Dear friends, let this warm-hearted man, who was a good friend to all of us, feel our love, respect and deep sympathy through our small prayer and recollection of happy moments with him. Let's thank Valerij from the bottom of our hearts and express deep appreciation of the chance to get to know him, enjoy his smiles, witty humour, exciting storytelling and unconditional generosity that we received from him so often.
Let's pray for his beautiful and brave soul, and keep the warmth of his smile in our hearts and the things we do. And if sadness comes for a while, just send back a warm smile to the sky. This man was brave to live life the way he wanted and one of the things that made him special is that he paid attention to all those tiny secrets in the art of cuisine and wine. And he cordially shared this knowledge with friends, colleagues and visitors of beautiful restaurants. Once in Paris he said that the apple pie I was eating in the city centre full of tourists, was not that real, proper apple pie, which I should have tried in order to put a tick in my list of "must-try in Paris". He recommended going to a non-touristic place, because only there true French apple pies were served to the locals. Next time I'm in Paris, I'll keep this in mind and find that true apple pie! ;-) And if by any chance there appears an opportunity to go inside the Notre-Dame de Paris again after its restoration, I'll light a candle there for a man, who walked through the aisles of this magnificent cathedral with eyes full of admiration and joy, and who in some ways inspired to discover and enjoy the genuine things not only on our tables, but also in life. Thank you!