’s just that the time has come. I was born at 17.
About love
I really had women after the army, before that. I was thin, weak, not very confident in myself, why would they meet with me? But when after school I entered the institute, then, of course, he looked after someone. For three or four years we lived with a girl who had a child. I guess I loved her. These relationships taught me, first of all, how to live in a family. But my mother was very against it, there were scandals, she did everything so that we parted, and achieved this. The state of falling in love is, of course, the engine ... I am not falling in love now - I have no right. But when he courted his wife, of course, he was in love. I had it like that - just wow! She is beautiful now, but then she was - just wow! She smiled all the time, she was so alive ... She was shining, I can't even explain how! Not that I was trying to get it for a long time - it just coincided. Honestly, I don’t know why she chose me? Even now I often ask myself. She was beautiful, but I was not. She had all sorts of suitors, admirers, and what was I? The little cook. I didn't have any money, nothing at all. After all, she had all sorts of suggestions - she told me later. I met an Italian, he offered to marry. I have already met his parents and - again! - married me. Why is this suddenly - I do not understand.
About the main thing
The main value is family and children. The wife, of course. I will never betray my family. I won't betray my homeland, but it somehow sounds like that ... loud. What is "not to betray"? If I find out a military secret, I won't go and tell some intelligence. I guess I'm a patriot. Something recently such a feeling appeared. When I began to visit more abroad, it was revealed to me just a couple of times. Because it is difficult to be a patriot, living in the country all the time. I grew up here, this country has taught me, I am grateful to it. And also - there is kindness in Russians. Special. I can tell you how it was revealed to me. A son in England came from school and said: "Dad, I have a problem with the boy. He speaks badly about the Russians - that we are all goats, bandits." I say: "Well, as a last resort, you can always push. But first talk. Tell him that if he comes to Russia, it will be different. We treat foreigners better than our own. We help, show, explain everything. For we run with them like hens, we try to have a good impression of the country. " And so I said this to my son and suddenly - bam! - I felt real patriotism. This time. And another time was when I was building a restaurant there, and people deceived me. In a foreign country you have rights, but you cannot prove anything. That is, you can, but you will lose everything. And here I will sit at the table and tell the person: "You know, you are wrong. You did this and that wrong." And in just 10 minutes we will solve everything. I do not say - "by concepts", you can simply take and explain. You understand that in your country you have more opportunities and rights. This also has patriotism. For me, this is just the value.
About friendship
I have practically no friends. It can be seen because I am. Here I am friends with Stepa Mikhalkov and Fedya Bondarchuk. But I am not friends because we have a common business. These are two completely different people, with different outlooks on life. They treat me especially, and I especially treat them. I don't know how they will show themselves, if anything, whether they will give me a shoulder - I hope so. But no matter, I still consider them friends. There are still relationships with some close people, but for some reason friends are just them. You can communicate with them, talk about what I cannot talk about with others. I am a closed person, one hundred percent.
About freedom
There are no free people, everyone is tied in chains. And I - in general, I have chains sticking out from all sides, even from my ears. Freedom is an imaginary thing. I don't really want to get involved in politics, although everyone should have their own attitude towards the authorities, towards some organizations. What I would least like in this country is all kinds of revolutions. Let's say there is a zoo. Sitting in cages are lions, gorillas, I don't know, wolves are there ... All are not free. They took it, opened the cage, and they left. And that will be? Chew over! Does the country need freedom? Maybe yes. But are we ready, having opened the cages, not to take up arms, sticks ... not to gnaw each other with our teeth? It is quite possible that there will be a story like this in these eastern countries. There were totalitarian regimes, there were people who were in power for many years. It's good? No. Is it good now? No, it got worse. Yes, maybe those who are trying to do something with us, are fighting, are the right, good people. Maybe they are sagacious, revolutionaries, the future of our country ... maybe. But at the current stage, I think, we are not ready for democracy, neither for the European, nor for the American. You see, it seems to me that in order to fight for freedom, you have to be the purest and most honest. And our country ultimately corrupted people so much ... I don't know if it was staged or not, but a few years ago, when some oppositionists were stopped by a traffic police car, they immediately tried to bribe. All this was filmed on camera. What can I say?
There is, of course, God. Nobody knows what he looks like. I am not very educated in terms of religion in general. But I believe in justice, in commandments, I try to be decent. Once I sat with one person and told me how in childhood I read good stories and tried to do a good deed every day - to help my grandmother, to transfer someone. And he says to me: "Good deeds are done not because you decided to do them, but because it is the call of the heart." And he just let me down with that, and so I sat down. And then I thought: does it really matter which organs of a person work when he does a good deed? The result is important. This is connected with faith, because, it seems to me, God, he did good deeds all the time.
About fear
I have been physically scared many times in my life - I don’t want to talk about it. It was, it was. But if we do not talk about a physical threat, then globally I am afraid of something - there is no such thing. I would like to be healthy for a long, long time, have a quiet job, business, so that my family is happy. And there are no such fears that go with me through life.
About money
I would like to buy a plane. I can't afford it yet, but I would like to. Not for prestige, but I just fly a lot, and it's convenient. Money is generally a great convenience. And if I had more of them, I would find a use for them. They are applied history for me, they have to be spent. I have real estate, I really enjoy it and I think that I am a happy person in this regard. Now I have enough, but I would still allow myself. I love all sorts of things. For example, jewelry. There would be a lot of money - I would buy some beautiful stones and admire them. I like works of art. I would buy one hundred percent of some very beautiful paintings. It is unlikely that I would start making money out of money. I do not know how to earn anything except what I do. Unfortunately. Why "Unfortunately? Because opening restaurants is a tricky business. Either you have to churn out the same thing that I don't like, or spend a lot of energy.
About success
Everybody says: "Novikov! The number one restaurateur!" Or there: "Number twenty-five ..." The person who takes some place in the lists, sooner or later will not be the first. I have been mentally prepared for a long time that success will go away. And how to prepare financially? Today we are material, and tomorrow we will turn into dust, fluff, I don’t know what. Success has tempered me. And, I hope, gave a little more intelligence. When you achieve something, you must understand that you have ill-wishers, that someone is trying to do better than you. It's like a sport - you improve in order to win. From the point of view of our profession, there are people who have bypassed me for a long time. In general, I never tried to be the first, I am not an athlete. I'm not trying to win in the game, I like the process itself. In fact, this is not a very good quality, it is not great. But, probably, it will help, if I lose, not to go crazy.
About children
Daughter 21, son 16. I wish they were happy. I don't know what they got from me, it's too early to say. I myself was just born at the age of 17. My daughter, perhaps, is a little older - she is independent from the age of 13, in college. And in some ways, maybe the son is more mature. I believe that one of the most terrible qualities in a person is envy, and if God wants to punish, he gives a person this feeling. So, no one in our family has envy, my children are very kind, good guys. We are generally all good, pah-pah.
A little bit about yourself
What am I? First, kind. Probably. Second, love really lives in me. I love what I do. What is the third - I don't even know. Of course, there is something that I am unhappy with, but I will not say that. I analyze myself, but there is no such self-admiration in me - that I am the sun. In general, I am an ordinary person. But unusual.
Officially
Arkady Novikov was born on July 25, 1962 in Moscow. Grew up in an incomplete family. In 1979, without getting into the university, he entered the Moscow culinary school N 174, which he graduated with honors. In the army he served as a guard dog leader in the guard company of the aviation unit. He began his professional career at the Moscow restaurant "University", where he worked as a cook until 1988. In the following years - Deputy Chef of the "Havana" restaurant; the chef at the Olympic Lights restaurant; cook, chef, administrator of the cooperative cafe "Victoria" in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after Gorky - one of the most popular Moscow institutions in the early years of perestroika. 1990-1992 - Chef of the Hard Rock Cafe, opened by Stas Namin at the Green Theater in Gorky Park.
In 1992 he started his own business, opening the first fish restaurant "Sirena" in Moscow. It was followed by the restaurant of French cuisine "Club T" (1994), two years later - the restaurant of Russian cuisine "Tsarskaya Okhota" on Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway and the restaurant-tavern "Elki-palki" (now - the largest chain of democratic restaurants in Russia) ... Currently, the holding "Group of Companies Arkady Novikov" includes more than 50 different projects, in particular, more than 30 conceptual restaurants, NRG product company (supplier of fish and seafood), greenhouse "Agronom", a network of floristic salons "Studio of Flowers 55", company for real estate trade in the luxury segment Mainstreet.
Since 2003 - Member of the Coordination Council of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers; is a member of the governing bodies of the All-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises "OPORA Russia".
In 2005 he acted as the host of the reality show "Candidate" on the TNT channel.
Since 2008 - a member of the United Russia party.
He is married with two children.
Pros and cons
"You have made a career, you have become a public person. You have hosted a TV show. Your path admires me, it is life-affirming. This is a very important example for today's youth. For example, for my son, who does not want to do what his dad does. When I ask what he likes, he cites your path as an example. It's great that there are men: not actors, not politicians, but businessmen who become stars. "
Svetlana Bondarchuk to Arkady Novikov, in an interview for Cosmopolitan magazine
"Do you know what is most depressing? All the tables are occupied here, everything glitters with a bronze tan and botox. And my advice to you: do not go to Novikov. Don't even think about it. In a city where there are already many terrible and tasteless restaurants, Novikov managed set a new benchmark. And this is his real achievement. "
Jay Reiner in The Guardian - on the London restaurant Novikov
Arkady Novikov was born in 1962. He says about himself: "I grew up late and at school did not even think about who I wanted to be. Until I was fifteen I read fairy tales ..."
After graduating from culinary school N 174, Arkady entered the Academy of National Economy. Plekhanov, at the Faculty of Public Catering Economics. After completing his education, he began his professional career as a cook at the University restaurant, where he worked for about five years. Then he worked as a deputy chef in the "Havana" restaurant, as a chef in the "Olympic Lights" restaurant. In 1990, he became a chef at the "Hard Rock Cafe", opened by Stas Namin at the Green Theater of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure. Gorky.
Arkady Novikov: "Before entering the school, I did not know how to cook, but I liked to watch my grandmother cook. And she drove me from the kitchen, saying:" This is not a man's business! When I was studying, everything was very interesting. I rummaged in books, dreamed of cooking something new. But hardly anyone then believed that something would come of me. But now a memorial plaque "Arkady Novikov studied here" is hanging in the school.
The 90s were the first decade of real success. The creation of numerous original and successful projects brought Arkady Novikov a well-deserved reputation as "the first restaurateur of the city." In 1992, Arkady Novikov opened his first restaurant "Sirena", which became not only the first fish restaurant in Moscow, first introducing Muscovites to exotic fish products of that time, which are now practically in all restaurants in the city, but also one of those restaurants, with a qualitatively new approach to cuisine, service, interior and atmosphere, which marked the beginning of a new, post-Soviet stage in the development of the Russian restaurant business.
“We can definitely say that the work on this project largely determined our marketing strategy,” Arkady Novikov later said. “We have established for ourselves that perfect cuisine is a mandatory requirement, but not an exhaustive condition for the success of a restaurant business. interesting, always new topic and painstaking work on the implementation of the conceived. "
These "stages" include the creation in 1994 of a French cuisine restaurant - "Club T", which for many years has been called by numerous ratings the best French restaurant in the capital. In 1996, "Tsarskaya Okhota" appeared - the first post-Soviet restaurant of Russian cuisine, which became the "hallmark" of the city and Russian cuisine in general, returning the interest and love of visitors to it. Over the ten years of its existence, the restaurant has repeatedly received guests of honor, and in 1996 it hosted the famous dinner of two presidents - Russian President Boris Yeltsin and French President Jacques Chirac.
Arkady Novikov: “Then intuition completely replaced marketing .... The influx of visitors at Tsarskoy Okhota was so great that the restaurant had to be closed and everything was redone.
In 1996, Arkady Novikov opened the Elki-Palki restaurant - the first democratic restaurant with Russian cuisine and Russian concept - making a special restaurant style the property of the broad masses. Now Elki-Palki is the largest Russian chain of democratic restaurants with Russian cuisine.
Arkady Novikov: “I asked every waiter - what would you like to try in a restaurant?
In 1997, the restaurant "White Sun of the Desert" was opened, which marked the beginning of a new restaurant fashion for themed and nostalgic restaurants.
In 2002, with the opening of the Biscuit restaurant, a new trend gained popularity: trendy lounge restaurants.
Since 1992, in partnership with various restaurateurs and investors, Arkady Novikov has created more than 30 different restaurant projects. Among them: restaurants "Tsarskaya Okhota", "Sirena", "Uzbekistan", "Market", "Vanilla", Vogue-cafe, "Gallery", Cantinetta Antinori, "Biscuit", China Club, "Barashka", etc., network projects with original concepts in the democratic segment ("Yolki-Palki", "Little Japan", "Five Stars", "Sushi Vesla", "Kish-Mish", "Yolki-Palki Po ...").
Arkady Novikov: "How do I know which restaurant to open? Everyone can determine, after trying the soup, what should be added - salt or pepper. So I can roughly determine when and which restaurant to open. As soon as I start making mistakes, undersalting or oversalting, that's all ".
In 2002, Arkady Novikov created his own greenhouse farm "Agronom" in Gorki-10 (Rublevskoe highway). Now, on the territory of 6 hectares, several thousand environmentally friendly plants are grown. Among them: strawberries of Israeli and American varieties, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, melons, herbs. The products are delivered both to Novikov's own restaurants and to other restaurant and retail enterprises. Since 2005, Arkady Novikov has been developing and promoting environmentally friendly products under the NOVIKOV brand.
Arkady Novikov: "An exquisite dish is, first of all, high-quality products. Ingredients can be in harmony with each other or contradict each other. Mandatory accents are sauce, a special degree of readiness and elegant design. Only a very high-level chef can put all this together."
In 2004, Arkady Novikov launched several projects in the field of gastronomic retail together with businessman Lev Khasis. In October 2004, the Russian branch of the famous French chain of gastronomic boutiques Fauchon was opened. In 2005, another project was launched - the Globus Gourmet premium grocery chain (by the end of the year, there are already two chain stores operating). In September 2005, the Russian branch of the French gourmet chain Hediard was opened. Along with the development of grocery stores, the A. Novikov Group of Companies begins operations in the soft-discount retail segment, opening the Elki-Palki supermarket (the supermarket operates in the "near home" format, in the mid-price segment). In June 2005, Arkady Novikov took part as a presenter in the new intellectual reality show "Candidate", a joint project of TNT and Junior TV. The TV project is analogous to the American show "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump, which premiered in January 2004 and immediately scored the highest ratings. In the Russian version of the reality show, 16 applicants are competing for the right to become the manager of one of Arkady Novikov's projects and receive an annual contract worth more than 1,500,000 rubles. The show premiered on July 31, 2005 on TNT.
In 2005, Arkady Novikov launched the following projects: the second point of the Japanese restaurant chain "Yapona Mama", a restaurant of modern Provencal French cuisine Casual, the Shore House restaurant (a joint project with the Crocus Group), a joint project with Ligne Roset - a furniture boutique and a Cafe Roset restaurant , "Angara" casino, "Aist" restaurant.
In the spring of 2005, a joint project was announced with the Bosco di Ciliegi company, which controls the GUM Trading House. Until 2007, the A. Novikov Group of Companies will open 16 cafes and restaurants with an original concept in GUM.
In December 2005, the A. Novikov Group of Companies will open five restaurants in the new Oktyabr cinema on Novy Arbat together with the KARO company. The restaurant complex in the "October" cinema will include two network projects - the Japanese restaurant "Little Japan" and the cafe-confectionery "Delis", as well as three new projects - the Italian restaurant "Porto Cervo", the karaoke bar "October" and the dj-bar "Black October Bar".
Also among the nearest projects of Arkady Novikov: the opening of the GQ Bar restaurant complex together with the international publishing complex Conde Nast, the opening of the Nedalny Vostok restaurant, the creation of a chain of beer restaurants, the creation of our own catering company Novikov Catering.
Arkady Novikov: "I am often asked if I am going to expand my network. I always say to myself -" Enough. Stop ". But I just can't stop!"
Arkady Novikov is one of the founders and a member of the coordinating council of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers since 2003. Laureate of the National Hospitality Award "2004 in the nomination" For personal contribution to the development of the hospitality industry. "
Laureate of the "GQ Man of the Year" award - 2004 in the "Restaurateur of the Year" nomination.
He considers his main achievement in 2005 to be participation in the Candidate reality show, where he was able not only to play a new role of a host, but also to positively influence the image of the Russian restaurant business, showing it from the inside and demonstrating what opportunities it opens up for young and passionate people.
Arkady Novikov is a well-known domestic restaurateur, many know him as the host of the popular reality show "Candidate" and "Master Chef". He is one of the most influential businessman in this field, the founder of the federation of hoteliers and restaurateurs in our country.
early years
Arkady Novikov was born in Moscow in 1962. His mother was a kindergarten teacher, and his father worked as a designer at a factory. When the parents decided to leave, the hero of our article was only six years old. As a result, he was raised by one mother, and she was engaged in his upbringing.
While studying at school, Arkady Novikov practically did not think about his future profession, nothing indicated that in his adult life he would turn into one of the most influential restaurateurs in the country. As the entrepreneur himself often recalls now, until the age of 15, his main hobby was amazing fairy tales, because he did not want to part with his childhood.
It is noteworthy that for a long time he did not know how to cook on his own, watching with interest how his grandmother did it.
Education
After school, the fate of the hero of our article developed in such a way that he connected his life with cuisine and restaurants.
He received his first education at a culinary school. Then he went to serve in the army, where he specialized in dog training. Returning to "civilian life", he entered an even more prestigious institution - the Plekhanov Academy of National Economy at the Faculty of Public Catering Economics.
Having received higher education, Arkady Novikov first worked as a cook in the restaurants "Havana" and "Universitetsky", and five years later he headed the kitchen of the fashionable capital restaurant "Olympic Lights". He gained invaluable experience in the administration of catering establishments in the Victoria restaurant located in the Gorky Park of Culture, as well as in the Hard Rock Cafe, which belonged to the musician Stas Namin.
Own business
Arkady Anatolyevich Novikov decided to open his own business in 1991. He created a company called Novikov Group, which eventually became the leaders of the domestic restaurant business.
At the same time, his very first establishment was a small cafe "Sirena" in the building of the technical school. The project was beneficial in that there was no need to pay for rent; instead, Novikov undertook to feed the students of the technical school with lunches for a symbolic fee.
The project turned out to be quite successful. In 1994, restaurateur Arkady Anatolyevich Novikov opens his new establishment under the name "Club T". They were followed by the restaurant of Russian cuisine "Tsarskaya Okhota", respectable establishments "Gallery", "Grand Opera", Cantinetta Antinori, Vogue Cafe, the famous chain of restaurants with democratic prices "Elki-Palki". It was these inns that became the basis of its popularity.
"Tree sticks"
Although the Yolki-Palki restaurant chain was aimed at the middle class, and not at the rich, it was these establishments that brought fame and fortune to their creator.
The very first tavern under this brand opened on Tishinskaya square of the capital in 1996. Initially, it was not planned as a network, but its popularity was so great that the restaurateur, who became the hero of our article, began to open new establishments the very next year.
In total, about 20 restaurants were opened within the framework of this project, not only in Moscow, but also in Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver, Omsk and Ufa. The concepts of these catering establishments were based on Russian, Caucasian and Ukrainian cuisine, and the main feature was the so-called cart with an unlimited approach. In fact, the restaurant worked according to the buffet system, where hot and cold snacks were presented in unlimited quantities.
In 2014, the chain carried out a large-scale rebranding, changing the logo and design style of restaurants. However, by 2017, it became known about multibillion-dollar debts, Novikov decided to get rid of this asset.
The institution stood out for its interior, which was made in a rustic style. Includes sorcerer oaks, wattle fence, dishes, authentic decor.
Institutions network
In 2006, he somewhat changes the direction of his business development. A subsidiary of its parent company, Novikov Catering, is established, which specializes in providing catering services in the luxury segment.
At the same time, two world-famous chefs, Charlie Trotter and Pierre Gagnier, came to Novikov's restaurants. The work of such stars of modern world cuisine increases the popularity and brand recognition of the hero of our article. In addition, several new Novikov restaurants open almost every year with their own unique and never repeating style.
He has his own establishments not only in Russia, but also abroad. Novikov Restaurant & Bar operates in London. The entrepreneur also has his own greenhouse farm called "Agronomist", from which fresh fruits and vegetables are delivered to the kitchens of his establishments. Established his own personalized trademark, under which he promotes high-quality and environmentally friendly products.
At the end of 2015, another Arkady Novikov restaurant appeared in Moscow. This is an establishment called "Cheese Factory", which is famous for its own cheese production. The restaurant is located right at the Badayevsky plant, where these cheeses are produced. In addition to unique cheeses, the menu also includes classic dishes, although most of them are based on the addition of cheese.
Television career
The popularity of the restaurateur Arkady Novikov and his restaurants is added by his charismatic figure, thanks to which he managed to make a career in television.
For the first time on the blue screens, the hero of our article appeared in 2005, when he became the host of the reality show "Candidate". Its participants had to show their organizational skills, demonstrating entrepreneurial qualities. The winner got the opportunity to try himself as a manager of one of Arkady Novikov's new restaurants in Moscow.
In 2013, a new project of the hero of our article, called "Master Chef", was launched on the STS channel. This time Novikov was not only a TV presenter, but also the main judge on the project. In addition, he took an active part in writing the script, developing complex, creative and unusual culinary tasks for the participants in the show, and composed his own recipes for novice chefs.
Personal life
Restaurateur Arkady Novikov and his restaurants have become so famous and popular that the man has many female fans who are interested in the peculiarities of his personal life. They will have to be upset: the hero of our article is married. Arkady Novikov met his wife in 1990 at a party with mutual friends. Her name is Nadezhda. The couple have two children.
Arkady Novikov's wife is currently the owner of a flower business; she has her own shops and beauty salons in Moscow and London. There are many celebrities among her clients, for example, Dmitry Malikov, Alsou, Fedor Bondarchuk, designer Daria Zhukova.
cooking school
Recently, Novikov has taken up educational projects. He runs his own culinary school, which runs a professional cookery course.
Classes are held for nine months. These are theoretical lectures and practice on the basis of restaurants. The cost of training is very high - 750,000 rubles, but even such a high payment does not guarantee a prestigious diploma. Novikov always emphasizes that students who do not demonstrate decent results or will miss classes may not count on a document.
At the same time, he emphasizes that his school compares favorably with all other similar courses in that chefs and restaurateurs receive a truly systemic education.
For a healthy lifestyle
The daughter of Arkady Novikov, Alexandra, is a supporter of proper nutrition. She is developing her own project, How to green, which encourages people to stop eating meat. She has two higher educations. It received one in London in the field of PR technologies, and the second in New York - in the field of contemporary art. The girl is 27 years old, she is a popular blogger who, by her example, proves how you can do without meat and fish in life, and lose weight quickly and effectively.
It is interesting that Alexandra did not follow her father's path and open her own catering establishment. She herself admits that problems arose with the location. She was inspired to open her own project by her passion for fast food, which she, like most other teenagers, often abused. One day the doctor said that the level of cholesterol in her blood was like that of an elderly woman, it really amazed her. She decided to urgently rectify the situation, but at some point she realized that she could not sit on strict diets. She met healthy and tasty food in one of the New York cafes and decided to bring this type of food to Moscow.
The son of the hero of our article is named Nikita. He constantly gets on the pages of the "yellow press", which informs about his next darling. The son of Arkady Novikov Nikita Novikov met with the daughter of the famous tennis player Alesya Kafelnikova.
After that, information appeared that he was dating the daughter of billionaire Ziyad Manasir, Diana, and then about an affair with dancer Daria Nelina. Each such information was accompanied by corresponding photographs.