Chef & kitchen
How to cook without a stove: four temperatures of one hearth, five kinds of wood and a chef who reads the heat with his hand.
Matvey Zorin
Twelve years at the stove, the last six at the fire. One day he switched off the gas in the kitchen and never switched it back on: fire is more honest, he says — you can’t set it to “medium” and walk away.
Every morning he picks the wood for the day’s menu himself and is the first to light the hearth.
“You can’t switch fire on. You can only build it — and it decides when it’s ready.”
Four temperatures of one hearth
One hearth, four kitchens. A dish moves from zone to zone until it is done.
- 1 · Flameabout 600 °CA crust in minutes: steaks, flatbread, peppers.
- 2 · Embers300–400 °CThe main heat: duck, fish, vegetables on the grill.
- 3 · Ash150–200 °CSlow and gentle: beetroot, pumpkin and pear right in the ashes.
- 4 · Ovenup to 250 °C, cooling all nightRib slow-cooked for six hours, bread in the morning.
The wood
Every log dries for a year under cover: wet wood gives acrid smoke, not flavour. It arrives once a week, and we split it ourselves on Mondays.
- Birchto light the hearth; strong, even heat
- Alderfish and vegetables; soft smoke
- Cherryduck and game; a fruity aroma
- Appledesserts and baked fruit
- Oakthe oven: long heat through the night
A day in the kitchen
The fire sets the schedule for everyone, cooks and guests alike.
- Deliveriesfish, meat and vegetables from our regular suppliers
- Prepsauces, sourdough, ferments
- Firewe light the hearth: two hours to even embers
- First gueststhe kitchen is open
- Last ordersno more wood goes on
- Embers under ashin the morning they will light the bread oven