The Russian Federation is the world’s largest producer of pollock, which counts among its most important naturally extracted food resources. The main idea of the festival is to introduce pollock into all segments of the Russian food and hospitality industry and encourage Russians of all ages to reintegrate this valuable white fish into their consumption culture.
During the Third O!Mega Taste Gastronomic Pollock Festival's presentation, guests sampled pollock dishes on the menu of National Center RUSSIA's Grastronomic Gallery: ukha soup, sugudai raw fish dish with pollock roe, and stuffed pollock. The gastronomic performance was hosted by Ekaterina Shapovalova, who curates a project titled “Traveling through Russia. Food of National Center RUSSIA".
The festival presentation was also attended by: Vitaly Stanislavchuk, Deputy Director of the Tourist Information Center of Primorsky Krai; Alexey Merkulov, Communications Director of the Russian Fishery Company; Olga Shanayeva, Deputy Head of the RusQuality organization; Alexey Buglak, President of the Pollock Catchers Association; Alexander Panin, Chairman of the Fish Union; Elena Cho, Director for Government Relations at the Association of Retail Trade Companies; and Oleg Ryabov, Category Director at the Ultrafresh Department of the Perekryostok retail chain.
“When it comes to bringing the organizers together, our festival is truly unique. Every year, the number of festival partners grows, which makes us very happy. We are working together to improve pollock's prestige, make it more accessible, and turn it into a favorite dish for children and adults. Right now we are seeing children taste pollock soup and beg their parents to make it again at home, which in itself is a great achievement in introducing pollock into segments of the Russian food industry.”
The festival has multiple formats, taking places at restaurants, street vendors, and large retail chains. From May 19 to June 5, thirty gastronomic projects in Vladivostok will offer a special menu with pollock dishes. Gourmet dinners from the leading chefs of Primorye will delight foodies with new culinary inventions:
- On May 28, the MORE Seafood Bar restaurant will offer an Omega Dinner, prepared by three chefs from three gastronomic projects — Tooman (chef Vladimir Kozhevin), MORE Seafood Bar (brand chef Yuri Kryuchkov), and Aquatoria (brand chef Maxim Mozharovsky).
- On May 29, the Millionka restaurant will host a dinner prepared by chef Evgeny Kabanov.
- On May 30, the Omelet Station café will hold the third gastro-dinner for Vladivostok’s guests and residents.
This year, the Russian Fishery Company has introduced yet another pollock product to add to your recipes: roe. It will be a trend setter among the festival menu sets. Millionka will offer visitors an interesting interpretation of roe. For the first time in festival's history, the restaurant will be holding O!Mega Breakfasts with the chef's special menu that features pollock roe in different flavor combinations: spicy, salted, breaded, unusual spreads, and pates. The Breakfasts will be available on the weekends of May 24–25 and May 31–June 1.
The city segment of the festival will be held on Vladivostok’s Sportivnaya Embankment from May 30 to June 1. For guests of this mass celebration, there will be pollock cooking master classes, tastings, informative lectures, and musical performances, with special gastronomic events for children on June 1. As a tasty accompaniment to the holiday, chefs from 30 restaurants and cafes throughout the city will prepare dishes from pollock at the culinary fair.
During the festival, major retail chains including Samberi (Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories), Perekryostok, Auchan, Okay, and Pyaterochka, will hold special promotions for pollock products. Reduced prices will also be available for guests of the street festival in Vladivostok and Moscow.
In Moscow, the festival will also include children’s master classes at the Moscow on the Wave markets, and pollock soup will once again be prepared in the heart of the capital. The O!Mega Taste Pollock House will open its doors in Shkolnaya Street from May 30 to June 8. Visitors will be able to try pollock dishes prepared according to different recipes. In addition, the venue will host tastings and master classes where everyone can learn to cook under the guidance of professional chefs. Frozen wild whitefish fillets and other pollock products from RFC’s processing partners will be available for purchase at the trade chalet.
The festival partners include the Pollock Catchers Association, which is running the country’s first program to promote Far Eastern pollock as a brand, as well as the RusQuality organization, which helps raise public interest in fish products and rally support for the Russian Fish project, the Fish Union, the Fishery Shipowners' Association, and the Association of Retail Trade Companies.
