Karo Guyumjyan

It’s impossible to know everything. It’s impossible to manage everything. It’s impossible to try everything. However, I fill my life with a whole bunch of new knowledge, work, and flavors. I’m neither a revolutionist nor an innovator. I’m Karo Guyumjyan, Armenian, and just a good guy. My guests keep telling me that I’m an awesome chef at Salon restaurant.

I was born and raised in the ancient and magnificent city of Yerevan. You can hardly be tired of speaking about it: its history and culture, its people, politics and atmosphere. But personally, for me, Yerevan is a source of personal power, part of my spirit and native soil. Am I a patriot? For sure, I am! And I’m very glad that the city welcomes me, a bold guy, in its warm and spicy embrace.

I love to cook, and I always loved it. But my dream was to dance. Any other boy would be fond of the sport of maths. But I was dreaming of the stage and bright costumes. Well, now I have more than enough of audience’s applauses and compliments. In some way, I’m a culinary maestro in my kitchen.

During my young years, despite some doubts, I graduated from a well-known culinary college. I have to confess that there was not so much romanticism in that, it was rather about discipline, education, and maximalism. After college and the army, I started working in an Italian restaurant.

Pizza – the most famous eatable symbol of this festive country – played an important role in my career. For 5 years, I was sharpening my skills in pizzaiola; I was growing and dreaming of something more. And in 2008, having also obtained profound skills in French cuisine, I became a chef. My sensei – Daniel Garibaldi – helped me so much to understand what it means to be a real chef and to acquire the necessary skills. I appreciate that so much.

I was living my life and would continue like that if HMG company hadn’t made me an offer to become a chef at Salon, an authentic Armenian restaurant. For more than 10 years, we have been friends with the HNG, and all previous restaurants are part of their friendly gastronomical family. But the Salon became something special for me. Awareness of my vocation, my experience, and new opportunities help me to find and restore Armenian cooking traditions with the greatest accuracy. My big wish is to have not only a taste but also a spirit of this amazing country in each dish that I create.

That’s the reason all my interests and hobbies are dedicated to searching, tasting, and restoring Armenian cooking culture in our restaurant. I, like a devoted neophyte, passionately travel to villages and most distant corners in search of my culinary treasures.

I do believe that I’ll have adherents with the same passion as me, who’ll continue to develop my findings. In this way, we’ll not only demonstrate how tasty Armenia is but at the same time also create its gastronomic history for our future generations. The Mission is challenging. Have to go to work on it! And meanwhile, please enjoy the veal in sparkling pomegranate sauce, trout fillet with flavoury apricot sauce, and cream salad made of the most tender eggplants.