“At the Dacha” by Dmitry Parikov

Where taste is intertwined with soulfulness

The famous brand chef of Perelman's restaurants (My Fish, I Like Wine, I Like Wine 2.0, I Like Grill, Beer&Brut in Moscow and Bisque in Lisbon) Dmitry Parikov turned his passion for cooking into a successful business. He remained true to himself and managed to embody the main human values in the unique project “At the Dacha”. Home comfort, delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere are intertwined there. In this interview, we will find out why over the past year “At the Dacha” has become a powerful magnet for residents of the metropolis.

The idea was born spontaneously. We celebrated a birthday with friends at the dacha in winter, lit fires, cooked on the grill, had fun. In the morning I thought it would be cool to make a place where you can spend time with friends and family, celebrate holidays. In the yard, I immediately noticed an old shed with shovels and various junk. Together with my wife, we drew a plan. A month later, there was a box in place of the shed. I did the interior decoration myself. For 1.5 years, in the evenings after work, I came, turned on my favorite music and did the decoration. My wife helped with the interior design. When the construction was completed, I realized that this project would not only be for my own people - it was also for other people, for guests. The idea of "At the Dacha" is to feel like you are visiting your grandmother.
Since childhood, I remember warm family meetings. I took this as a basis, strengthened it and created it for people.
It was a little scary: how everything would turn out with such a location outside the city, in the old garden society. But I had the first dinner, and things slowly went down. We are now in our second fall season.

Dmitry, You have an impressive background in the tourism industry. How did you come up with the idea of creating the project “At the Dacha”?

There is no stereotyped menu that I work by. I do not buy products for dinner in stores or from suppliers. Before each event, I go to the Danilovsky Market and take what I liked visually and what I want to use. I know every stall there, who sells what, what quality. I do not pay attention to the price: if tomatoes - then the best seasonal ones, the best meat, and so on for each category. I do not set any rules or restrictions. We hold each dinner as if it were the first time, with full dedication and maximum hospitality.

I didn’t even think about this name at first. For a long time I called it “barn” out of habit. We thought we'd leave it like that. But the Saray establishment opened in Moscow. Then we didn’t bother and named our project after its location. Initially, it really was the dacha of my wife’s great-grandfather; we have been actively going there on vacation for the last 20 years. All this time we have been gradually arranging everything, expanding and tidying up the territory, building a large house, and creating a parking zone.

I have beds, a small greenhouse, where not very capricious plants grow until the May holidays: greens, radishes, herbs. In the greenhouse, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini also grow. I make preserves from them and the now legendary zucchini caviar. I collect and dry mushrooms, herbs from the garden: mint, thyme, and others. I freeze currant leaves for aromatic tea.

It all starts at the train station. The train doors open and 15-20 strangers get off. I greet them warmly with a table with snacks and homemade liqueurs made from loganberries and raspberries or feijoa with Abkhazian lemon. These liqueurs are exclusively a "dacha" treat, not for sale. I want people to feel as comfortable as possible from the very first moment, so that they can breathe a sigh of relief after the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the measured rhythm of the dacha. We walk slowly through the forest to the house. Guests are treated to delicious, proper home-cooked food, cooked with love, and a warm and kind atmosphere.
Our aim is to help people relax, forget about phones, make new acquaintances and communicate with other people in person.
Not like in a restaurant, when people come together and sit on their phones, forgetting about each other. We warm ourselves by the fire, drink tea from a samovar, sing songs with a guitar. We immerse ourselves in a long-forgotten carefree time from our childhood, student years. People recharge, take a break from the stress and negativity of city life.

It seems to me that this is only the beginning of the saturation of restaurants in the classic style. They are more suitable for everyday visits.
Now people have a craving for nature, silence and solitude.
Therefore, there are requests for this project. Many guests come to us from their private homes, not all come from the center or from the outskirts of the city. I see how the trend of country recreation is gaining momentum.

The project is year-round, each season has its own atmosphere. My wife makes decor for the season from what grows around: in the garden, field, forest. Nature has no bad weather. The special spirit of "At the Dacha" is formed from a combination of factors: communication, food, music, weather. Each dinner is unique in its own way, there are no similar ones

Sometimes what is born in one project moves to others. Everything is interconnected. All my experience is transferred and transformed, new ideas are born spontaneously. I am constantly learning new things, flying to different places, studying the market. Thus, together with chef Roman Orlov we were able to create an amazing menu with a light French flair and quality products in the Bisque restaurant.

I announce the sale of dinner tickets on Instagram (this organization banned in the Russian Federation) and a Telegram channel. The first 20 people who buy them get to us. People buy tickets, finding out by word of mouth. So, there are already many applications for two pre-New Year dinners. In addition, we organize private events for specific requests and moods.

All secular Moscow dreams of visiting you. What are you feeding so that the flow of those interested is only growing?

Where did the name “At the Dacha” come from?

They say you have a cellar with your own preserves and pickles.

One of the ways to reveal the mysterious Russian soul is to invite a person to your place. How do you demonstrate the breadth of the Russian soul "At the Dacha"?

Since the 18th century, representatives of the bourgeoisie and intelligentsia have acquired dachas to escape the bustle of the city. Do you feel this impulse in our time?

Does your project have a seasonality, like a classic summer house?

How did “At the Dacha” influence your other projects?

What should I do to get to your “Dacha”?

We create the mood, and the guests themselves do the rest.