lovely chef and owner of "Anda Piroshki!" in Bernal Heights, SF.
Piroshki are a traditional Russian snacks. They are individual-sized buns stuffed with variety of fillings - vegetable, meat or sweet fillings. AЙDA PiROSHKi! uses only natural ingredients: the best flour from local mills, sustainably grown meats, a variety of locally grown vegetables and fruit.
“AйDa” (pronounced “Ai da”) is a traditional Russian exclamation that shows positive emotions and is similar to the meaning of “Wow”.
Interview
Ulla Havenga: Hi Anna! Thanks for taking your time to meet me today!
You're one of La Cocina's young entrepreneurs and just started your piroshki business "Anda Piroshki!" a few month ago.
Tell me, where do you come from?
Anna Tvelova: I'm from a small town in Russia.
UH: What is your educational background? Where did you learn cooking?
AT: I attended 2 years of cooking collage. I worked in restaurants for several years in Russia.
I remember one day during my handson practice years, I came to work and saw half of a cow in the sink and I had to deal with that!
So I can say in total I worked in the food sector 10 to 12 years by now.UH: What brought you here to San Francisco? Do you like the city?
AT: I worked in a Hotel in Moscow and wanted to improve my english.
When I first came here I expected San Francisco to be more like Tokyo - sky scrapers everywhere. Maybe I liked it even better then.
What I really like is the mix of cultures, it is amazing, especially the food culture is extraordinary.
One finds so many new ideas, flavors and products in this part of the world.
UH: Is SF in your opinion a food town? If yes, why?
AT: Yes, definitely!
First as I came here from Russia I didn't know what to eat. After a year living in SF, I returned to Russia and I didn't know what to eat back there! (laughing)
UH: Does this different environment (San Francisco) have impact on your work as a chef?
AT: Absolutely! That's an interesting question. Just last week was the Armenian Food Festival, and I tried a kind of thin bread with special Arabic spices. I will try to find out more about that spice and will include it as inspiration in my work.
All those different cultures help me discover new flavors and try new things day by day.
UH: Why Piroskis!? What's the idea behind that?
AT: It wasn't that one day I woke up and knew that I wanna do piroshki! It was a very clear decision.Since I'm from Russia I wanted my work to be connected to my home country. In the beginning I didn't have a kitchen so I wanted to create something handy. The first idea was to create a meal that's balanced with nutrition. But then I decided to go back to the original piroshki recipes. But I won't give up this idea entirely, I am working on a "piroshki light" line for the future.
UH: Where do you get your inspiration from - new ideas, new recipes?
AT: I just go out there and find inspirations from all these beautiful products! Or I just taste something new, basically I grab everything that I like and experiment with it, if I feel it could be an interesting fit.
If we talk about cookbooks: I had the pleasure to meet Michel Suas from the San Francisco Baking Institute. At the moment I find inspirations in his latest cook book.
UH: What is your favorite dish besides piroski?
AT: My husband is chinese and he introduced me to the huge world of Chinese food. My absolute favorite is Peking duck!UH: What have you never tried but always wanted to try?
AT: In SF it's hard to want something and not get it…I actually can't think of anything I wanted to try and didn't try.
But I really like sweets, so I want to start to make Russian cookies filled with caramel, those are my favorite to make and to eat!
UH: What do you think about food critics? Do you hate them, love them, or do you think they are redundant?
AT: I can think of one particular experience that had to do with Michael Bauer. It wasn't connected with my piroshki business but with my time as a waitress in the SF Cliff House Restaurant. The atmosphere in the restaurant was intense, but the review he wrote was ok, so there was nothing to worry about.
I think society needs food critics to review places, if they want to make you go somewhere, that's positive I think.On the other hand I very well understand that chefs are very nervous about food critics, they have the power to bring places off the track.
UH: Where do you see yourself as a chef in 10 years?
AT: My big idea is to make piroshki as popular as pizza. I would like to open up many little stores first all around SF and then all over the Bay Area.
Maybe it sounds like too big a dream, but a few years ago my dream to come to America seemed too big as well, and now I am here and have my own business!
I think I definitely should dream big to get on with my goals - making fresh baked, delicious piroshki!
Interview September 20, 2011
for more info check out http://andapiroshki.com/
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