Pollock Festival is held at the RUSSIA EXPO

The Pollock Festival "O! Mega Taste!" is taking place at the RUSSIA EXPO in the House of Russian Cuisine Pavilion. Guests will be presented gastronomic shows from leading chefs of Primorye and culinary masterclasses on cooking Far Eastern cuisine with tasting. 

"Pollock is not fully appreciated. We have generally lost the culture of fish and seafood consumption. Both President Vladimir Putin and the Kamchatka region Governor Vladimir Solodov have spoken about this. We see ourselves the need to popularize this fish, and specifically as a fish of the Far East fishery. Last year my colleagues from the Tourist Information Center and I came up with this festival and piloted it in the Khabarovsk and Primorye regions. The event was a success, and we see interest in the festival, in new dishes, and in pollock fish itself," said Alexei Merkulov, director of external and internal communications of the Russian Fishing Company.

In May 2024, the Pollock Festival "O! Mega Taste!" will be held in restaurants in the Far East, and from May 24 to 26 the street part of the gastro-event will take place. It is organized by the Primorye region government, Primorye Tourist Information Center and Russian Fishing Company.

"Pollock is a very environmentally friendly fish, which is found in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. This fish is the main type of our fishery, and it is important to note that we process it right at sea. Vessels of the new type have been built, which can process up to 100% of caught fish directly at sea. We produce fillets, surimi mince (this is what crab sticks are made of), fish flour and many other goods," Alexei Merkulov noted.

During the gastro-presentation, the chefs will show how to cook exquisite dishes, such as cold smoked pollock roll with ramson, creamy pollock soup, crispy cones with pollock in cream sauce, pollock eclairs with spicy cucumber, hot smoked pollock in frosting with sea grapes and ramson sauce.

Even ice cream can be made of pollock. Alexander Kazakevich, the chef of the "Millionka" restaurant from Vladivostok, who can cook more than 300 dishes from pollock, talked about the secret of cooking it:

"Pollock is interesting because it can be made into absolutely any flavor. I invented ice cream when I was assigned to come up with a dessert made of pollock. I combined this fish, scallop and condensed milk - boiled it all, made a pate and froze it. Today's guests are invited to taste it. The ice cream is very popular in the restaurant".

Photo: Kirill Kallinikov/Fotohost-RIA News agency