The interview of Yeremyan Projects General Director Davit Yeremyan to Mediamax

Mr Yeremyan, Yeremyan Projects concluded 2019 by serving 1.5 millionth customer of the year. How did your company fare in 2019?

It was a nice and also a symbolic conclusion of the year, which turned out quite intense and rich for our company. By the way, 1.5 million customers we served in 2019 included 650,000 foreign guests, and it makes the number all the more important.

Frankly speaking, I thought that 2019 would be a quiet year. We had certain plans and we believed that once they were completed, we could take a little break after the fast-paced 2018. The opposite actually happened: 2019 has been intense and highly productive. We had unique projects in different sectors, implemented some ambitious projects, and of course, realized new dreams. I can certainly tell that we surpassed the bars we set and established new goals too. After making our dreams come true, we came up with fresh, more ambitious plans.

2019 was also a year of large investments for your company, wasn’t it?

Yes, we invested USD 8 million in total in new projects.

First, we invested in our new agenda, “From seed to table”.

Back in 2017, after opening Lavash restaurant, we launched a new concept – “From farm to table” – and opened a collection point for agricultural products in Avan village (Aragatsotn marz). It has around 220 farms and the population of 900.

In 2018 we launched our new farm program aimed at developing a new approach and laying the foundation for a new business agenda. In 2019 our company implemented two large livestock projects. First, we opened a pig farm in Dilijan, bringing a pure Canadian pig breed to Armenia.



We also created a cattle-breeding farm in Jermuk, which has pure Fleckvieh, Holstein and Angus breeds. The farms comply with all international standards for production and quality.

We had two highly important goals when opening these farms: 1) control the quality of the meat we use, and 2) create a model of industry that can serve as an example and facilitate development of farms, and of course, develop local product.

There is a stereotype in Armenia that agriculture constantly demands investment and offers little revenue. We prove the opposite to be true with the example of our two farms. Thanks to effective management, correct estimates and proper organization of workflow, we have made notable achievements in this area.



The launch of fodder chopper was very important as well. Now we are confident that the fodder supplied to the farms is organic, it contains the right components, and it has been processed properly. In other words, we get food from seed to the table in our restaurants. This model is not widespread and only a few organizations in the world exercise this approach.

I wish other local companies would see the advantages of this approach and use corresponding technologies. As of the moment, we secure 20% of agricultural products for our restaurants with Avan produce and 80% with the meat from our farms.

Last year we started a large and very important project – “Artsakh” factory, which we are rebuilding and renovating completely. It occupies the territory of over 3000 square meters. We created and launched 3 new departments there: dairy, processed meat, and canned food. We want to supply our army with quality food. We also increased the staff, adding 50 to 100 jobs.

All these projects required USD 5 million of investment in total, but the result is invaluable - essentially, we launched the new business model for our company, completing the circle.

In 2019, our most demanded and interesting project was the Yeremyan Projects Culinary Art and Hospitality Academy. We always strived to create an education institution to pass the knowledge we obtained over the years down to new generations, so in this regard, the academy was a dream we realized.

In the academy, we have a team of dedicated professionals, which helps us pass knowledge and skills to young people. Our students will be our business cards and ambassadors. They will represent Armenian cuisine in other countries. In cooperation with our exclusive partner City of Oxford College, the academy educates and re-trains specialists in services and culinary art, transforming our society’s opinions about cuisine and the services sector.

The academy opened in the spring of 2019 and we already have graduates in certain programs. This institution is one of a kind in the region. We have a rather ambitious goal of making the Culinary Art and Hospitality Academy the center of excellence in the region and enabling specialists in South Caucasus to attend our re-training courses.

Yeremyan Projects also added two more members to its network in 2019.

Indeed, just as we promised, we realized two different restaurant projects in 2019. They are unique in the sense that they differ from each other as much as from all other projects that we have.

First, let me cover Smoking Chef Grill & Wine. We had long wanted to operate a restaurant with such concept, we had a vision and ideas about it, and Smoking Chef was one of the best steak houses in Yerevan. It was the first time we took over an existing restaurant and did not make drastic changes to its conceptual component. We did change the approaches entirely and arranged everything in accordance with our style, standards, and our principles of management. The outcome was both anticipated and great: people liked the changes, so every evening you can see loyal steak lovers gather at Smoking Chef. We also assumed the responsibility of spreading the steak culture and teaching people how to choose and eat steaks.

I am glad to say that Smoking Chef has become a favorite spot for both residents and guests of Yerevan. The restaurant’s atmosphere, excellent service and delicious menu are all its business cards.

We often discussed our dreams, ideas that gave birth to all our projects. Many of them seemed unattainable. Livingston is our new dream of flying high.

Haute cuisine, top-class service, fine music – this is what our city lacked and what Livingston offers. Livingston has brought a new culture of recreation with its flight.

We tested our abilities in this format as well and our chefs and waiters proved they could maintain the standards and exclusiveness of haute cuisine. However, Livingston wouldn’t be what it is without the music. The restaurant’s band, led by maestro Yerznkyan, features Armenia’s best musicians and singers.

Every year Yeremyan Projects organizes events aimed at developing the city and the industry. What did the company do in that regard in 2019?

We maintained our tradition of implementing impressive projects, which are designed to enrich the life of our city and draw public attention to our industry.

I often highlighted the need to increase the respect for culinary art and the profession of cook in our country. As a matter of fact, we have been working on it for years, using a range of methods, tools and mechanisms. The TV program “Blazing kitchen” (“Tezh Xohanots”) is a mechanism of that sort, and a rather effective one too.

For us, “Blazing kitchen” was a special opportunity to improve the public concept of cooks, break the stereotypes about chefs and improve the public opinion about that profession. The program, which we filmed in cooperation with our partner Sham Holding, is rather popular, as evidenced by high ratings and the fact that many young viewers have applied to the Yeremyan Academy.

In 2019, everyone talked about the unprecedented increase of tourist flow to Armenia. We made a contribution as well. I would like to highlight a project we did for development of tourism: we invited representatives of over 20 famous, reputable foreign media outlets to Armenia and they produced great articles describing their experience here. They really did justice to the cuisine, restaurants and sights of our country. There have been 53 articles in total and I believe we can all see the impact. Lavash, Sherep, Yerevan Tavern chain – everywhere in the summer of 2019, Armenian-speaking patrons were the minority.

We also held our sweetest event in 2019 – we cooked the world’s largest gata, which we dedicated to Yerevan’s anniversary. In fact, we broke our own record again. The 2019 gata came out measuring 68 meters and weighing 410 kilograms. We promised to keep baking big gata until we can make a circle with it around the Swan Lake in Yerevan.

There is another project I want to highlight – GastroCouture. When we opened Livingston, we staked a claim on haute cuisine, and I believe that in the framework of that concept GastroCouture was among Yerevan’s most beautiful events in 2019.

No one has done anything like that before in the whole world… We combined haute cuisine and haute couture and organized an innovative exhibition in cooperation with Harmony Yerevan Fashion House. The exhibition followed the motives of Armenian royal feast with national dishes and featured a fashion show, during which Harmony Yerevan demonstrated a rich, Armenian cuisine-inspired collection. That event was covered by both local and international media.

In 2019, Yeremyan Projects contributed to the new catering program for the Armenian army as well.

When we heard about the tendering held by the Ministry of the Defense, we immediately decided to participate and get involved in the new food scheme. It is our army and we couldn’t stay away. We understand very well that securing good nutrition for soldiers is a priority for our country.

I can talk about the army food scheme for hours. It was our biggest achievement and pride in 2019.

What do you plan and hope to achieve in 2020?

I can say that we certainly won’t slow down. We have plenty of plans for 2020 too – new restaurants, new educational and agricultural projects. This year will be a year of big changes.