Record 200 metric tons of nutritious wild fish: III Pollock Festival concludes
The O!Mega Taste Festival ran from May 19 to June 11, and once again surprised culinary innovation enthusiasts and pollock connoisseurs. In 2025, 40 cafes and restaurants in Primorsky Krai participated in the project, with chefs preparing more than 30,000 pollock dishes. The festival events attracted over 200,000 residents and visitors from Primorsky Krai and Moscow. For the festival’s culinary masterpieces, Russian Fishery Company provided 12 metric tons of deep-processed products, like fillets and pollock roe, as well as surimi-based imitation crab meat. Retail chains in Primorsky Krai and Moscow sold 200 metric tons of wild white fish products.
The annual Pollock Festival is supported by the Government of Primorsky Krai. The Festival organizers include: Tourist Information Center of Primorsky Krai (Visit Primorye), Russian Fishery Company (RFC), and the federal project “Gastronomic Map of Russia". The festival's main concept is to introduce pollock into all segments of the Russian food and hospitality industry and bring this valuable white fish back into the Russian public's consumption culture.
The festival had multiple formats, taking places at restaurants, street vendors, and large retail chains. Throughout the event, chefs invented more than 100 new recipes, while over 50 established fan favorites once again took the place of honor on the Festival menu.Russian Fishery Company actively promotes the consumption of healthy products with unique qualities. “We are focused on environmentally friendly and high-quality pollock production and, of course, are interested in popularizing products made from this healthy fish,” comments Alexey Merkulov, RFC's Director of External and Internal Communications. “RFC has set an ambitious goal: not only to increase the appeal of pollock products, but also to make the Festival popular nationwide, involving other regions as well. We are confident that thanks to the high quality of the deep-processed products we make on our vessels and at our onshore facility, our gastronomic projects have a great future.”
From May 19 to June 5, various gastro venues in Vladivostok featured special menus with pollock dishes. Chefs prepared unique signature dishes that showcased pollock from unexpected culinary perspectives. Gourmet dinners from the brand chefs of More Seafood Bar, Tooman, Aquatoria, and Millionka delighted guests with fresh interpretations. The pollock dishes offered a new perspective on this familiar fish, transforming it into a true art exhibit for the palate: from light appetizers to bold complex combinations in hot dishes, and even marine-themed desserts.
This year, RFC introduced another recipe ingredient: pollock roe. It became a prominent trend in the festival menu sets. Millionka in particular offered visitors an interesting interpretation of roe. This venue exclusively hosted O!Mega breakfasts, with the chef's special menu that featured pollock roe in different flavor combinations: spicy, salted, breaded, unusual spreads, and pates.
The urban segment of the festival treated guests to culinary master classes on pollock preparation, tastings, informative lectures, and musical performances, with special cooking shows for children on June 1. As a tasty accompaniment to the holiday, chefs from restaurants and cafes throughout the city made dishes from pollock at the culinary fair. More than 18,000 pollock dishes were sold over three days.
In Moscow, about 900 portions of pollock dishes were sold at the O!Mega Taste booth on Shkolnaya Street as part of the Moscow on the Wave fish week. A record-breaking 150 liters of fish soup was prepared in Revolution Square, with residents and visitors of the capital enjoying more than 600 servings. On Children’s Day, young cooks learned to make various pollock dishes.
During the festival, special promotions for pollock products were held in major retail chains: Samberi (Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais), Perekryostok, Auchan, Okay, and Pyaterochka. Deep-processed products were in especially high demand, icluding pollock cubes, fillets, and surimi (imitation crab sticks). Overall, pollock products experienced a 26% sales growth (compared to 2024).
The O!Mega Taste Festival aims to ensure public access to high-quality fish caught and produced by domestic fishing companies. The number of festival partners grows annually, with support from professional associations (Pollock Catchers Association, Roskachestvo, Fish Union, Fishery Shipowners Association, Association of Retail Trade Companies) and fish processors (Meridian, Agama, KVEN, VICI, Putina), who provide products for master classes, tastings, and sales, ensuring that as many people as possible get to enjoy high-quality pollock.
