Gegam Kazarian: Warrior in Hospitality

This week Sharlafied travels (virtually) to Armenia to speak to Gegam Kazarian. After decades in Spain and travels throughout the world, he has come home. He has been called an alchemist, a doctor, a magician, an artist… but his goal is to never stop learning.

Hello Gegam, can you introduce yourself?

Aloha!!! I am Gegam Kazarian. I am a warrior in hospitality who seeks peace and harmony trying to reach perfection and to help our guests and my team enjoy the art of serving. Some call me a warrior, others a magician or an alchemist, others a doctor when they see me working with my tools. But whatever I do, I believe that we are artists and our tools are sensations, emotions and experiences.

What is your educational background?

That is a complicated question. If you mean college education, I don't have a degree. I have studied medicine, biochemistry, architecture and interior design in universities but I did not finish any of them.

But education for me is much deeper. I was educated in this life and I also believe in past lives. Education started in my family since my mother is a teacher. She was a great teacher at the biochemistry school and since I was a child she has instilled very deep values in me. I learned other values from my father, my sister and of course my grandparents and relatives. I still think that we are the continuation of our roots. And we should be grateful for what they have given us.

And especially from my travels around the world, which has been my best university. Of the interesting people that I crossed through life, of my martial arts teachers and of the important women I had in my life.

These people have become a part of me to which I am eternally grateful. Even my enemies, who taught me who not to be.

I learned and filtered the essence for me in all aspects.

What happened to get you interested in the hospitality industry?

Hospitality I think comes from my childhood. That's what I saw growing up when my parents, who liked to invite friends and even strangers, passing by on the street of my grandparents' house. It was normal to serve tea, a meal or wine made at home. My mother likes to have good dishes, beautiful plates and cutlery at home and as a child, I have always seen hospitality as a ceremony-- I loved helping to set the table.

How long have you been in the hospitality sector?

I have been in hospitality for about 24 years, at the beginning I was just a student who needed to pay for studies in Yerevan, Armenia. After several years in Spain it turned into my profession.

I was lucky to start from the most basic jobs as a steward, an assistant in the service or in the bar, after studying and working in hospitality, in the kitchen, as a sommelier, and continued on to bartender combining all the knowledge and experience I had acquired. It was fun to offer training in schools and universities where I wanted to study without having a degree, and finally I opened my own projects: bars and restaurants in Spain. My older sister Lilit raised me as a child and came with me in Spain. She is trained as a lawyer but she has always helped me in my jobs and has returned to Armenia with me. I owe a lot to her.

You worked in Spain for a number of years. How long had you lived in Western Europe, and did you live in any country other than Spain?

I lived in Spain more than 20 years and for the last 10 years I have also travelled and lived in different parts of the world such as Italy, France, Greece, Cuba, Panama, other different Latin American countries, India, Japan more than three months a year. In some countries, I have worked shorter periods for projects, consultancies and events such as Russia, Germany, Norway, China, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Arab Emirates etc. That is the advantage of the life of a modern mixologist.

Tell us about Kazaris Lab: how was it born and what was your experience there like?

After many years of experience in hospitality and after opening different bars and restaurants in Spain, I wanted to create a unique space. A very small space physically—it is for just 13 people counting myself. A gastronomic space that would help you travel time and space to other places and dimensions through flavours and aromas. That was my dream. There, I was collecting each glass, each plate and decorative object brought from different parts of the world in the 20 years of my life... A Renaissance yet modern place with more Japanese nuances and service, but with the presence of the countries where I have been. Let's say it is like a bottle of perfume holding the cultural essences of the world and connected in one space.

I called it the essence of a dream. Kazaris lab is an experimental space where I have created the GeKijo concept with 4-hand experiences with international guests, chefs, pastry chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers to create unique experiences.

Enjoy a 4 minute break and immerse yourself in the experience right now.

We last met at Florence Cocktail week in September 2021 and you were about to move from Spain back to your home country of Armenia, in Yerevan. What caused you to make this decision?

After living many years in Spain and discovering other cultures of the world, I realised that I must deepen my roots, my own origin. In the last few years, many things have changed in the world, things we all know well. So in this complex situation and due to the business problems in Spain—we had no support after losing everything—I decided to return to Armenia and help be useful in some way to my country. Give back what it gave me as a child, discover more deeply, be with my family and connect these cultures and origins to my roots.

When I got back to my country I took a “leave“ from hospitality and did military training. Our people have been exposed to genocide and war, and I know that many of my colleagues around the world were shocked that I had made that abrupt change. Swapping cocktail shakers for weapons is extreme, but my values and my origins "force" me to be a warrior. I want to be prepared for everything. Even in training, I cooked and prepared good drinks (non-alcoholic of course) for my military companions. Since hospitality is an act of love and I carry it in my blood, I prepared risotto, Spanish omelette and good infusions from the herbs that we found in the mountains and of the fruits from around the forests. Then, my friends persuaded me to go back to the hospitality industry.

My friends have a Mexican restaurant in the capital of Yerevan and they convinced me to open a new project together where we would present the cultures of Latin America. So we founded a unique space in Yerevan with the kitchen and the cocktail bar presenting the cultures of Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and the rest of the Latin American countries, becoming a gastronomic embassy of these countries.

Will Kazaris lab close or will you relocate it to Armenia?

Kazaris lab as a space was closed in Spain but as a concept it will never be closed, since I carry it with me. In 2022 in Armenia I’m going to organise a travel route with the Kazaris Trip concept where professionals from the world of bar, restaurant will come and I will show my origin of which I am proud, that divine land that has a lot of history. I will also organise gastronomic trips for my guests. I will also be reopening Kazaris lab since I am researching many plants, Armenian products, herbal recipes and endemic fruits and I will create my products from it. In this way, I will also help local producers and in the population I plan to put my grain of sand…

What is the bar scene like in Armenia, specifically in Yerevan?

In recent years the bar scene in Yerevan has grown a lot, which cannot be said for other cities in Armenia. I hope that I can unite the professionals and be useful by sharing my knowledge and experience of these years that I have acquired in the world. I also want to invite international bartenders, chefs, sommeliers to enrich our industry more internationally.

What kind of bar do you plan to open in Yerevan?

The type of bar that we have already opened in Yerevan is an island. I call that island that I conceptually created years ago GeKiJo Teatro Gastronómico. In our Los Pueblos Las Culturas space, the bar is in the centre of the room, and in the centre of the bar is the Mexican pyramid of the Mayas, Chichen Itzá, the Kukulcán temple where our spirits and liquors are presented, mainly from Latin America, with tequila, mezcal, pisco, Cachaça and rums among others.

The components of the bar are wood (a single piece from an ancient walnut tree), stone, earth, metal, (presenting the gods and warriors of the Mayan, Inca, Aztec, Toltec cultures, etc.), and in the air, tropical plants from the Amazon jungles.

Next year, on the top floor, I will open the experimental lab space for 12 people and space for training and tastings, which will open a few days a month during some months of the year to present our research and new creations to a small audience curious to experiment. The gastronomic cocktail bar is for professionals in the sector.

Are you afraid you might be too ahead of your time for Armenia?

I have no fears, since I have always been daring in life, in everything I did.

Although, looking back at my experience abroad, it’s true that Armenia has a lot to grow. But at the same time there are many Armenians living all over the world and when they come back home they bring culture and traditions from different countries. So there are many flavours and concepts in Armenia and it is a cultural mix right now. Also, tourism is growing from Europe and America so I will continue on my way as always. I will do what I know best, always related to the natural and authentic with my principles and professional values. And I am sure that one day by cultivating well we will reap the healthy and pure harvest, also educating the palate and the way of working of the young people of Armenia to create a good future together. I think that is how the attitude of a leader should be. Even if you grow in the desert, you can create an oasis by watering and giving love to the seeds.

What will you do to promote local spirits, herbs, etc?

Although my first project in Armenia is about Latin American cultures, I try to use some local products and herbs. I plan to create a monothematic project later only with local products, but for that we have a long way to go in order to create these products first and during the research and trips to the mountains and around the Sevan lake. I will also bring special products from the land of Artsakh since we were left with a small part of this magical land.

Do you plan to serve food as well?

Yes, it is not only a bar but a Latin American restaurant where we serve different typical dishes but reinterpreted in a modern way from the cultures of Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Argentina etc. We also serve different dishes in a set menu, pairing cocktails and tiny food, tasting them with cocktails, turning it into a show and an experience.

What will your limitations be in opening your new bar?

I have no limitations, and the limitations are mental. When you do something with love and you want to create, you can do the impossible. For example, in Armenia it is not easy to get many distillates such as Mezcal, Pisco, Cachaça but we have obtained and also imported different ingredients from Spain, Portugal and Latin countries. We have a wide range of chilli peppers that do not exist in Armenia. My travel companions who are my partners are very intelligent and have great experience in other businesses, in this way we make a complete and very competent family.

What kind of clientele will you cater to?

The clientele and prices are medium-high. We try to offer the highest quality at the best possible price. It will be set without a doubt for people who want to have a different experience and travel through tastes and smells. Definitely a part of the season will be focused on tourism since we are in the centre of Yerevan and also politicians, people from the embassies that we have around our building.

What is happening with tourism to Armenia?

In recent years, Armenia is becoming a destination highly desired by the world for gastronomy and history. Unfortunately, with the global epidemic and the recent war do not help much but especially this winter we have a lot of tourists from Russia. I hope that from spring on it will grow internationally. That is why I have also created a project for a cultural gastronomic trip to my origin with Kazaristrip, where I personally teach my guests through my eyes and my senses the beauty of my land, with its aromas and historical flavours.

Are you involved in any social projects?

In my life, I have participated in different social projects from volunteering for the red cross, for rescue teams, support for nature and the animal world. Right now, I would like to participate in educational projects in Armenia.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Now and in 5 years I see myself enjoying and loving what I do at that time. Wherever I am, I will live the moment and share my experience with my loved ones.

More and more I like to be closer to nature. You probably won't find me in a big city. Connecting and cultivating with nature and living the goodness given by the universe.

Maybe I would like to open a small guest house and I will continue sharing experiences, gastronomy and spirituality. Having my own little garden and organic crops.

Why should someone visit Armenia?

During my travels, I learned many things. They say if you boast of something you lack it. To offer some self-criticism of my own people, I can say that Armenians always boast of something we have, we are the first Christians, the first to make wine, the first to invent things like colour TV, or the colour of the dollar. I would say that we are a strong people, we will fight for freedom and for our roots. I don't want to boast, or say that Armenia is the best, but it is worth discovering, experiencing and knowing my city since the traveller can be inspired and learn many things as I did in other cultures and in other origins. It is a place with a special energy and you have to be here to feel it. So welcome to Armenia, the Land of Haik and Noah.

Can you provide a signature cocktail?

Since our new project is about Latin America, I would like to dedicate this to the great warrior—we have his statue in our space—Moctezuma, (sometimes spelled Montezuma) the Aztec ruler and leader during the 15th century before the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

The recipe is something very dear to Latin American culture.

One of the special ingredients we use is "Tepache". It has its beginnings in pre-Hispanic Mexico and the pleasure of making it with corn continues in many indigenous communities in the states of Oaxaca, Querétaro, Guerrero, Puebla, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, Veracruz, Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Chiapas, Morelos, Baja California and Jalisco.

The word tepache comes from the Nahuatl word "tepatli" which means corn drink. This refreshing drink started as corn, it also has the influence of the word "tepachoa", which in Nahuatl means pressed with a stone or ground, so that it can be said that the word tepache means drink of crushed corn.

Currently, the most popular tepache is the one we know from pineapple. However, it is also made from other fruits such as guava, apple, orange, among others.

In the old days, to start the fermentation, they chewed and spit out the raw material. I promise you that we don't prepare like that (laughs). We prepare it with the fermentation that I brought from Mexico to Spain and now bring to Armenia with me.

Tepache has up to 1% vol. of alcohol; it is fermented with spices, and the slightly sweet taste is reminiscent of beer or cider. In the distant past, tepache was made with a higher alcohol level, and it is said that it was used for religious Mayan cults. Warriors drank it to connect with their gods.

Tepache contains probiotics that contribute to the health of the intestinal flora. Pineapple contains fibre, and is full of vitamins and minerals and has digestive, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, healing, antioxidant, slimming and diuretic properties.