Maxim Pavlov: from Saint Petersburg Kitchens to CoffeeLike in Vyksa

Maxim Pavlov is a chef who began his career in Saint Petersburg and now works in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Since 2026, he has been running the kitchen of the international CoffeeLike chain in Vyksa, while also remaining a private chef and handling catering events of various scales — from intimate dinners to gatherings of 1,500 guests.

Maxim Pavlov's path in the profession has run through different roles: from basic kitchen work to chef-curation and launching projects.

The Saint Petersburg chapter of Maxim Pavlov's biography lasted more than twenty years. In 2004, he joined the Ambassador Hotel as an all-round cook, then worked as senior cook and sous chef at the restaurants Tinto, Kipyatok, Gromov, and Pro Wines. After that came Chekhov, where he was already in charge of the entire kitchen, followed by Delon and Un Bon, working as sous chef.

In 2015, Maxim Pavlov headed the kitchen of the family restaurant Mamino, then became chef and co-owner of the bistro-pizzeria Bon Appetit. Later, pastry experience entered his trajectory: at Kvartira 8, he worked as a touring pastry chef. The next stage was the position of operating chef at the Saint Petersburg restaurant Yesenin.

In 2024–2026, Pavlov moved to the Vyksa projects of the United Metallurgical Company. There, his area of responsibility included R&D for the restaurant Aristokrat at the Batashev Hotel, launching the café Oranzhereya, and setting up the restaurant division at the Shukhov Hotel. This experience matters for understanding his profile: Pavlov doesn't just cook — he knows how to build a kitchen system around a new project.

A separate part of Maxim Pavlov's practice is tied to catering. Since 2014, he has worked with off-site formats and knows the process from the inside: kitchen preparation, team organization, service control, chef-curation, and project management. Since 2018, Pavlov has also had a private practice: he cooks for a regular client and accompanies family celebrations.

Maxim Pavlov's culinary foundation is built on the French school, but isn't limited to it. His style is described in the source as a mixed, signature cuisine: he works with techniques from various gastronomic traditions, uses molecular methods, sous-vide, pacojet, josper, grills, and also handles desserts, pastry, and homemade bread. This technical range helps him work at different scales: with a restaurant, hotel service, a private format, and a chain coffee-shop model.

Pavlov is also connected to the professional community: his affiliations include Chef's Team, MAK, and IPCA. His biography shows a combination rare for a single chef: the Saint Petersburg restaurant school, experience running his own venture, catering, R&D for hotel infrastructure, and work with a chain format. Today, all these threads converge at CoffeeLike, where the chef's task isn't tied to one restaurant, but to finding a kitchen format for a large chain.