Moscow, Restaurant «Abramowich»
Scene 3
Ruslan Rachmaninow had, at the time, been assistant chef at a brasserie near place de la République – with the express intention of studying the «gastronomical manipulation of the class enemies», as he liked to explain. Ruslan had formerly been an ardent devotee of socialist ideals, and was currently joint proprietor and head chef of «Abramonich», one of the best – and most expensive – Russian restaurants in his hometown.
When Maille stepped into the restaurant, he found Ruslan in full action behind a sideboard in the dining hall: a group of Russian businessmen had evidently ordered a banquet for their foreign guests, presumably to celebrate the successful conclusion of a deal. They were piling their plates with delicate little beetroot cakes, cabbage rolls, young potatoes, braised quail, herring, meatballs, pickled herring, lamprey, pickled mushrooms, pates and pastes of all kinds – «Sakuski», the heavenly starters of the Russian kitchen that Ruslan was a master at.