Fire and the Russian North: Roman Nikonorov at Lore's

A new name has taken over the kitchen at Sochi's Lore's: Roman Nikonorov. His path to this Russian-French bistro was shaped by several different schools: southern restaurants, a Japanese direction, a seafood focus, an interest in the Russian north, and a stage at a French bistro. The result is a chef for whom tradition isn't decoration but a working tool.

Nikonorov's line rests on a clear Russian foundation: the oven, live heat, local produce, and a flavor that French technique gives its shape.

The chef's biography explains this outlook better than any manifesto. Nikonorov was born in Knyazhikha in the Tver region and grew up on the Don, in Rostov-on-Don; his official Cossack status doesn't read as an incidental detail in this context. A childhood memory of his grandmother's oven was his first entry point into cooking — through slow simmering, fire, patience, and honest produce without excess ornament.

From 2012, Nikonorov broadened his professional horizons, looking in several directions — from Japanese cuisine to Italian — but local produce and work with open fire remained his main compass throughout. Before joining Lore's, he worked in kitchens in Novocherkassk and Sochi, cooked for guests at the highest state level, and for four years — from 2022 to 2026 — ran the kitchen at Sochi's Magellan restaurant.

Part of his experience comes from training: at the International School SVCH, Nikonorov studied seafood and northern Russian cuisine in classes led by Andrey Anikiev. He sharpened his French outlook at Frantsuza Bistrot — a Duoband project in Saint Petersburg — where he trained under Ivan Frolukhin. So at Lore's, it makes sense to expect not straightforward folklore but a more focused kitchen: Russian generosity, southern temperament, fire, and a French framework that keeps the plate from getting heavy.