Oleksii Povtoreiko, born in Kyiv in 1980, learned from French chef Olivier Lumière, helped open several restaurants, and is now head chef at the Scottish house-restaurant Whisky Corner.
I was born on May 26, 1980, in Kyiv. Even though it’s been 34 years, I still clearly remember when I knew I wanted to become a chef. I was always amazed at how well my dad could cook.
Back then, being a “chef” wasn’t exactly seen as a man’s job, but by 7th grade I had made up my mind to learn the craft and become the best. According to my parents, my first attempts at cooking turned out pretty well, but of course, parents always like to cheer on their kids.
After graduating from high school, I went to culinary school, and right after finishing it I got a job as a kitchen assistant. Two months later, I was promoted to chef. A year after that, I was drafted into the army, and as you can guess, there wasn’t much fine dining there.
We had 9 chefs, 50 assistants, and 1,500 hungry soldiers to feed. You might ask, “What can you learn in those conditions?” Discipline, responsibility, and organization: for any chef, especially a good one, these things are as essential as air.
My first head chef job was at the River Palace entertainment complex. That’s where I was lucky enough to work with and learn from a French chef named Olivier Lumière.
During that time, I realized that a chef’s main job is never to stand still. You can’t be afraid to experiment, you’ve got to keep getting better every day, and you should share your experience and not be afraid to ask questions.
In my 9 years as a head chef, I helped open places like Café de Paris, the fusion restaurant Ma petite, the Italian Bellagio, and a countryside club called Dacha. Each place was totally different, and the experience was priceless.
Currently, I’m the head chef at Whisky Corner, a Scottish house-restaurant. Here I’m a chef and also a true single malt whisky connoisseur.
Like many chefs, I often get asked whether I enjoy cooking at home. Let’s just say I cook only on special occasions. The rest of the time, my wife handles it wonderfully, though she does hear the phrase “This could use a bit more flavor” quite often.
What can I say? A chef is still a chef at home. But sometimes I just want to relax and enjoy a good old pizza: the kids love it, and so do I.
For this project, I decided to present my signature dish, Beef Wellington. Since I work at a Scottish house-restaurant, the sommelier and I paired it with the perfect whisky to match its flavors.
