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Articles about the knife program. Life after the show

Reality show on the TV channel " Friday!”, in which a run-down cafe is transformed into a first-class restaurant.

Airing time: Wednesdays at 19:00

In project " On knives» Konstantin Ivlev - the legendary chef, guru of the restaurant business, the kindest and most patient Master of his craft - will declare war on the negligence, unprofessionalism and illiteracy of Russian restaurateurs.

With knives. The essence of reality TV

Project " On knives" - a culinary reality show created according to the popular format Kitchen Nightmares. In Ukraine, the first season of the show was released on August 15, 2012, and he participated in it together with Aram Mnatsakanov and Konstantin Ivlev.

In the Russian version " On knives" Chef Konstantin Ivlev goes on a tour of Russian cities in order to find the most remote, hopelessly unprofitable establishments in order to turn them into a profitable business.

A patient master will come and teach you how to continue to live, cook and serve visitors in order to become a decent and profitable establishment. But will the newly minted students survive this school? After all, the master’s patience is not limitless! The owner of a heavy hand and an adept of shock therapy, Ivlev cuts from the shoulder, does not skimp on harsh but fair criticism and without regret fires those who refuse to understand the first time.

According to the rules of the “On Knives” project, the restaurant owner is obliged to comply with the requirements established by Ivlev for a month. After this period, the show team returns to the same establishment to check how things are going there.

The owner is in shock, the waiters are in tears, the cooks are on the verge of a nervous breakdown - this is how every filming of the program goes “ On knives" But the result is worth it! Before the eyes of TV viewers, a miracle happens: a run-down cafe turns into a first-class concept restaurant.

With knives. Reality TV episodes

June 15, 2016 - Samara: “Yarga”(The unsurpassed chef and culinary master Konstantin Ivlev goes to Samara to turn an unprofitable restaurant into a profitable business in three days. The Russian cuisine establishment "Yarga" opened a year ago, but almost from the very moment of its creation it needs help. The owners of the restaurant do not can understand what they are doing wrong and why the hall is empty all the time. They decided to call Ivlev as the last hope to change their sad situation for the better. However, they will have to be prepared for the shock therapy of the stern master. He will note all their shortcomings. He will reveal the problems in the work of the kitchen and will indicate a weak link among the staff...)

June 22, 2016 - Kazan: Bolaq(The national cuisine restaurant Bolaq was once a successful establishment in Kazan, but over time it lost not only its concept, but also all its visitors. The owners of the establishment take out loans to pay the staff salaries. They are only one step away from closing. The owner of the restaurant is in despair turned to Konstantin Ivlev to help rectify the situation. The female kitchen team is mired in quarrels and discord: instead of preparing delicious dishes, the ladies are sorting things out. And the bartender is completely fighting idleness with the help of alcohol. The patient master could not accept this situation business. His criticism drove the chefs into hysterics. The staff were expecting drastic changes. Will rebooting the establishment be beneficial or will nothing fix the work of the previous team?..)

June 29, 2016 - Moscow: “Eggplant”(In one of the residential areas of Moscow, an establishment with the original name “Eggplant” is in trouble. Neither the owner nor the administrator of the cafe can understand where their guests disappeared. So far, they survive only on modest business lunches. But only one step separates the cafe from closure. Inexperienced managers already wanted to resort to radical measures to cleanse the aura of the establishment, but common sense told them to turn to the famous chef Konstantin Ivlev. Once in the cafe, the patient master was horrified by the current situation. It turned out that both the cook and the administrator , and the entire kitchen is in charge of a single waitress! The refrigerators were a complete mess, and the professionalism of the cook raised serious doubts. Failures in work led to dissatisfaction among visitors. The establishment had to reconsider the entire concept of the kitchen and part with the weakest link of the team...)

July 6, 2016 - St. Petersburg: “Beer Etiquette”(Konstantin Ivlev went to the city on the Neva, St. Petersburg, to provide emergency assistance to the iconic establishment. The Beer Etiquette bar has long become a museum, and not just a corner for a pleasant relaxation. Despite its advantageous location, it is catastrophically empty. The patient master expected to get into such a mess! He became an eyewitness to a real culinary crime. Intelligent owners cannot cope with their impudent staff. In order to change something, they will have to take radical measures. Konstantin will give the enterprise a portion of criticism and give a charter of liberties to wayward employees. But will the owners be able to withstand shock therapy from a famous chef?..)

July 13, 2016 - Kazan: Kuilyuk(A multinational city with ancient traditions hid a cafe called “Kuylyuk” in one of its secluded areas. The only establishment of Korean cuisine is not so easy to find even with a navigator. But even those rare guests who get to the restaurant never return there. The co-owners of the establishment are mired in quarrels and showdowns, forgetting about the quality of the dishes. And the chefs do not even know how traditional Asian food is prepared. All dishes come out of the kitchen with a smell. With the smell of a failed business. Remaking the establishment will cost Konstantin Ivlev a lot of effort What surprise will he prepare for the staff, will the leaders of Kuilyuk be able to bury the knife of discord and become a friendly team for a common goal?..)

July 20, 2016 - St. Petersburg: Route 148(Konstantin Ivlev is back in St. Petersburg. The Route 148 nightclub was once the most popular establishment among fans of "iron horses", but the profitable time has sunk into oblivion. The owner of the establishment and the president of the biker club "Night Hunters" turned to the patient master to save your life's work. But it will not be easy to restore order among the harsh men! Free creators in the kitchen do not burden themselves with high quality standards, but prepare food on a whim. Guests are simply afraid to express their dissatisfaction with the cooks. Before Konstantin brings constructive criticism to the management of the establishment, he will have to pass more than one test of the strict brotherhood of bikers. But will the talented chef, despite the resistance of his employees, be able to turn a loss-making club into a profitable business?..)

July 27, 2016 - Rostov-on-Don: “At Boris’s”(The Rostov café “U Boris,” famous on the Left Bank, was once a legend of the 90s and has seen a lot during its existence. But its restaurateur seems to be frozen in the past and does not want to realize that the golden days are over. Now, instead of profit, cash register and satisfied guests, the main inhabitants of the restaurant are its employees. The cafe administrator turned to Konstantin Ivlev for help in the hope of changing the situation. Only the patient master, having learned about the owner’s attitude towards his establishment, was in no hurry to start redoing it. Will he be able to tactfully point out all the failures in management strategy? And how will the hot-tempered owner react to strict criticism not only of Konstantin, but also of his staff? What will happen in the end? Why will the first day of operation of the renovated restaurant almost end in failure?..)

August 3, 2016 - St. Petersburg: “Old Stoker”(Konstantin Ivlev came to St. Petersburg to see its most sinister establishment. The Old Stoker bar, imbued with mysticism and a vampire theme, has always attracted connoisseurs of the other world. But over time, thanks to poor quality food, it scared away all its guests. With Since then, the establishment, like a black hole, has been doing nothing but sucking money out of the three founders. In a desperate attempt to fix everything, the management called on Konstantin Ivlev to revive the Gothic bar. But will he want to fight the dark force reigning there? After all, such a plight is a patient master I haven't seen it yet! Instead of signature dishes, the guests were served ordinary food, without any inspiration. And the kitchen equipment would have brought any chef to tears. And yet the strict Konstantin saw in the gloomy kitchen an endless field for creativity...)

August 10, 2016 - Moscow: One cafe(Culinary genius Konstantin Ivlev goes to an unprofitable establishment in the center of Moscow. The signature karaoke restaurant One cafe, despite its good location and low prices, has stopped bringing money to its owners and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The young management of the restaurant could not find the cause of the disaster on their own and turned to the foreman for help. A patient ace, of course, will help, but first he will give the offending staff a good beating. Five minutes in the restaurant kitchen is enough for Ivlev to understand whether the cause of the financial disaster of the establishment was the inexperience of the owner or the excessive self-confidence of the chef? ..)

August 17, 2016 - Rostov-on-Don: “German-Pepper-Sausage”(An establishment from Rostov-on-Don again needed the help of Konstantin Ivlev. In the center of the city, the eccentric art pub “German-Pepper-Sausage” has been suffering losses for more than a year. It would seem that the name alone should attract crowds of guests, but they eat and have fun in In this establishment, only its employees. The owner and part-time best friend of his subordinates maintains an atmosphere of complete freedom and real rock and roll in the bar. But the manager of the pub is dissatisfied with such lawlessness in the team and does not forget to constantly remind the owner about this. The rest of the employees, everything seems to be fine. The chef is cooking on a household electric stove, and the waiter is actively promoting his own cocktail “Boiling Water with Ice” on the menu. Ivlev decides to sober up this friendly team by arranging a radical transformation for both the employees and the establishment...)

August 24, 2016 - St. Petersburg: “Mjod”(The northern capital again brought Konstantin Ivlev together with a unique establishment. Four friends from St. Petersburg invited him to help their restaurant with the alluring name “Mjod”. For a long time now, instead of sweet profit and love from visitors, the guys are watching only empty tables. And all because the owners can't come to a unified management policy. While the patient master was assessing the service and dishes from the menu, knives of discord were throwing around in the kitchen. It seems that only shock therapy can correct the current situation...)

September 7, 2016 - Khimki: Repin(An anonymous cry for help led Konstantin Ivlev literally to a scandalous establishment. The Khimki restaurant “Repin” was out of competition in the Moscow region for a long time, but times have changed. The interior has become worn out, the level of cultural education of the guests has decreased, and the food is frankly disappointing. The chef himself the chef cannot be in his kitchen. Endless failures both in service and in the kitchen only exposed all the shortcomings of management. The staff is tired of autocratic management, and the business owner cannot understand the outbursts of anger of her employees. To change the situation in the restaurant, a patient foreman will have to for the first time to act as not only a psychologist, but also a disinfectant...)

In 2017, the host of the program “On Knives” Konstantin Ivlev was named "Best Cooking Host" at the Food Show Awards. Konstantin managed to outvote such serious rivals as

For almost two years we lived in the dark - what happened to the former lounge cafe “Etazh” in Dobroye after the visit of restaurant business guru Konstantin Ivlev? And why, having received a new name - “Slivki”, the establishment with a luxury concept and menu never took off, closing soon? The ex-general director of the cafe, Arkady Sharov, who was directly involved in the filming of the “On the Knives” program in Vladimir, told us about this and much more.

“Initially, Anna and I bought “Etazh” from the previous owners. I remember she came to me and said: “Let’s try to raise it together.” I agreed, although the establishment was already “killed” on all fronts, even the kitchen was in disrepair. A little later, a friend of mine from the Friday TV channel, who works there as a creative producer, suggested that we star in a culinary reality show. We thought about it and decided - why not? It does not interfere. But, looking ahead, I’ll be honest: later we regretted this decision many times.”

Why? After all, the program is aimed precisely at raising unprofitable cafes and restaurants. Is not it so?

“The idea is really not bad, but the implementation leaves much to be desired. On the screen you see a finished beautiful picture. In reality, everything happens quite differently. A show is a show, what else can I add; it actually has little in common with reality.”

So it was the shooting of a kind of feature film?

"Exactly. Our establishment served as an ordinary film set, with cameras hung in every corner. The director commanded who and how best to react to a given situation. For example: “Make a dissatisfied face,” “Shout!” Waitress Sonata acted strictly according to instructions. In real life, naturally, she did not pester Ivlev. Our conflict with the owner of the premises, Margot, was also blown out of proportion.

All guests were invited by the channel's employees. Everyone was paid money. One such landing day cost the program about 50 thousand, no less, but, apparently, the show’s ratings pay for all these costs. Many scenes were edited. For example, we have never had cockroaches. And the table that was shown in the frame was clearly not ours, but everything was already broadcast. Nothing could be fixed.”

The repair turned out to be fake too?

“Real, but it’s impossible to make candy out of nothing in a couple of days. They allegedly spent 293 thousand rubles on everything, although I don’t believe it. To paint one wall for 90 thousand - are you serious? I think they definitely inflated the prices. Well, at least they paid for it themselves.

In addition, no one monitored the market to understand what Vladimir lacks, what will work and what will not. Well, what kind of “Cream” can there be in Dobroye? This is a residential area, not the city center.”

What can you say about the cuisine chosen by Konstantin?

“He developed a good menu, but at that time pan-Asian cuisine did not seem very appropriate to us, so Anya and I adjusted it almost immediately. Beetroot jelly and soy panna cotta aroused curiosity among guests only in the first couple of days after the program aired. These dishes were not only unpopular, but also were much more expensive than stated in the program.”

Did the minute of fame on the Friday TV channel bring any profit?

“Five days of filming in a closed cafe brought us more losses than profits. The exhaust was minimal. If we talk about specific amounts, we lost about 200 thousand rubles, and received about 50 thousand as compensation. And we still had to pay the rent somehow.”

That is, the opinion about Ivlev remains rather negative?

“No, only about the show itself with elements of setup and pretense. Konstantin himself is a true professional. Separately, I would gladly call him without cameras to help with promotion, but the services of this mastodon are too expensive.”

Is he really such a quarrelsome uncle as he appears on TV?

“Konstantin scandalized more according to the script than in truth. For the sake of words, he could swear, but in essence he is a very kind, bright, open, noisy and artistic person. A real joker. On the last evening of filming, we all had a great time sitting with him at the set table. Kostya communicated with each of us at ease, joked and laughed contagiously.”

What did people ask you most often after they saw the program “On Knives” with your participation?

“Is it all there for real or not?” Moreover, it was mostly complete strangers who wrote about how I behaved incorrectly. Poor Sonata was completely overwhelmed by her followers. Many condemned her, and some openly insulted her. She was so worried about this, she even cried, but we calmed her down, because in life Sonata does not behave so cheekily, it was just an invented image.”

Why and when did you decide to close “Slivki” and open “Chaplin” in the center?

“Things were going badly. Literally two months after we worked during the New Year holidays, we decided to close the cafe. It’s a pity, of course, but what could be done? Working at a disadvantage is also not an option.

BY THE WAY: On January 9, when we were already removing the furniture, a fan of the program “On Knives” came to visit us. He visited all the establishments where the famous chef was, so he was so upset that he did not get to us in time, that we had to take a photo with the poor fellow and feed him dishes from Konstantin’s menu.

Anna and I were invited to the place where “Chaplin” was later opened, but I decided to put an end to this whole gastronomic story. My main automobile business brought me much more income, so Anya was already working on a new project alone. True, it also did not bear fruit. The restaurant and bar eventually closed. Perhaps because it did not have any special feature that would distinguish it from the other numerous establishments in the center. And the basement was not a very good place to open something new.”

Are you planning to return to the restaurant business?

“Maybe I’ll come back. I've been wanting to open a coffee shop for a long time. So far, however, I don’t know where: either in Vladimir, or in Nizhny, or in Moscow. The main thing is that I now know first-hand: keeping an establishment at a decent level is a very difficult task, this requires an excellent concept and, of course, competent PR.”

After the release of the program “On the Knives” on the “Friday” TV channel, only the lazy did not talk about the Perm restaurant “Deja Vu”. Bright characters, Ural flavor, famous dialect and emotionality. Many social media users even believed that all participants in the program were actors who played their roles professionally.

“In fact, everything happened for real. Emotions, joy, sadness - we have not experienced anything. There was a breakdown within the team, but after that we only became stronger. We have guys working with a lot of ideas. I’m not going to change the team,” the director assures Alexandra Andronova.

According to her, with the release of the program, the flow of guests actually doubled. Perm residents began to come not only to eat, evaluate the quality of service and see what the capital’s craftsmen had done, but sometimes just to take pictures with the project participants.

39 year old Lyubov Ponosova The team affectionately calls her Lyubasha. She was the one who had a hard time with the scandal while filming with the program’s host, the chef. Konstantin Ivlev and, bursting into tears, wanted to leave work, but later came to her senses and returned. Now the Permian remembers everything that happened as a good lesson and is not offended by the Moscow culinary specialist.

“I spoke to the point. A little offensive, but true. We failed,” she throws up her hands.

Cook on the ship

Lyubov was born in Krasnokamsk, studied in the small village of Konets Bor. Since childhood I dreamed of becoming a chef. The first dish prepared for her at the age of nine was borscht. After watching her parents in the kitchen, she decided to repeat after them - without any recipe or knowledge. It turned out very tasty, the woman smiles.

Friendly restaurant staff. Photo: AiF/ Dmitry Ovchinnikov

Then, having moved to the regional capital, she entered the river school as a cook, where the main emphasis was on teaching cooking on water vessels, taking into account various features, including the structure of the kitchen and compliance with sanitary rules. And at the age of 18, she went on a cargo ship, carrying coal, timber and salt, as a cook.

About the TV show

The “On the Knives” project is a culinary reality show created according to the popular Kitchen Nightmares format. The famous chef Konstantin Ivlev travels to the cities of Russia in order to find the most hopelessly unprofitable establishments in order to turn them into a profitable business.

“The only thing about such voyages is working in a men’s team. But I didn’t feel any mockery from the outside; on the contrary, the atmosphere was like home! I fed a team of nine men with porridge, salads, cutlets and belyashi, and everyone was happy,” she notes.

Two years later, the Perm woman decided to “go ashore.” She got a job as a cook at the Yubileiny restaurant in Zakamsk. Later, having changed a couple of establishments, I met Alexandra Andronova (at that time working as a waitress - editor's note), who subsequently invited Lyubasha to the Deja Vu restaurant.

"At Knives"

The filming of the show “On the Knives” took place over the course of a week (three days were spent remodeling the cafe and training the cooks on the new menu - editor’s note), and the entire team was constantly in tension, which, as the employees say, was quite difficult to hide. The Permyachka complains that because of this, her nerves finally gave way, and this is the only way she was able to throw out all the emotions that had accumulated during this time. Confusion with dishes and scandals in the kitchen - everything happened out of surprise, Lyubasha throws up his hands.

Since childhood, Lyubov dreamed of becoming a chef. Photo: AiF/ Dmitry Ovchinnikov

“Before the show, everything was calm here. During the day there was a distribution line, and on weekends there were fun discos and show programs. Of course, we did not expect such pressure. It’s not very pleasant when people shout at you, plus there’s a crowd of people walking around with cameras and filming what’s happening,” the cook sighs.

Behind the scenes, the passions immediately subsided - the restaurant employees - cooks, waiters, bartenders - encouraged each other and tried to help. After Lyubov failed in the kitchen, the Moscow chef decided to use her talent in the “show kitchen” format (cooking food in an open area next to the seating for guests - editor's note) and, as it turned out, he was right. The Permian happily prepares baked goods for guests - from shanezheki to homemade pies.

“Recently, a company of several men aged 30-35 came and asked about Lyubasha and her famous pies. True, they didn’t find her, but they promised to come again soon,” says the restaurant administrator.

Now Lyubasha lives in the village of Overyata, where she has become a real star. Every day on the way to work she is recognized on public transport and on the street. The chef takes such fame calmly and is always happy to communicate with people and receive compliments for a well-prepared dish. However, she considers, of course, her relatives - her husband, two sons and a daughter - to be the main connoisseurs of her culinary master.

Six months ago, Konstantin Ivlev’s program “On Knives” was aired on the Friday TV channel with the participation of Vladimir cafes: “Etazh” and “Streletskaya Zastava”. “Etazh” after the transfer received the name “Cream” and soon closed without explaining the reasons. But Streletskaya Zastava continues to operate. The owner of the establishment, Tatyana Alimbekova, told us about how the cafe works now and how the filming took place.

“This cafe is 15 years old. I bought this establishment and I can see for myself what’s wrong with me. I learned about Konstantin Ivlev’s program in August last year. One employee suggested that we could contact him. And here is the result.

The menu that Ivlev suggested says that we are a pie shop - a cafeteria. And there is not a single coffee position there. Should I serve pies and offer soup to wash it down? And what is the concept of the pie shop? We are not even on the second line, even cars cannot stop here, the sign is hanging. And then, if he wants a cafeteria, then where is the bar with a coffee machine?

Staging

All moments were played out from beginning to end. We were told: “Come here, you will be surprised that you liked it.” I walked in, and I was surprised that I liked everything. Well, what can I like here? Konstantin constantly created a conflict situation on the site. The waiters will say go do this. They do this. And he tells the senior administrator Alena to go make a remark. Alena doesn’t seem to understand, she goes to the manager, he doesn’t comply either. Ivlev comes up to me and says, “You see what your people are like, they don’t do anything for you.” On the second day, Konstantin told the waitress to wave her skirt between the rows. Then he came up to me and said why the waiters were dancing here. The worst thing is that Ivlev installed hidden cameras everywhere and did not warn us about it. And when I cried in my office, I didn’t even know that I was being filmed.

Workers

Konstantin was right about the people; they all had to be kicked out. And in fact, at the time of filming they were no longer working. I fired them, and when they told me that the shooting would take place, they asked me to bring them back. Otherwise they won’t come to film. Our correspondence with her was saved in my phone.

Gifts from Konstantin

Ivlev gave two sundresses for the waiters. Gave it? Nothing of the kind, he took them after filming. The pies he made here. Did he bake? No, he bought them.

The only thing is that I used the technique that he left. He gave us a stove without even fixing the glass or setting it up correctly. As a result, the glass flew out and broke, and due to improper installation, the pies burned on one side. We have no idea where to look for glass like this!

Further. Look how he whitewashed it. An ordinary water-based emulsion, which was washed off after a while. Yellow spots appeared and in some places it simply fell off. We still don’t understand why it was necessary to whitewash the tiles.

But here he simply nailed plastic panels on top, which fell off immediately. He gave two pots, two frying pans, two knives. He blocked all communications simply by leaning against a plastic panel. The only good thing is that I put the wiring in a box.

Why did Valera drink?

We then asked Valera why he drank in the cell. And he says that he came here, into the back room, two cameramen were standing there drinking cognac, and they invited him to be the third. So he didn’t refuse. And they filmed him while he was drinking. That's the whole story.

The story of Parmesan cheese

Ivlev said that this is not Parmesan. Konstantin expected me to play along with him and I played along. But Valera didn’t give up, he said to him, “Where did you study if you can’t tell the difference between Parmesan?” Yes, this is not cheese for 5,000 rubles, it costs 1,500. But we don’t have the budget to buy it for 5,000.

Extras

The extras were paid 500 rubles each. And at the same time, all the young people stood and waited for 4 hours to be invited to the shooting. It was cold outside; we filmed in November. Can you imagine?

Repair

The renovation of the premises took two days. And only a kitchen and one living room (and we have three). The rest served as a control room and warehouse. He invited the workers, who did this kind of garbage here in two days. In total, they filmed in our cafe for 5 days.

After the broadcast

Of course, after the program was released, people flocked. Everyone just wanted to see what exactly Ivlev did. We looked at the interior and ordered pies. But we do not work according to his concept. This is impossible.

Price

He says that he invested 300,000 rubles. We know how to count, I think he didn’t invest that kind of money. Most likely, he spent this amount on two cafes, but not on one. I was warned that we would work according to the rules of the film crew, but I did not expect such disgrace. Would I call Konstantin again? Never. And I don’t recommend it to anyone.

The “Pro City” journalist talked with Vladimir residents and found out the details of the meeting.

One of the cafe visitors, Grigory Koshkin, said that he got to meet Ivlev through an ad on the Internet. There were 30 visitors in total. The filming took place during working hours and lasted approximately 3 hours, after which the presenter took pictures with everyone. Gregory notes that Konstantin is a very open and friendly person.

The host's friendliness and openness were also noted by other meeting participants. For example, Anastasia Bugrova still has .

Everything went very well! I am glad that I was able to attend this event; Ivlev, although strict, is very friendly.

Igor Romanov admitted that he watched all the episodes of “On Knives.” And therefore, as soon as I found out that Ivlev was coming to Vladimir, I decided to meet him.

We saw him only at the end of the shooting day; before that, as befits a chef, he was in the kitchen. I remember him as a cheerful person who loves to joke.

Igor said that Ivlev never refused autographs to anyone.
And Victoria Yarlykova remembered many interesting details

We were visitors to a cafe. We saw Konstantin Ivlev. A very positive, cheerful man. In the program he seems constantly stern, but in fact he constantly smiled at all visitors and was positive, although something was beating and flying in the kitchen.

Victoria said that they were asked to choose dishes and behave naturally, as usual. But we had to wait a long time for food, and some of the visitors even started swearing.

Despite the fact that we waited an hour for food, there were no rolls ordered and we returned it to the waitress. She apologized to us. But the impression was corrected by a very tasty cheesecake.

As Victoria says, visitors were asked to tell the camera their impressions of the food and service. Not all reviews were good, even though all the food was free.

Filming of the show will last another 3 days, but it will not be possible to come again. If you have not yet taken part in the filming of “On Knives,” hurry up, you have a chance to meet your favorite presenter.