At 26 years old Alexander oversees seven restaurants of the Ginza Project network, these are some of the most fashionable establishments in the city: Terrassa, Volga-Volga, Moskva, Plyushkin, Baranka, Mansarda and the steakhouse Ribeye, which is just preparing to open ".
Fast-paced career The young man cannot help but be impressed. Alexander Belkovich was born and raised in Severodvinsk - this is a small town, a naval base in the Arkhangelsk region.
His first culinary experiences were done at age 6. Then he came up with his own recipe for fruit yoghurt and a sandwich with sausages - special holes in the bread filled with sauce made the regular sandwich more juicy.
In 1997 he went to visit his sister, who lived in Moscow. Then Alexander visited McDonald's for the first time, which impressed him greatly. Then he told everyone that when he grew up, he would definitely work there.
After 9th grade Alexander decided to enter the Arkhangelsk Cooperative College to become a cook-technologist. Parents commented on their son's choice as follows: "At least you will always be full."
Practicing while studying, Alexander managed to work in several establishments in Severodvinsk, where after 2 weeks he was declared the best chef.
According to him, It's not just about being able to cook a dish well, but he has a business sense that allows him to improve the restaurant's operations so that people come back. This applies to a properly equipped kitchen and the ability to communicate with visitors.
At the age of 17 he moved on his own to Moscow. The job was not found immediately; there were several failures. For example, when, after a probationary period, management refused him a place without paying him.
By chance he ended up in the kitchen Correa's restaurant, where the Puerto-American Isaac Correa was the chef. Now Alexander talks about this place as his alma mater, where he received a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, and most importantly, learned the right attitude to work.
So, he calls Aizik his teacher and inspirer, he gladly shared with Alexander his experience, which he acquired in New York.
In just 2 months working at Correa's, Alexander Belkovich was appointed sous-chef (deputy chef). In total, he worked there for 5 years.
By the way, Moscow taught Alexander not only the secrets of signature dishes. When several adult cooks came under his command, there were conflicts. “They didn’t want to accept my concept, they thought I was too young and didn’t understand anything. So I had to go out into the street and settle the dispute with my fists. Time has shown that I was right,” recalls Alexander.
In 2006 he was invited to become a chef at the just opening Terrassa restaurant in St. Petersburg. This began work at the Ginza Project, where over time seven restaurants came under his supervision, and he was appointed brand chef.
It was interesting to know, what is the secret of such rapid success at such a young age. Alexander says that the main thing is the attitude. When you have the feeling that you can do anything, you are able to share this energy with others.
Therefore, in restaurants, which he oversees, pays special attention to the atmosphere in the kitchen. To unite a real team, Alexander plays basketball with the cooks on weekends. This not only energizes, but also unites the team.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to visit the boss’s workplace, I asked Alexander to teach me something. He took me to the kitchen.
Amazing how these two-meter-tall grown men take their young boss seriously. As soon as we entered the kitchen, everyone immediately began to smile, someone high-fived, someone simply waved welcomingly.
To teach me cutting vegetables correctly required a board, a knife and two giant cucumbers. All this appeared before us within half a minute after Alexander’s request. You can immediately feel the atmosphere, both strict and friendly.
Your main task Alexander's vision is to give energy to chefs and inspire them. Therefore, he almost never sits still, and more often moves from one kitchen to another.
Early success did not in any way affect his manner of communicating with people; star fever, despite all the real achievements, does not seem to have affected the young chef at all. “There is simply no time for such nonsense, there is too much work, and professional snobbery only complicates the work process,” comments Alexander.
Opening your own restaurant There are no plans yet, although similar proposals are received several times a week. Alexander says that he likes working with Ginza Project and doesn’t want to leave the team. However, he is considering the possibility of jointly opening a new establishment. And now he is launching a culinary school, where classes will be held for both housewives and professionals.
Released in 2010 Alexander's cookbook "Open Kitchen". “I just wanted to tell people that you can prepare various and unusual dishes from familiar products,” says the chef-author.
Book title not by chance. Alexander is used to working in an open kitchen, you can always see visitors - those for whom you are trying.
Mikhail Sokolov and Timur Dmitriev, the founders of the Italy restaurant, shared their opinion about the success of Alexander Belkovich: “It’s not just that he is ambitious, purposeful and works hard. Alexander has an understanding of modern European cuisine. This is a rarity in St. Petersburg now, this is what people are looking for now Ginza".
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Participant name: Alexander Belkovich
Age (birthday): 22.11.1984
City: Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region
Job: Belka restaurant (St. Petersburg)
Family: married, have children
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Alexander Belkovich was born on November 22, 1984 in the small naval town of Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk region. From the age of six I was passionate about cooking.
Now an experienced brand chef of a large restaurant chain in St. Petersburg, the owner of his own culinary school and star of the STS TV channel, with a smile on his lips, he recalls how in his youth he presented his family with a super sandwich with bread and sausages and made homemade yogurt according to his own recipe.
When Sasha was in the 9th grade, he began to think about enrolling to study to become a cook.. He even came up with the idea of getting a job at McDonald's.
In 2000, he completed his studies at the Arkhangelsk Cooperative College, after which he moved to live in the capital and began to think about getting a job in one of the kitchens of Moscow restaurants.
At the age of 26, the guy was able to become the curator of 7 restaurants that were considered the most fashionable in Russia: Plyushkin, Ginza Project, Volga-Volga, Terrassa, Moscow, Baranka, Attic, Ribeye.
Alexander assures that it was not only his culinary skills that helped him achieve success, but also the spirit of a true businessman. Thus, the restaurants began to enjoy success with regular customers. At the age of 17, it was difficult to find a job in the capital; there were even cases when Sasha was left without work without paying benefits.
One day he found himself in the kitchen of Correa's, under the guidance of Puerto-American chef Isaac Correa, who taught him all the basics of work. This man became a teacher for Sasha and inspired him to new achievements. They collaborated together for 5 years. Moscow allowed Sasha to discover his talent, and in 2006 the guy moved to St. Petersburg, where he began working in the Ginza Project chain as a chef.
Alexander always devotes himself to his work, tries to give energy to his charges and inspire them to create masterpieces; he does not sit still, moving around the kitchen area. Despite the fact that success came to Sasha at a young age, he was not overtaken by star fever. He assures that snobbery has a detrimental effect on work, and therefore he has no time for such nonsense.
Belkovich is not only a talented chef, but also in 2010 he published his cookbook called “Open Kitchen”, where he presented readers with interesting dishes based on simple ingredients.
Belkovich calls his secret of success the ability to develop his instincts and correctly understand the tastes of the people visiting his restaurants. Thanks to his ability to sense the tastes of many, special combinations, he was able to create dishes that appeal to all guests of the establishment.
Alexander is ambitious, purposeful and hardworking, he devotes a lot of time to work and is always ready for new discoveries. In 2015, he became the host of the STS show “MasterChef. Children". Since 2017, he has been working as a host on the “Simply Kitchen” show, demonstrating that even with available ingredients from modern stores, anyone can prepare a restaurant dish.
In addition to cooking, Alexander enjoys snowboarding, boxing, loves playing basketball and traveling. He is married to his wife Olga, and together their parents are raising a sweet daughter named Isabella. In 2017, Alexander and Olga had a son.
Photo by Alexander
The chef has an Instagram where you can see many personal photos from everyday life.
| Alexander Belkovich | |
| Alexander Belkovich |
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| Occupation: |
Chef, participant of the Master Chef children program |
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| Date of Birth: | |
| Place of Birth: |
Severodvinsk |
| Citizenship: |
Russian Federation |
Alexander Belkovich– chef, participant of the Master Chef children program.
Biography
Born on November 22, 1984 in Severodvinsk. In 1997, I visited my sister in Moscow for the first time, where I went to McDonald’s and decided that I would work there. Then he graduated from the cooperative culinary college in Arkhangelsk as a cook. In 2002 he came to Moscow.
First job
At the age of 16 he began working as a cook. First, he worked for 5 years in Moscow under the leadership of Isaac Correa at the Correas chain, rising to the position of sous chef. At the age of 21, he moved to St. Petersburg and began his career as a chef there at the invitation of the owner of the chain.
Trip to USA
He studied culinary arts in the USA and Great Britain, took part in the opening of restaurants in New York and London. In particular, he opened the Marivanna restaurant and the Vow buffet. Now Alexander is the brand chef of the Ginza Project holding in St. Petersburg and the curator of 15 establishments, the chef of the Terrassa, Moskva, Mansarda, Volga-Volga, Plyushkin, and Baranka restaurants. He opened many restaurants in the chain, for example, the Smelt and Spices and Joy restaurants in 2013. He wrote 2 cookbooks - “Open Kitchen” in 2010 and “Russian Cuisine 2.0”. In 2015, he became one of the hosts of the Master Chef kids show. His co-hosts were Andrey Shmakov and Giuseppe D’Angelo. In October 2015, he opened his signature restaurant Belka.
- He has his own website where he shares recipes for various dishes from various cuisines of the world.
- His specialization is European and Italian cuisine.
- He is a laureate of international culinary competitions.
- His idol is Jamie Oliver.
- Calls culinary art rock and roll.
- As a child, I was friends with a boy whose mother worked in the canteen. Therefore, she often treated him to delicious dishes. It was thanks to this that Alexander became a chef.
- Worked with chefs from Singapore, Italy, France, China and America.
- He loves to travel and try new cuisines and dishes from different countries, which enriches his skills.
- A workaholic, he loves his job and tries every day to come up with something new in the field of cooking.
He says that cooking is very simple - you just have to do it with love and then everything will work out! He is interested in snowboarding, basketball, boxing, cycling, jet skiing and wakeboarding, roller skating, tennis, snowboarding, and likes to party and dance in nightclubs. On weekends he plays basketball with his cooks. He is married, his wife’s name is Olga, and he has a daughter, Isabella. His first cooking experience was at the age of 6 - he prepared homemade yogurt, mixing fermented milk Snowball with banana and strawberries, and made sandwiches from Darnitsa bread and sausages. After 9th grade I seriously wanted to become a chef. More for Zenit and enjoys the English language. His signature dish is chicken cutlets with gooseberry sauce. He names lemon, honey and northern forest berries as his favorite foods: cloudberries, lingonberries, cranberries. As a child, he was fond of picking berries and fishing in the White Sea. In his youth, he was involved in professional sports and was even a member of the swimming team; he dreamed of joining the Olympic team, but due to an injury received as a result of jumping from a 10-meter height, he had to give up his dream. Has a blue belt in karate. In his youth he won the Arkhangelsk basketball championship. He conducts cooking courses at the Terrace restaurant and a culinary blog on his website. In February 2011, he hosted Dmitry Medvedev and the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, in his Attic restaurant. He considers crocodile, python and turtle to be the most exotic dishes he prepared with his own hands. Since he grew up in a private house as a child, he now dreams of a country cottage by the lake. A fan of Russian cuisine. His father is engaged in the construction of nuclear submarines. Dreams of a chain of restaurants around the world. He was the curator of the locally creative cuisine Gastronomics. His friend is the general director of Radio Record Andrey Reznikov. During his internship while studying at a technical school, he was recognized as the best cook in some institutions. In November 2015, he received the “What Is Where” award according to Sobaka magazine in the chef category. Conducts closed cooking courses called Belkovich Secrets. Participated in the Oda festival! Food!
Viewer interest in his person appeared after the airing of the program “MasterChef. Children,” of which he became one of the co-hosts. Wife of Alexander Belkovich Olga, having learned that her husband was taking on another case, at first she was not happy, because now she and her daughter Isabella will have to see dad at home even less often, because now Alexander will have to fly from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where filming is taking place. But after seeing the first episodes of the program, Olga changed her mind, she liked it so much, especially the way Alexander looks from the screen. Deciding that he would now become famous throughout the country, Belkovich’s family supported his desire to take part in the new project.
In the photo - Alexander Belkovich's wife Olga
Alexander made an important decision to become a professional cook after the ninth grade, which is why after school he went to Arkhangelsk and entered a cooperative technical school. Then he returned home, worked at the local Pelican cafe and, deciding to radically change his biography, went to Moscow, where he worked for five years under the leadership of Isaac Correa. At twenty-one, Sasha moved to St. Petersburg, where he began working as a chef. Alexander Belkovich has studied in England and the USA, participated in the opening of London and New York restaurants, and today he is the brand chef of the international restaurant holding Ginza Project, which owns and manages more than a hundred establishments in St. Petersburg, Moscow, the USA and Britain.
He explains that Alexander has achieved such success in his career by his purposeful fighting character, which does not allow him to retreat from difficulties or give up after failures. In his personal life, everything is also going well - he is happy and loves his wife very much.
In the photo - Alexander with his daughter Isabella
Alexander Belkovich’s wife, according to him, at first did not dare to cook, fearing to lose face in front of her husband, but gradually stopped being shy and now confidently feeds Sasha and her daughter breakfast and lunch. She loves to visit her husband’s signature restaurant, Belka, which he opened last year in St. Petersburg together with the Ginza Project.
In the photo – Olga Belkovich
Despite the fact that cooking is his job, he loves it so much that in his free time Alexander enjoys cooking for his friends. He also loves to travel, and his sports hobbies include snowboarding, boxing, and basketball. At thirty-two years old, Alexander Belkovich is already a laureate of international culinary competitions and the author of two books on gastronomy, but this is just the beginning, and there is no doubt that Sasha is only at the beginning of his brilliant future.
Young, talented and ambitious Alexander Belkovich has made a dizzying career. Already at the age of 27, he became the brand chef of one of the largest international restaurant holdings, Ginza Project, in the Northern capital. But first things first.
The beginning of the way
Alexander Belkovich was born in Severodvinsk (a small town in the Arkhangelsk region) on November 22, 1984. According to him, he always loved to eat well, so he took his first culinary steps at the age of 6, when he prepared yogurt according to his own recipe and built it. No one close to him could have thought that this smiling boy would open a culinary school in the future, write a couple of books, a recognizable presenter on the STS channel and will head an international restaurant chain.
After graduating from the cooperative technical school in Arkhangelsk in 2000, he seriously thought about moving to Moscow and getting into the kitchen of some restaurant. Interesting fact: back in 1997, he was visiting his sister in Moscow and, having visited McDonald’s, decided that he would definitely work here. Alexander did not know what the future awaited him...
It was difficult for a young guy in a foreign city to find a suitable place: he was deceived with his salary and working conditions. Many would have given up... But not the purposeful Alexander, who decided to achieve his goal at all costs.
Creative biography of chef Alexander Belkovich
Fate had other plans. In 2006, she smiled at Alexander Belkovich. Correa’s restaurant welcomed him into the holy of holies - the kitchen, where, under the guidance of one of Moscow’s leading chefs Isaac Correa, he spent 5 years mastering the intricacies of preparing masterpieces.
It is this man that Alexander calls his inspiration and mentor. Still would! Puerto Rican Isaac Correa is considered the founder of the fusion style, the organizer of a system of burger bars and city cafes, and is one of the top ten top chefs in Moscow.
The capital gives the guy a good start - he moves to St. Petersburg. From now on, Alexander Belkovich is a chef at one of the Ginza Project restaurants. More precisely, the chef!
Improving your skills
Alexander says that he never sat still. His thirst for knowledge allowed him to study in the USA and Great Britain. Constantly proving to himself that he is capable of much, Alexander Belkovich participated in international competitions and became a laureate more than once. He was invited to restaurant openings in England and America.
But his task was not only to win: he constantly tries to discover new facets of taste. Moreover, he cultivates this desire in the guests who come to his restaurants. Perhaps it is in the sincere desire to instill good taste that the secret of the young chef’s success lies.
By the way, Alexander now holds the position of brand chef in the Ginza Project restaurant chain, chef of the Mansarda, Plyushkin, Terrassa, Moscow, Volga-Volga, Baranka restaurants. In addition, he is the owner of his own restaurant “Belka” with sophisticated signature cuisine and curator of 15 restaurants. The young chef shared his cooking secrets in two books, “Open Kitchen” and “Open Kitchen 2,” where everyone will find a recipe to suit their budget and taste.
Many people call chef Alexander Belkovich the Russian Jamie Oliver and criticize his behavior and cooking. Whether this is true or not is up to you to decide, and the “couch cooks” can only drool over the next masterpiece that he is preparing on the STS channel in the show “Simply Kitchen”. And Alexander does not hide the fact that Jamie is his idol. Like his overseas colleague, he teaches how to cook gourmet restaurant dishes using quite accessible and familiar ingredients.
By the way, remembering his childhood weakness for cooking, Belkovich became the host of the “MasterChef” program. Children". Together with colleagues Giuseppe D’Angelo and Andrey Shmakov, they tasted the creations of children’s hands and chose the best mini-chef. The passions, seasoned with the spontaneity of the young chefs, were not at all childish!
Family and hobbies
Alexander Belkovich is a loving and beloved husband, a happy father of two children. The charming wife Olga always supports her husband, inspires him to achieve achievements and sometimes appears in the final shots of the show “Simply Kitchen”.
Alexander loves sports (boxing, snowboarding, basketball, rollerblading, jet skiing and many other types of entertainment) and travel. From them he brings back vivid impressions and unusual tastes, which he adds to his dishes. Alexander is active on social networks and does not hide his personal life from fans. On the contrary, he willingly shares photographs not only from filming or shows, but also shots of ordinary life.
