Novosibirsk is hosting its inaugural Okroshka Festival, showcasing a diverse range of creative interpretations of the traditional cold soup. Organized largely by the GUSI group, the festival features 13 local establishments presenting unique okroshka recipes, from traditional variations to unconventional creations like pizza-okroshka and burger-okroshka.

The festival aims to support culinary creativity and attract more customers to participating establishments. Establishments were invited to participate by submitting an application and description of their festival okroshka, emphasizing the essence of the dish through ingredients and taste, even if not a traditional cold soup.

While some establishments offer relatively classic okroshka, such as the inCider bar’s kvass-based version, others are pushing boundaries with innovative ingredients. Nyura gastrobar serves okroshka in the style of kuksi, Dva Tovarishcha bar uses Russian stout instead of kvass, and Maybe Riesling bar offers an “Asian” okroshka with a dressing of ayran, matsun, and tom yam paste. Tomato gose, a type of sour beer, is also being used as a dressing by two participants.

Some participants are taking even more radical approaches. The Mishiko restaurant presents the boiled ingredients of okroshka inside a large khinkali, while others offer non-soup options such as pizza, burgers, cocktails, tinctures, and coffee drinks inspired by okroshka.

The Okroshka Festival will run until June 15, with organizers hoping to make it an annual event.