Signature dish:
Steak Tartare and OssetraLiving in Julia Child’s apartment in Paris was one of the major inspirations that led me to be a chef. Born in Russia and raised in NYC, I started my professional career at Daniel, which was a groundbreaking experience for me. Later, I moved to Paris to pursue my gastronomic dreams as well as to meet the city’s most renowned chefs. In the process, I learned an absurd amount about French culinary traditions. Always inspired by Japan, I headed to Tokyo where I worked with Zaiyu Hasegawa at DEN, a two Michelin star restaurant which was named TOP 50 Best Restaurants in Asia. My biggest mentor was Pascal Aussignac, who I had the pleasure of working with in his Michelin star restaurant Club Gascon in London. I believe that peace and harmony are attainable through food. I embrace tradition and modernity after years of traveling, cooking and eating. By fully embracing hyper-seasonality, I strive to evoke feelings and nostalgia, from the cosiness of holing up inside during winter to the joy of enjoying dinner in the garden, bringing them to life in my daily-changing menus. When I cook, the seasons inspire me – the ingredients and the flavors, freshness and complexities of the seasons. A good chef contributes to society and makes customers happy. I am just about happiness and a person of innate pragmatism and tactility who enjoys cooking the rich, bold and flavors.
Additionally, I have 15 + years of private chef experience, collaborations and food styling. I offer private cooking lessons, plated dinners, small/large gatherings. I work with locally-sourced, organic ingredients and have experience cooking with vegan, vegetarian, and kosher dietary restrictions. I have knowledge of Asian, Mediterranean, Spanish and French cuisines as well as a wide-range of pastry making. I am able to travel in New York area, along with the occasional longer distance travel.
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Working with Chef Vera was truly a wonderful experience. I hosted a festive dinner party for 12 people. We had a Mediterranean themed menu and Vera took care of everything from discussing and adapting the menu to suggesting serve ware, timing, buying all the food and ingredients, and assisting with additional servers for the party. Not only is Vera a lovely and interesting person, but also she is an excellent and professional chef. The organization, preparation and clean up of the entire evening made everything just so enjoyable for all the guests especially for me, the host. The food was absolutely delicious. We had skirt steak that was prepared to perfection and many sides of vegetables that were seasoned deliciously. She prepared branzino that was the first dish to disappear. It was all spectacular. My guests raved about the food afterwards. Vera is a talented, charming, professional chef that I would gladly hire again.