Anahit Sargysian

My name is Anahit Sargysian, and I know every item on the menu of Yerevan restaurant The Club. I know what every sauce is cooked of, what spices are added to lamb shank and how your plate is supposed to look.
I am a chef at The Club – a place with Armenian and French cuisine and something else.

I was born in Yerevan, a city of rosy and creamy colours, in the family of office workers.
When I was a child, I used to spend a lot of time with my granny in a small city with not very poetic name, but with extremely poetic landscapes – Goris.

This is how we live – we often compare things, events, people and cities. Goris is, for example, is named “little Paris”, but for me it will remain unique forever. This is where I became fond of food.

“Became fond of food”. It sounds so common and boring. As if there were only a few people fond of eating. But I mean different, more comprehensive and conscious fondness. I think that was my granny, who cultivated my love of cuisine and culinary.

My granny cooked really tasty dishes. And let us not shake our heads saying ALL grannies in the world cook tasty food. I can say rare wedding and big event could do without my granny. She was invited to cook, and I was her indispensable assistant.

I’ve got two educations, and for 24 years I worked as a financial expert. Jumping ahead of myself, I can say it was The Club, where my second education of vigneron came in handy in 2004.
And in 1999 I was lucky to get to The Wheel Club restaurant as a cook assistant. And in only 2 months, it was me who needed an assistant, because I became a cook myself.

John Paul Sax – a real Englishman – was a founder of the restaurant and the best teacher. I will never stop thanking him.
It took only 2 years for me to become a chef.

The Club is a small restaurant with epicurean concept. I knew people would expect perfection of me and was a bit worried. But I had a good fortune and met French chef Nicolas Natalini. We worked together, and that was my personal school to understand high cuisine.

I want you to understand, we not just feed hungry people in The Club. We celebrate enjoyment with every bite. We excluded feeding as a necessity and made a real feast of it, when people can feel all sides of tastes. This is a feast, where all guests are welcome. And where every guest will get wine.

We have chosen a crayfish soup for shooting. It represents a traditional Armenian culinary, but with French charm, European presentability and local ingredients.

Do you remember, how you should eat this dish? With endless enjoyment!