The "Russian Fish" festival in St Petersburg will offer more than great food. Alongside events for visitors there will be a HoReCa forum where restaurant professionals will explore how to unlock the potential of fish and seafood – from product selection and menu development to cooking techniques, presentation and new gastronomic formats.

On 19-20 September restaurateurs, chefs, suppliers and seafood market experts will meet at the "Russian Fish" festival in the Brusnitsyn Cultural Quarter to discuss how fish can become not simply a popular restaurant ingredient but a signature menu item. The focus will be not only on taste and gastronomy but also on practical questions: food costs and margins, seasonality, logistics, working with local produce, cooking techniques and formats that can attract diners.

The HoReCa forum program will include lectures and seminars, practical chef masterclasses and the "Russian Fish" Academy. This range of formats will consider fish dishes from different angles – from the product and technique to their place on the menu and the diner's experience.

The economics of fish dishes will be one of the forum's central themes.

Viktor Titov of "Concord" will explain how to maintain the quality and profitability of fish dishes while replacing expensive items without compromising on taste. He will also discuss new ways to sell crab in restaurants using hyperbaric technology.

Gleb Levitsky of Ikra Plyos will share his experience of working with local produce. His talk will cover logistics, trust in product quality and pricing. Anastasia Matveeva of "Rybprodtorg" will examine the seasonality of fish and seafood from a practical perspective – the gap between restaurant expectations and what the market can actually supply.

Separate sessions will focus on oysters, live seafood systems, smoking fish in the restaurant and adapting fish dishes for delivery. The latter is particularly important for the modern restaurant industry: participants will discuss how to retain a dish's temperature, texture and quality while it is on its way to the guest.

Another important part of the program will explore new formats for familiar products.

Sergey Galtsev of "Itali Group" will give a masterclass on bringing convenience products up to restaurant standard and using them to create trendy street food. Evgeny Meshcheryakov of UMI Oysters / Oishii will showcase the gastronomic potential of pollock and herring roe.

Alexander Bogdanov of "Kuznya House" / "Marius" will discuss the return of river fish to restaurant menus and how to use it effectively in a contemporary menu. Munechika Ban of Megumi will present a Japanese approach to preparing fish while Anton Isakov of La Biga will share creative ideas for fish and seafood dishes.

A separate discussion will consider how a fish dish can give guests a reason to return to a restaurant. Ilya Burnasov of Blackchops will address the subject in his masterclass – "Fish dishes that bring guests back".

Chefs will demonstrate the practical side of restaurant work.

On 19 September Alexey Yermakov of Bona Kapona / Matilde will hold a masterclass on using sous vide and confit techniques with fish. Dmitry Reshetnikov of ZAZAZU / MON CHOUCHOU will explore fish dishes in the premium segment – from presentation and aesthetics to storytelling.

Participants will see how the same product can work in very different restaurant settings: from accessible street food to fine dining, from local river fish to delicacies and products whose potential in HoReCa has yet to be fully realised.

The "Russian Fish" Academy will be a separate practical strand.

On 19–20 September chefs and experts will prepare fish and seafood dishes and demonstrate a range of techniques, products and gastronomic traditions.

The program will include baked Atlantic herring by Dasha Grubenko (MiniChef), Sakhalin scallop with quince guacamole and basil water by Anatoly Derenchuk (Richy Richy), grilled Baltic zander by Roma Redman (Chuck Family), sugudai made with fish from Yakutia by Svetlana Kozeyko ("Polyaniki"), muksun cooked on a cedar plank by Sergey Gordeev and bluefin tuna dishes by Alexander Goryainov ("48 Chairs").

Vlad Kim of "Pipyao" will offer his own gastronomic interpretation – he will show how Russian fish can be reimagined through Korean cuisine and prepare trout hwe with seasonal vegetables.

The Academy is intended not only for professionals: its aim is to show a wider audience just how varied contemporary cooking with Russian fish can be.

Ultimately the HoReCa forum will consider not only what to cook with fish but how to turn it into a successful restaurant product.

"Russian Fish" will bring together fishing companies, suppliers, restaurateurs, chefs and consumers. The event will trace the product's full journey – from catch and supply to the restaurant kitchen and the diner's plate. Its professional program will also consider which products and solutions modern HoReCa really needs and how fish dishes can be made more accessible, varied and appealing.

The "Russian Fish" gastronomic festival will take place on 19-20 September at the Brusnitsyn Cultural Quarter in St Petersburg. Alongside the professional HoReCa forum, visitors can explore 12 original restaurant concepts, gastronomic shows, masterclasses, the «Fish on the Grill» championship, bars and special fish and drink pairings. Organisers expect more than 25,000 visitors and around 2,000 HoReCa professionals.

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