Work on the SyrKultProsvet Museum, which will appear at the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant (USMZ), is entering a new stage. In February, the organization of the Museum's premises and work on the exposition will begin. The museum space is expected to receive its first visitors at the end of April 2023.
The idea to create the SyrKultProsvet Museum was born by the management of the AgriVolga agricultural holding, which includes the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant (USMZ), several years ago. Today, USMZ is one of the leaders in Russian cheese making, using modern equipment to produce cheeses according to famous domestic recipes, preserving the cheese-making traditions that originated in Yaroslavl in the 19th century. The mission of the future SyrKultProsvet Museum is to preserve these traditions, unique historical documents, artifacts, and conduct educational work.
“In the SyrKultProsvet Museum, dedicated to the history of Soviet cheesemaking, visitors will be able to immerse themselves both in the history of Russian cheese and dairy production and in the modernity of this area of our industry. It is very important that we, in our production, with the help of professionals from the AgriVolga holding and the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant, manage to combine these moments: we carefully preserve historical traditions and the recipes of our cheeses, which have already become famous, and which have long been loved by Russians. And at the same time, we pass on bit by bit this valuable knowledge and experience to a new generation of professional cheese makers. Such painstaking work will be reflected in the exposition of our Museum,” notes Sergey Bachin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agranta company, which includes the AgriVolga holding.
The concept and design of the Museum is being developed by the Design Bureau “B & K” (the company develops modern museum expositions at the intersection of interesting architectural and design solutions). Now the project of the SyrKultProsvet Museum has been approved. Ahead is a large area of work on the organization and filling of semantic zones, work with exhibits.
In fact, the exposition will meet the visitors of the museum already in the lobby at the entrance to the territory of the plant. There will be a shop where you can buy cheese, and a cafe-restaurant. Exhibits of the old cheese and butter production line will also be placed here – this equipment has already become objects of modern sculpture today. Such retro art objects of contemporary art will set the guests of the Museum in the right mood.
Then visitors enter a long passage between two buildings: they will see a gallery of various information stands. “In a popular science style, we will tell the guests of the Museum about cheese. A cheese map of Europe will be presented, iconic, best world cheeses will be presented, visitors will learn the etymology of the word “cheese” in different languages of the world, starting with Latin, and so on. A little further, in the area designed as a kitchen, it will be possible to get acquainted with various recipes for making cheeses and cheese-based dishes – in video and text materials,” says Eric Belousov, founder and creative director of the Design Bureau B & K”.
In the next room, combined with a tasting room, it will be possible to learn in general about how cheesemaking originated and developed in Russia. Old engravings, photographs and other documents will be presented here. Tourists will learn about how cheesemaking was developed by the founder of Russian cheesemaking Nikolai Vereshchagin, then the story will reach 1935, when a factory was founded in Uglich. Finally, the exposition will bring visitors to the current state of the plant and cheesemaking in general in the country. Today, USMZ is a modern, well-equipped enterprise that continues the traditions of Russian cheese makers, established back in the 19th century. From here you will be able to see the production itself through panoramic windows, with each stage of the cheese production chain explained.
“At the end of the tour, guests will be offered to taste the cheeses. We will also organize a fun voting: for example, it will be possible to fill flasks with yellow balls, choosing which cheese you liked the most. Well, at the exit from the building, these cheeses can be purchased,” says Erik Belousov.
Also, visitors will see the restored line of old production equipment on which cheese was made (cheese bath, cheese scales, and so on), video materials that tell about the old cheese production technologies.
Finally, the Museum will also have a small cinema with 30 seats. A film about the history and work of USMZ will be shown here, and various meetings and lectures will be held in the cinema. Various themed entertainment zones will also be located here. For example, in the cheese and milk laboratories, visitors will be able to assemble their own packaging of milk or cheese. There will also be a zone where the cheese will be presented as the hero of various cartoons and movies. The Museum will also have an archivist's room. “We found various interesting documents and orders at the plant, including, for example, how the enterprise worked during the Great Patriotic War, and these curious historical artifacts will also become museum exhibits. Thus, the Museum will become a real interactive platform,” the Design Bureau “B & K”.
As for the cafe-restaurant that will appear here, it will also support the cheese theme. The Syr-Bor restaurant will become a kind of continuation of the museum exposition and excursions. “The main task is to make a bright concept and a tasty, memorable menu, as well as to reflect in the work of the restaurant – in the interior, in the dishes – the essence of the entire space of the plant and the SyrKultProsvet Museum. The restaurant will become a point of attraction for residents and guests of Uglich, including tourists traveling by boat, since there is no such catering establishment in the city,” said Grigory Mosin, brand chef of the Syr-Bor restaurant.
< p> The menu of the restaurant “Syr-boron” will be varied. As Grigory Mosin noted, recipes from different cuisines of the world will be used, but the dishes will be adapted to the perception of the Russian guest. And cheese dishes, of course, will become restaurant chips. In the restaurant, you can try not only traditional cheeses produced at USMZ, but also organic cheeses of the Ugleche Pole brand of the AgriVolga company. “We will constantly update and expand the menu. The restaurant team will also grow, – says Grigory Mosin. – I like the concept that we are doing. I think we will come to the moment when we will start replicating this project, in the future there will be new establishments of the Syr-Bor network. But now we are focusing on organizing a restaurant in the USMZ building.”
The opening of the SyrKultProsvet Museum and the Syr-Bor cafe-restaurant is expected at the end of April 2023.
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