The company of Renat Agzamov, known as a confectioner for the stars, plans to produce cakes for 500 rubles. with cartoon characters. In an interview with DK.ru, the famous confectioner told how he shares art and why he makes cakes using the technology of tin soldiers and why he will go to the Cannes Film Festival.

flying cakes

Our segment is very dependent on the age of our oligarchs' children. If rich people have children, then there will be orders for such cakes. For me, there is no concept of "cake", for me there is a concept - a project. Like a big wedding. Customers want a life-sized cake on horseback in Dubai. I need to think over its load, the center of gravity, I need these plasticine horses to be molded by sculptors.

From the moment the customer said that he had an idea to its implementation, it can take up to three years. Every cake I have is made by 200 people, regardless of whether it is a huge cake or a small one.

I do not understand how the dynamics in the segment are moving. At the beginning of the year, we had a powerful increase - by 300% compared to last year. And in August there were almost three times fewer orders. Considering that August and September are the most breakthrough months for weddings. On what it depends, it is difficult to say.

Now we can realize any ideas of the customer. Though a life-size airplane cake. I can do anything. If you want him to fly, he will fly. I make cakes of four tons, with monitors, ventilation inside. The only question is the budget - are you willing to pay for it.

A kilogram of cake costs 2,000 rubles. This is the average market price in Moscow. Plus decorations, which are paid separately. For example, chocolate flowers for decorations can cost 3 thousand rubles, or they can cost ten times more than the price of the cake itself, if the customer, for example, wants to decorate the cake with his own figure. The most expensive among orders in our assortment are wedding cakes. And the most numerous are cakes for children.

In the near future, my company Fili Baker and I will launch a new, more mass-produced product. I have contracts with four global cartoon and animation brands, with which we are launching a joint production. This will be serial production, cakes, which will be distributed throughout the country. And they will be publicly available - they will be sold in stores for 400-500 rubles, and they will be decorated with famous characters.

Subscribers - customers

When Instagram first appeared, I just signed up to use it for personal purposes. It seems that the first of my star clients who thanked me on Instagram was Ksenia Borodina ( TV presenter - DK.ru). At that time I had only 300 subscribers, and then 4 thousand were added at once (now Renat Agzamov has 1.2 million subscribers - DK.ru). I was just blown away. How is this possible? And then other stars started thanking me on social media.

And everyone started talking to each other about it. And so, in a chain reaction, information about my cakes began to spread.

Your own teacher

I am often asked how I learned this? If I could learn this, it means that at least a couple of dozen enterprises still exist where they do exactly the same thing. This means that it can be taught to others. And then where are all these people, where are these technologies?

In making cakes, I use the technology that I brought from Latvia. It is used to make tin soldiers. This technology, except for me, was not used in food production by anyone. I have a lot of projects that we in the company made the first in the world. Now I take it easy, but before I was proud.

Everything I have ever done, I came up with myself. No one taught me, I mastered everything on my own. I started cooking at the age of seven. At first I cooked at home, from the age of 12 I already worked in food production, where I helped my brother, who practiced in food production. In our family, not only me, but also my older brother began to work in the food industry. He studied at the culinary school, and since I was at home alone, I went to him and helped. And they gave me to sort out a nut, cut a biscuit.

Our culinary education is the wish of our father, who wanted us to be dedicated to this profession. He said: no matter what happens in life, the cook will definitely not remain hungry. At a minimum, you can definitely feed your family, he said. My brother became a cook, I became a confectioner.

My specialty is a pastry chef of the fifth category. I graduated from college with honors. I began to stand out right away, even in my first year, because I immediately mastered the training program for five years in advance, independently studied everything from books. And the teacher told my mother: "he will become not just a pastry chef, he will become an outstanding pastry chef." I started working during my studies. My first real job was Sokol in Sochi, where I came as a confectioner at the age of 19. After 3-4 months, I was appointed as a foreman, although I had no work experience.

I have always had a strong character, which allowed me to become a leader in teams. At the age of 19, I led a team of professionals whose children were my age.

Business - separately, creativity - separately

In 2005, when I was 24 years old, I joined Fili Baker, and now I am its leader. There is a very clear division in me - Renat Agzamov as a creator and confectioner and Renat Agzamov as the head of the company.

These are two different personalities, and sometimes they argue among themselves. Because I, as a confectioner, have dreams, fantasies. When I am a leader, I work on a dry basis: this is clear management, numbers, finances, and other business-related issues.

This is a part of the work that is not at all related to creativity, but I also do this very creatively, not quite by classical methods. My creative thinking also helps a lot in managing the company.

Never let go of a customer

I set the task for managers so that not a single customer leaves us. If at least one client left, I arrange such a “debriefing” that it will not seem enough to anyone. I never let my clients go.

I must do everything so that the person who came to me stays. Where necessary, I move in price, in other matters.

Each customer sees my crazy desire to create something for him. They do not consider me a simple manager or businessman. They all see how I “burn” with this, how I live with this. I can call the customer at night and say - let's do this, but let's do this. Clients know that if I took it, then they will “hang themselves” from me.

And we haven't let anyone down yet. Neither in terms of delivery, nor in terms of effectiveness. If the organizers don't provide me with everything I need, I blow my brains out to the customers. I make them sign 3,000 documents: height, width of doorways, what kind of electricity. I do not want "surprises" when we make a huge cake, but he does not enter the hall.

Sometimes it is impossible to bring it into the room. The hall is huge, the ceilings are high, and from the street the door is 70 cm wide. To prevent this from happening, I make them sign a bunch of documents.

American system

I enjoy the way Americans make films. Whatever the star, they have such penalties for violations that everyone behaves according to the rules. No one can afford to stay in the toilet for 3 minutes longer. Breaks are prohibited.

I use the American system of government. I'm not a tough leader, but I love order and discipline. Nobody is late for me. Our working day starts at 8 am, and at 7:30 everything is already in place. In ten years, no one has been late for work. Except when there are huge traffic jams in Moscow. Then even I might be late.

I don't tolerate negligence. Everyone must be responsible. But I don't blame anyone. If a person does not succeed, I do not blame him, I blame myself. This means that I am a bad leader. This means that he failed to discern in him that talent that could be useful to the company. I took him to work, then this is my degree of responsibility. I try to develop responsibility and attentiveness in people as much as possible.

Interviewed by Karina Karimova

Renat Agzamov was born on April 13, 1981 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Soon the family moved to the Krasnodar Territory, the city of Sochi. In his youth, he was fond of boxing and ended his sports career with the rank of Champion of Russia. Sport finally won another more passionate hobby. At the age of seven, the boy first tried his hand at baking muffins and cookies. Three years later he already knew how to bake bread. As a child, the guy had a piggy bank. When the savings turned out to be enough, he broke it without regret and bought his first mixer. Brother Timur shared Renat's interest in cooking. The father taught the children how to handle knives and food, and the grandmother inspired them to experiment with food.

At the age of fifteen he entered the Krasnodar culinary school. Soon, family circumstances forced the Agzamovs to return to Sochi. Timur went to work as a cook in a restaurant, and Renat got a job in a pastry shop.

In 2002, an aspiring baker took first place in the confectioners' championship in Krasnodar, which prompted Renat to move to Moscow. Agzamov, together with his brother, went to the capital without connections and money. At first it turned out to be difficult, there was no housing and work, but gradually everything got better. During the first six months of his life in Moscow, Renat worked in seven different places. Sometimes he worked for free to learn the necessary techniques, since the main priority for a man was professional growth.

Agzamov considers the position of pastry chef at the Nostalgie restaurant to be the beginning of his career in Moscow. The man worked there for about two and a half years. Later, together with the former director of Nostalgia, he founded the catering service Creative Catering. The project was successful, but the partnership was not, and the future star went out of business and decided to move on.

At first, the confectioner wanted to create his own business, but then he decided to find a large company and offer her cooperation. Fili Baker became such a giant. The management of the company decided to cooperate with Agzamov. A modern Fili Baker Premium confectionery factory was built specifically for the new project. Now it is a big company with international projects.

Thanks to a tough concept, the products of the confectionery plant are invariably popular due to their impeccable taste. About a hundred employees are involved in the manufacture of one piece of culinary art. When creating cakes, there are no barriers to the chef. These are designs with chocolate figurines, caramel diamonds, chocolate Louboutins, logos and swans.

The confectioner admits that the most profitable line of his business: wedding cakes. Children also love Agzamov's cakes, decorated with figurines of characters from animated films. The average cake weighed about four kg, they were baked most often at the factory.

The all-Russian popularity of Renata Agzamova was made by the TV presenter of Doma-2 Ksenia Borodina, to whom the chef presented a cake for her birthday. The TV presenter posted a photo of the masterpiece on Instagram, after which interest in Renat's baking increased dramatically. Alexander Ovechkin, Yegor Creed, Yana Rudkovskaya and Evgeni Plushenko became Agzamov's clients. The cake for Philip Kirkorov is made in the imperial style. His weight was 400 kg.

At the end of 2016, it became known about the launch of a new project on Channel One called "Tili Tele Testo". In the show, amateur confectioners compete with each other in the preparation of desserts. Larisa Guzeeva was chosen as the host of the program, and her husband Igor Bukharov and Renat Agzamov helped her. The program has been airing since 2017 on Sundays.

Renat Agzamov conducts confectionery workshops, acts on television, creates confectionery masterpieces, launches interesting projects. One of his brainchildren was the "International Exhibition of Cakes by Renat Agzamov". The first city in which the confectioner presented his creations to the public was Kazan. The exhibition ran successfully from December 1 to January 15, 2017.

Another television project of Agzamov: the show "Culinary", which since 2017 has been on the air of the TV channel "Friday!". The program is designed for the participation of amateur cooks, among whom the strongest is determined. In the first season, Olga Vashurina became the winner. The ratings of the program allowed the creators to launch the second season at the beginning of 2018, and the third is planned for 2019. The TV presenter, in addition to the main show, also appears on morning broadcasts, offering recipes in the author's section of the Friday Morning program.

Renat Agzamov has an official website where you can see examples of work and place an order. Recently, the pastry chef has registered an account on Instagram, where he posts joint photos with his wife, son and his creations. For his age, the man has achieved a lot, but is not going to stop there.

Married, has a son.

Renat Agzamov

What are two-meter-high cakes made of and why some of them can cost millions

- We looked at dozens of photos of your cakes - are these two-meter castles really edible?

Of course! But how different. We make every detail of our cakes edible - most of them are chocolate, some are caramel. People love it, they are willing to pay for it.

- How much do you have to pay to order Renat Agzamov's cake?

1 kilogram of cake costs 2000 rubles. If you have a wedding with 200 guests, you will need a 15 kg cake - it will cost about 30,000 rubles. Decorate it with chocolate flowers - the price will rise to 35,000 rubles. But this is the minimum.

If the customer wants the cake to have a backlight, it soars in the air, and chocolate butterflies flutter around, the cost is calculated separately. It’s just that it’s difficult for someone to make a chocolate horse 30 centimeters high, but I can make it life-size. At least a hundred pieces. But this is a very expensive pleasure - a lot of silicone alone is required to remove the mold from a real horse, and also multiply its price by the cost of chocolate. These are million-dollar projects, but if the customer has such a desire, there is no problem. I can even make a life-size Boeing cake - and have it fly into the hall.

Renata cakes are very fond of domestic pop stars. Anita Tsoi, for example, ordered it for her birthday

Like Olga Buzova

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- Is it really possible?

Everything is possible.

I almost believe it's edible. But can it be delicious? You know that not always a dish that looks too impressive is also tasty.

We have abandoned the use of confectionery mastic and marzipan, we do not use them on principle. When I worked as a pastry chef at the Nostalgie restaurant and a half-eaten dish was brought to the kitchen, our chef was wildly upset and ran out into the hall to ask the guests what they didn’t like. At the same time, cakes always returned with half-eaten mastic - in principle, no one ever ate it. It is inedible, greatly weights the cake. At the same time, everyone uses it - there are enough reasons to refuse it. Since then, we have started to cover the cakes with chocolate velor (a thin layer of tiny chocolate particles that creates a velvety surface. - Note. ed.).

As for taste, I don't like complex flavor combinations in desserts. A person who has eaten several completely different dishes should not have a dessert with raspberries, rosemary, garlic and wasabi sauce at the end of dinner - he should get a simple and understandable taste. I have been developing a cake for a year and a half, it contains only a biscuit, cream and fresh raspberries mashed with sugar. Everything is very simple, but at the same time we make a biscuit for a couple. And this cake is one of my top sellers.

Cake for Philip Kirkorov, on which four figures of the artist modestly flaunt (in different images). All phillips are edible

- How does the process of making such large-scale cakes look like - from inventing a design to transporting them to the venue?

The first step is product design development. Sometimes it takes a few hours, and sometimes a whole month. First, I make sketches of sketches, after which they are redrawn by a professional artist. Then - the approval process with the customer and the calculation of the cost of the work.

As for transportation, we have three mobile teams that either bring our cakes to the customer in parts, if we are talking about Russia, or everything is made directly at the venue of the event, if the order came from abroad.

- And what is the most difficult cake you have made so far?

This is a cake with sound and light monitors installed inside. During operation, they began to heat up, so the parts of the cake began to melt. I had to quickly organize more and ventilation inside. It was a very complex project, in which lighting and sound artists took part, I then took out everyone's brains.

Children's cakes made by Renat Agzamov account for up to 70% of all orders

About Russian taste in desserts

You make a lot of cakes for magnificent celebrations in different countries - do the wishes of Russian and foreign customers differ greatly? And in general, what is fashionable for them now in terms of confectionery decorations?

There is no difference, abroad or Russia. It is rather a matter of culture and traditions: if the wedding is Caucasian, regardless of location, the design style will be national - a lot of gold and flowers. Americans, for example, often order cakes with skulls and protruding eyes.

I don’t remember that customers wanted “fashionable” - everyone basically adjusts to the overall design of a particular event. For example, now for one wedding in Uzbekistan, where everything will be in ruby ​​tones, we are making a cake in the form of a huge pillow with a ruby. Once I was ordered a dessert in caramel dishes - I had to go to Versailles and remove silicone molds from Louis XIV dishes there.

- We peeped into your instagram that you recently took off your uniform from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and went on a business trip to Istanbul. What are these projects?

We are making a cake for an event in Israel that will be attended by many rich people. A very complex and very serious project, I think people will remember it for a long time. It will be phenomenal.

And in Istanbul, a local resident was thinking about a gift for his wife on their tenth wedding anniversary. Every year he surprises her with something on this day and decided to conquer his wife with my cake. Wealthy people who already have yachts and planes are difficult to surprise with something, and Renat Agzamov's cakes are ideal for this.

- How often do your cakes are ordered in other countries?

No more than ten cakes per month - as a rule, they are small, we send them to the customer abroad by plane. The main geography of orders is Moscow and the Moscow region.

- Does it happen that people remain dissatisfied with what you have done for them?

Yes. It seems to some that the honey cake has a too bright taste of honey, to others the cake they ordered seemed too pale. Recently, a woman who ordered a simple cake with daisies for 6,000 rubles called and said: “I expected more from Agzamov.”

- What do you do if the customer offers to do something completely tasteless?

I convince. I say this: “You know, the idea is super, you are geniuses and well done, but you don’t see the final result, but I see it. Let's refine your idea a little, based on my professional experience and artistic taste. That is, I will try to improve the idea with small touches, so that the result is a completely different cake.

- Can you cancel an order at all?

Yes, if they ask to make a vulgarity, for example. Or they want a five-meter single-tier cake in the form of a cone flower bed. In such cases, I answer that I am engaged in creativity, and not everything in this world can be bought for money, and it’s simply not interesting for me to make such cakes.

What's the wildest idea your customers have come up with?

The wildest idea is mine. This winter, the wedding of a Middle Eastern sheikh will take place - 12.5 thousand guests are invited. I suggested this option: live elephants take the cake to the hall, and edible helicopters with hanging flowers fly in the air, and I conduct them. Sheikh liked the idea very much.

How fashion designers and chandeliers in stores influence the artistic perception of a confectioner

- Where do you get ideas for your own sketches for future cakes, what inspires you?

Recently, Milan Fashion Week was held, and a lot of designers showed collections with gold - airy, light dresses with transparent and gilded splashes. Very elegant, not obscene - these are the methods of clothing designers that I often get inspired by when coming up with sketches. This does not mean that heels appear on my cakes - I mean the color scheme and harmony.

And recently I went to a chandelier store and realized that this is an unplowed field! My head is spinning with ideas! I just asked for a chair, sat down, threw my head up and sat there for an hour. I think a little more - and they would have called the police, they thought that I was crazy. But there's a storehouse of ideas, you know? Especially if the chandeliers are Italian. And you don’t need to reinvent the wheel - everything has already been invented, it remains only to shift it to cakes.

- How, interestingly, did the cake look at your wedding?

Small and chocolatey, it was made by my friend - the most ordinary one, you can buy one in the Azbuka Vkusa, for example. In general, I don’t make cakes for myself and for loved ones, for me this is a disaster. You see, I need the reaction of the audience - as an artist. And I can't get it from myself.

- Imagine that you are not limited in time or money - what kind of cake could you make under such conditions?

I want to create an exact life size replica of Notre Dame de Paris. About two years ago I suggested this to the mayor of Paris, but there is no answer yet. I plan to implement this idea with sheikhs from Dubai. This cake can be placed in a special glass building with a certain temperature - and it will become a place of pilgrimage where people will come from all over the world. I will do everything so that everyone's hair will stand on end.

Sweet craftsmanship to the masses - read the biography of Renat Agzamov. Success story, tasty ideas Renata Agzamova. How to become a culinary specialist at the age of 36 - on the example of Renat Agzamov.

Biography of Renat Agzamov

The man that every woman dreams of ... Renat Agzamov became known to the general public after the program "Confectioner" on the channel "Friday!". The audience was interested in a sweet master with boxing experience behind him, and there is every reason for this.

Renat Agzamov was born on April 13, 1981 in Kyiv, but soon the family moved to Sochi, where the future pastry chef grew up. In 2002, Renat moved to Moscow, after which he discovered the other side of his personality - a creative, experimental confectioner who keeps up with the times. It is possible to call a self-taught person with good taste who won in the Russian Confectionery Competition.

About Renat Agzamov:

• Nationality: Tatar.
• Height: 175 cm.
• Weight: 95 kg.
• Profession: pastry chef.
• Zodiac Sign: Aries, Rooster.
• There is a 4-year-old brother, Timur.

As Renat himself recalls, culinary vein manifested since childhood. My father ran the kitchen in the dining car, so cooking was an indispensable part of the daily experience. During this period, a tragedy occurred - a stroke in the father of Renat Agzamov. Since the family was left without the main breadwinner, they had to start working in order to have enough for bread. By the way, according to Renat, he is bread learned to bake at age 10– there is something to teach sons! Renat was engaged in baking, and his older brother worked as a cook.

A fascinating gastronomic journey began later - after military service (1996-2001). Returning home, he participated in culinary courses, but soon Renat became too crowded in Sochi, and he went to conquer Moscow. The capital received a culinary specialist from the provinces, as well as other young people with hope in their eyes - there is no housing, few friends, even less money. In Moscow, Renat Agzamov started from Kitay-gorod, then I tried myself in 7 different places, also changing my hobbies for recipes. Rich experience allowed us to develop unique variants of dishes - the confectioner, unlike any other, interested the Moscow public, which without hesitation lifted him to the top of the culinary Olympus.

Star Trek Renata Agzamova

"Perseverance, Dedication and Hard Work"- the main ingredients in the culinary success story of the confectioner. In 2005, he worked for the Legato sweet gift chain, later he created his own business - creative catering. The new business turned out to be so successful that it paid off in less than 3 months - a real story of rapid success - and then it started: invitations to Tatarstan to hold exhibitions, success in show business as an expert chef, director of a retail company " Philly Baker.

Star clients of Renata Agzamova:

• Philip Kirkorov.
• Aishat Kadyrova.
• Yana Rudkovskaya.
• Alexander Reva.
• Ksenia Borodina.
• Trading networks "Auchan", "Metro".
• "Gazprom".
• Aeroflot.
• Lukoil.

Renat managed to feel the consumer taste and find the right approach to the hearts of Russian citizens. As Renat Agzamov himself notes for an interview with the Smart Money blog, “the market was waiting for new products” and the confectioner presented them on a silver platter.

Renat Agzamov's personal life

Renat Agzamov calls his main muse in life wife, Leroux. For her, he is ready to create the brightest desserts, tall chocolate fountains and delicious variations of Italian gelato. The couple have a son, Timur. The whole family shares the work of the father, but the diet is monitored - the wife of Renata Agzamova is a supporter of a healthy lifestyle. You and I know that confectionery skills are more for the soul.

"Never stop on the way to achievements" - Renat Agzamov.

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Renat Agzamov (on Instagram - renat_agzamov) was born in Sochi in 1981, on April 13. Known for the program "Confectioner" on the TV channel Pyatnitsa. The attitude of the audience towards him is complex, because, despite his professionalism and talent in the confectionery business, he impresses with his severe aggressive character and extremely tough attitude towards those who came to study with him. Let's see what Renat Agzamov is on Instagram?

He, too, has come a long way. For the first time he came to Moscow at the age of 15: he studied at the culinary school, lived in the barracks and boxed at the CSKA Olympic Training Center. And in 1999 he was officially drafted into the army, and this was not a problem at all, because he already belonged there. However, after a while his father was paralyzed after a stroke, and the young man had to return home and provide for his family. Renat got a job in a confectionery shop, where he already began to attract the attention of customers with his creations. And no wonder: he baked his first cupcake at the age of 7, since then he has been constantly baking something. In 2002, he won the confectioners' championship and decided that in Sochi he had reached the ceiling, it was time to move on.

With his brother-cook Arzamov again went to Moscow. At first, they were haunted by failures, which were mainly related to finding an apartment, but gradually everything settled down. First, he got a job in a cafe on Kitay-Gorod and changed 7 jobs in the first six months, simply because he wanted to constantly learn something new. For the first time, he stayed for 2 and a half years at the Nostalzhi restaurant, where he began to make the most unusual desserts in Russia. He then moved to Legato, where he managed a network of businesses. After working there for a while, he wanted to start his own business, but realized that he could not stand the competition, and then he began to call large enterprises that produce cakes, and ended up in Philly Baker. He is now the face of Philly Baker Premium.

Instagram

Until recently, Renat Agzamov did not try to promote himself and did not believe in the power of social networks like Instagram, he hoped for word of mouth, so fame came to him unexpectedly, after Olga Buzova told everyone about him. The first thing you notice on Renat Agzamov's Instagram is his cakes. He bakes and decorates celebrity confections, some of which are simply amazing. For example, Renat posted on Instagram a cake for Galustyan, which is made in the shape of ... Galustyan himself in a panda costume. And this is not the most amazing creation. And recently, Renat posted on Instagram a photo of a 4-ton cake created in a video of the Zwinger Palace with a monitor inside to show the bride and groom, and with a ventilation system to cool it, because the electronics heat up. Surely, Elena Letuchaya would approve of such an approach!)

Despite the image of Renat Agzamov in the program, on Instagram the confectioner appears as a gentle person: among the latest posts, for example, there is a video with his and his little son’s appeal to Lera (wife and mother, respectively), and in the comments to him the man writes that the family is for him is the most important thing in life. He loves his wife Lera very much, whose photo also sometimes appears on Renat Agzamov's Instagram. The official Instagram of confectioner Renat Agzamov generally amazes subscribers, first of all, with his works, and, judging by the signature on the Instagram page, he loves his work.