The cakes are made by Renat Agzamov. The most famous confectioner Renat Agzamov. A cake that has become a real work of art. The hard path to success
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Renat, they call you a fashion pastry chef. So, it turns out that there are fashion trends in the confectionery world too?
Absolutely right. You can remember what cakes looked like in the Soviet Union. They were oil, covered with roses of different colors. Then cream and fruit decorations began to appear on cakes. Over time, we switched to cakes decorated with various sprinkles. Home baking has been all the rage for the last few years. Even in expensive restaurants, the menu always includes “Napoleon”, “Bird’s milk” and “Medovik”. And of course, in the industrial segment we see a great abundance of sour cream cakes, and our company “Fili Baker” is the trendsetter for sour cream cakes. People are tired of artificial cream, so I'm trying to achieve a homemade taste. That is, it will be the most homemade, delicious cake, modernly decorated on the outside. And the result is a double wave effect - first the appearance, and then the taste. People are usually shocked: how can such a beautiful cake also be so delicious?
I wonder if you create your own cake recipes?
Yes. I myself personally develop cake recipes for both retail stores and exclusive orders. And I don’t just develop fillings, mix products and see what happens, but I develop them at the theoretical level. Of course, we have our own laboratory that determines the moisture content of products. There is such a concept - moisture migration. For example, I try to add more moisture to the cream and, on the contrary, less to the biscuit. The moisture migrates into the biscuit, after a day the product becomes completely evenly soaked, and I don’t need to use syrups. This is a very complex chemical and physical process, you always have to work with numbers and laboratory equipment.
Do you keep your recipes a big secret? You see, the confectioners who work with me no longer just have a recipe book - they have recipe volumes. ( Laughs
.) But I don’t have one. None at all. Every time I develop, mix, and my laboratory assistants write everything down for me. I don’t need recipes, everything is in my head.
There are no secrets here. We work with chocolate. You know, it’s like in music - there are seven notes, and how many melodies and music are written on the planet! It's the same here. Having eggs, sugar, flour, chocolate, nuts and fruits, you can create an incredible number of compositions, a lot of options for both the appearance of the cake and the taste. Therefore, it is not a matter of recipes, but of imagination. I can teach a person a technique, but tomorrow the pastry chef will have to create something new. And this is either given or not given. This cannot be taught.
", which produces exclusive cakes to order, was launched by the Moscow confectionery factory "Fili Baker" in 2006. Despite the fact that the company employs dozens of confectioners, florists, stylists and designers, the project is largely an original one: most of the cakes were created by the muralist confectioner Renat Agzamov, who essentially became the face of the brand. After the photo with his multi-story cakes was published by the presenter of “House-2” Ksenia Borodina, Russian pop music, sports and film stars learned about the pastry chef. Since then, Agzamov’s cakes regularly appear on TV shows, reviews of the most incredible sweets and reach the size of a car. In an interview with 2GIS, Renat Agzamov for the first time spoke in detail about how he ended up in Moscow, why he abandoned his project for the sake of Philly Baker, how much wedding cakes bring and what the ideal dessert should be like in order for it to be bought.
Renat Agzamov
Chief specialist of Fili Baker Premium
35 years
For you, it all started with moving to Moscow, right?
Let's go in order. 1999–2001 - military service, already official. So I’ve been in the army since ’96. I was 15 years old. I entered culinary school and at the same time went in for sports - I boxed for the CSKA Olympic Training Center. Often training camps took place in Krasnodar, and I lived in the barracks with other guys. So when I was called up, I knew all the demobilizers, and they remembered me. The barracks was my home, everything was fine. Suddenly my dad was paralyzed by a stroke. My brother and I left Krasnodar and never returned: this ended our boxing career. Dad was the main breadwinner, brought money into the family, and invested in our competitions. It became clear that it was our turn to feed the family, and at the same time get dad out of his difficult situation. Let's go to work. My brother got a job as a cook in a restaurant, and I got a job in a pastry shop. I’ve actually been drawn to this since childhood; I’ve been baking cupcakes since I was seven.
In 2002, after winning the [confectionery] championship in Krasnodar, ambitions appeared naturally. I wanted my cakes to be on the catwalks, like in fashion shows. There were a million ideas: unusual patterns, shapes, original sweet decorations. And despite the fact that the whole city, including the mayor, actually turned to me for cakes, I was the youngest in the workshop, and only women worked nearby. I was a “boy”, and the customers said: “Let your boy make the cake.” I realized that everything, Sochi is a ceiling, a tin can from which you can’t get anywhere. Then he told his boss: “I want to become the best pastry chef in the world.” And she didn’t listen enough: “Renat, stop flying in the clouds! Stop rolling the flatbreads.” We made pizza flatbreads in the workshop, and I personally rolled 1,800 pieces every day. In general, I was tired of all this, it touched a nerve in my creative nature (smiles), and I suggested that my brother go to Moscow to earn money. Or rather, not so much because of money, but because of new information, new experience. I wanted to develop. And in order to win the World Championships, it is not enough to live in Sochi. We need to go to Moscow. In 2002 we left.
The first three days we spent the night on the train. There was only enough money for food. We had 15,000 rubles, of which we set aside ten for a return ticket if things didn’t work out.
And then I was still boxing and, out of habit, dressed as if for training. Imagine: sweatpants tucked into socks, shorts over them and a tank top over a T-shirt. Such a purely sporty “style”. I thought I looked incredibly cool (smiles), like the coolest athlete in the area. We went to rent an apartment and they immediately dumped us. We went to another one and they threw it there. Moscow! Where to spend the night? We reached the slop of the Kursk station, gave the conductor 200 rubles, and she let us into the compartment, locking us so that we would not go out anywhere - neither to the toilet nor to wash. And our dad, a former chef of the dining car, always had the treasured three keys on the train that open all the doors. Before leaving, he says: “Take them, they’ll come in handy,” and hands them along with woolen socks and hats. We would probably still be sitting there locked up if it weren’t for daddy’s keys.
In the morning they went to look for work, housing and lodging for the night, and returned at night. I will never forget how one agency offered us an apartment on Zvezdny Boulevard. I called all my friends, I pleased my mother: “On Star Boulevard!” We haven’t signed anything yet, haven’t moved in, but I’ve already blown the whistle (smiles). Of course, we were cheated again, and we found a room only in Krasnogorsk. This is where it all started.
Do you remember your first job?
Cafe-confectionery in Kitai-Gorod. At first I worked for free, took on any task, just to learn something. For example, I went into a cafe, saw shiny chocolate and didn’t understand how to achieve such shine. But no one will just tell you. As a result, in the first six months in Moscow I changed seven jobs. I got what I needed and left. This is probably not entirely fair, but I was so captivated by the learning process that I couldn’t do it any other way. My first real place of work, where I stayed for 2.5 years, was the Nostalgie restaurant, which was booming at the time. Legendary place. I was a pastry chef, and before me, only French people worked there.
How did you get there?
There was a casting: three foreigners, me and another guy from Russia. I won. How? Yes, simple. I completely repeated the desserts of the Boulevard restaurant, where I used to work. And suddenly everyone started writing about me, restaurant critics praised me a lot.
I began making truly unexpected and extraordinary desserts: ice cream with wasabi and bell pepper, candies with garlic, beer-based sweets.
Moscow was not ready for this. This is so accepted now, but then it was a shock.
Did you go crazy like that on purpose? Have you announced yourself?
No, it’s all because of the thirst for new things - tastes, combinations, reactions. I needed to be surprised. This is exactly what the restaurateur demanded. He didn't need cheesecake or tiramisu, it was about something more. I can say that everything worked out for us: we surprised. But there was one thing: people didn’t eat it. And when we sat down to report, I heard: “Renat, you are a talented guy, but where is commerce? Where are the grandmothers? People still ordered three scoops of ice cream and wild berries with cream. Was that your main mistake?
Not a mistake. It's part of experience, of maturation. True, if I were opening a restaurant now, the menu would only have liquid desserts - based on fresh juice and sorbet. I then looked at the restaurant business from the inside: through the eyes of a pastry chef, not a visitor. I didn't have money for restaurants. When deputies or pop stars came to us, I saw gods in the hall, I was speechless. He went out into the hall and trembled. Later, when I myself could order an expensive steak, pilaf, shish kebab and salad, I realized that after such a table I really didn’t want to take candy with garlic, beer or wasabi. I don't want charlotte with flour. Let it be something light.
If you look at French cookbooks, you will find that almost every dessert contains a scoop of fruit sorbet. Why? And this is a digestif.
This is how there is an aperitif - champagne, martini - any alcohol that prepares the body for food intake and produces gastric juice, so there is a digestif. For example, Jägermeister. The dessert should work like this tincture.
Don’t be a filling that “shuts up” a person, don’t stand in the throat, but let him relax. The right dessert relaxes, not finishes. I didn’t know these subtleties then. In addition, the food should be simple. If I have strawberry or raspberry chiffon, there will be no nut or chocolate. There will be strawberries or raspberries. That's it, in my opinion, people have already played enough with the kitchen, everyone just wants to eat deliciously. A pastry chef can satisfy his ambitions, but let him know in advance that this will not bring money.
What happened after Nostalgia?
I was invited to join the French confectionery chain Legato. It was headed by the famous restaurateur Mikhail Zelman. Legato were famous for their handmade chocolates; they had 60 items in their assortment. At Nostalgie I was a pastry chef and managed three people in the shop, and at Legato I began to manage a network of entire enterprises. I had to monitor profitability, profit, revenue. But I didn’t know this at all. I had to quickly master the basics of accounting and understand technological maps. I purchased the first laptop in my life, began to delve into Excel and grow as a leader.
After Legato, I decided to get into catering. Together with the former director of Nostalgie and one person closely connected with the Kremlin, we launched the Creative Catering project. The service turned out to be more than successful: we made back the starting $50,000 in three months. However, one of our partners began to steal, and the union fell apart. It is also important that I stopped changing women and decided to build a nest. This definitely had an impact, 100%. I was ready to go free and start my own project.
I had a lot of ideas for cakes, for retail, for technology, I had an agreement with a bank for a loan of $500,000, and then they called me to Tatarstan. The daughter of the president of Tatarstan Bank headed the Chocolate coffee shop chain, and I was offered to help her. In two weeks I organized everything, set it up, and am sitting with my father, a wise elderly Tatar. He asked me how I saw my future. I told about my project, about the loan, and heard: “Remember, if you are small, you will be like a stream: flow until a drought occurs, until a tree falls. My advice to you: join the big one and you will become like a river: a powerful stream that is not afraid of anything.”
At that moment, I turned my brain in the opposite direction: what the hell is my business?! They'll crush you!
The wise Tatar was right. I returned to Moscow, developed a series of new cakes and began looking for large companies for joint projects.
What type of companies?
Confectionery factories represented in retail. I took the cake from the shelf, looked at the label, found the manufacturer’s phone number and asked to connect me with the owner (smiles). Mostly the operator aunties hung up. Then I turned to the Philly Baker company, whose owners I had mutual friends from Sochi. Even then it was a giant, a megafactory. I told about my plans, they became interested, and a merger of two took place... I wanted to say giants, but at that time it was the merger of a giant with a small appendicitis (laughs). Of course, I had a lot of ambitions and desires, but I was still so green. I was just a pastry chef, this is a kindergarten. And Philly Baker is a city within a city; a huge number of people, trucks, shipments; crazy logistics. Why did you interest them?
The market was in dire need of new products, all the large chains - both Auchan and Metro - were waiting for something unusual. And this is a story about me. I think Philly Baker saw new blood in me. I’m just as much a maniac and a fan of my work as they are. Well, charisma may have played a role. They saw that I was a leader. And another factory was built for me - “Fili Baker Premium” - a separate project. I can honestly say that no one then, not even myself, believed that we could become a big company with international projects. At the same time, all the agreements were verbal, we did not sign anything. And these are not amateurs, these are powerful businessmen of a large scale. They simply said: “Renat, we’re launching, look for a place,” and I believed them.
2000
RUR/kg average price of cake
Weren't you afraid that you would be scammed again - as was the case with the apartment? They will take your ideas, get rid of you at the first opportunity, and then you will not prove anything.
This was the biggest problem because everyone told me about it. Brother, mother, friends: “You are a fool! Where have you gotten yourself into?! They want to use you like a doormat. You make them cakes, set up a business for them, and then they throw you away.” I heard this every single day. And even though I am a stubborn person with principles, I began to hesitate. Especially at a time when my financial oxygen cushion was deflating before my eyes. I agreed. After all, Philly Baker are very decent people, they had and still have a reputation. I had no doubt about their honesty.
Do you remember the first Philly Baker Premium cakes?
"Village Pancho", "Village Napoleon". “Napoleon,” by the way, was not just a layer cake, it was a pile of puff pastry cubes. I did something like this in Nostalgie at one time. Exactly the same one went to retail.
You make not only cakes, but also charlottes, pastries, and waffles. What brings you the most profit?
Everything is approximately the same. We are in the mid-price segment, they take everything from us. We cannot say that we are “economy” - taking into account the dollar exchange rate, inflation and the constant rise in prices, there is no “economy” at all now - but we are slightly below average, and in terms of profitability we get approximately the same figures for all products.
Wedding cakes bring in the most. This is 95% of the total profit from orders. And in terms of the number of cakes, children’s cakes are in first place (60%). We sell them the most. A children's cake is 4–5 kg, and a wedding cake is 10-50-100 kg. There's completely different money there.
When did you start working with corporate clients? Can you name the biggest ones?
Aeroflot, Lukoil, Gazprom, those with whom we started. In my opinion, we have already worked with all the big ones. At the same time, it feels like we are poorly capturing the market for corporate cakes. There is still a very decent gap there, work and work.
No, I wasn't interested in social media at all. We made custom cakes for a very limited circle of people, the sundress worked slowly, I didn’t really believe in the power of subscribers. And then we made a cake for Ksenia Borodina, the host of Dom-2, she posted a thank you note on her feed, showed the cake, and then everything happened very quickly. In a couple of days, another 2000 were added to my 400 subscribers. And now there are already 1,000,000 of them! And after all, I’m not a girl with size 5 breasts, not a singer or an artist. This means that people are interested not so much in me as in my work.
Instagram has made us popular all over the world. I can say for sure that, thanks to him, we have projects in Dubai, Australia, America, and Japan. We probably would have ended up there anyway, but in 20 years, not earlier.
And then you deliberately began to use the media resources of the stars to your advantage and use them to promote cakes?
Partially yes. One of my friends sells skates. She once told me that after the launch of the Stars on Ice show, skate sales increased tenfold. What does this mean? About the fact that in our country people look at the stars and try to imitate them. In clothing, in behavior, in choosing a restaurant. Sometimes - in the choice of cake (smiles). Of course we use it. Yes, you can probably consider this a plan, but at first I didn’t attach any importance to it.
Who can you call your competitor?
In retail? There are not many of them. If we are talking about “perishable”, then this is “Krug”, “U Palych” and us. We have an unspoken division [of the market]: “Palych’s” makes mainly butter cakes, we make sour cream ones, and “Krug” makes berry ones. This is not on purpose, it just happened that way.
What's stopping you from releasing your butter cakes?
Well, why? So that Palych's will start making sour cream tomorrow? (Smiles). Everyone has their own market, and we try not to cross each other’s paths.
And in the premium segment?
In general, I can’t name anyone, I don’t follow anyone. There is no particular desire.
Have you ever had to refuse clients? Are they offering something completely out of the ordinary?
Happens. For example, newlyweds ask to make a large wedding cake, “all covered in roses.” I say: “Where is the style? What's the highlight? Let's distinguish a cake from a flower bed." They get upset: “Flowers? Well, it’s too bad that you don’t do this.” Well, yes, I don’t, sorry. I don't want to stoop to that. Do you know how many people come to me asking me to make a cake in the shape of genitals? Oh, their darkness. For every second bachelorette or bachelor party. I refuse everyone. Even if they offer 10 million, I won’t agree to it. Why? This is not art, I don't want to do it. I don’t want people to think of me that I’m ready to do anything for money. This is wrong.
How do Philly Baker Premium feel about the fact that you actually personify the brand, that you have become its face?
Yes, I personify the brand. I am Philly Baker Premium, but as part of a big family. And most importantly, ask any businessman, what worries him? He cares about money. “Fili Baker Premium” brings in money, and if so, then we are on the right track.
1805.2016
Cover: Jelly sweets, vintage engraved illustration
Among the clients of the “king of cakes,” as he was more than once called in the media, are the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, singer Philip Kirkorov, showman Alexander Revva, daughter of the President of Chechnya Aishat Kadyrova, producer Yana Rudkovskaya, TV presenter Ksenia Borodina and other famous people, as well as corporate clients including Gazprom, Aeroflot and Lukoil.
Childhood
The future creator of masterpiece cakes was born on April 13, 1981 in Kyiv. Soon their family moved to Sochi, where he lived until moving to Moscow in 2002. Renat is Tatar by nationality. He has a brother Timur, who is 4 years older.The head of the family was the chef of the dining car, and both sons showed an interest in cooking from an early age. The grandchildren’s passion was supported by their grandmother, who became the main adviser and inspirer of their gastronomic experiments.
Renat baked his first culinary product himself at the age of 7. It was a cupcake, a capricious and rather difficult product to prepare. At the age of 10, he already knew how to bake bread. During the same period, the boy bought his first mixer, saving money in a piggy bank.
From the age of 12, during the summer holidays, he went to the kitchens of city restaurants and helped beat eggs, sort nuts, and carry out other tasks in order to learn culinary wisdom while watching the work of the masters.
Labor activity
At the age of 15, he followed Timur to Krasnodar and entered culinary school. At the same time, they practiced boxing at the CSKA Olympic Training Center. Soon the brothers had to return to Sochi due to their father’s serious condition - he had a stroke. To support their family and help their father cope with his illness, they went to work: Timur as a cook, and he as a pastry chef. 
In the period 1999-2001. Renat served in the army. After demobilization, he continued to do what he loved. In 2002, the young man became the winner of the local confectionery championship, and realized that he had reached the ceiling in Sochi. Dreaming of developing professionally and earning more, he decided to move to Moscow.
In the same year, the Agzamov brothers went to the capital. At first, everything was terrible for them - no money, no friends, no housing. They even had to spend the night at the Kursk station. But over time, their life got better. At first, Renat found a job in a café-pastry shop in Kitai-Gorod. Then, over the course of six months, he changed 7 more jobs in order to study the features and details of preparing various types of dishes.
Pastry chef Renat Agzamov makes a cake
Having gained sufficient experience, the purposeful Sochi resident managed to win the casting for the post of pastry chef at the popular Nostalgie restaurant, where previously only French people worked. In this position, he experimented a lot with the combination of dish ingredients, creating truly unexpected dessert options: candies with garlic or beer, ice cream with wasabi.
In 2005, he received an invitation to work at the Legato confectionery chain, famous for its wide range of exclusive chocolates. Then, as a manager, he had to master not only new recipes and production technologies, but also learn to make technological and economic calculations. As Renat later noted, during that period he purchased the first laptop in his life.
Then, together with two partners, he created the Creative Catering enterprise, which specialized in organizing outdoor banquets, buffets, barbecues and other types of catering services. The project turned out to be successful, paid for itself in 3 months, but due to disagreements among the founders, it soon fell apart.
After this, Agzamov decided that he was ready to create his own business. During this period, he was invited to Tatarstan to help organize the “Chocolate” chain of coffee shops, owned by the daughter of the head of “Tatarstan Bank”. At the end of his work, he shared his plans with the girl’s father, who gave him wise advice - instead of establishing his own small and uncompetitive production, find a large and strong company that would agree to cooperate with him.
As a result, upon returning to Moscow, he managed to interest the management of the industry giant Philly Baker with the developed series of original cakes and his other ideas. In 2006, the Fili Baker Premium factory was created, where, under the leadership of a talented culinary specialist, they began to produce first the “Rustic Pancho” cake, which was a huge success, and later – exclusive desserts of his authorship.
Renat Agzamov and his Pancho cake
The largest share of the enterprise's profit (more than 90 percent) came from orders of wedding cakes, the recipe for which he came up with himself. In terms of the number of products produced, children's cakes were in the lead. The growth in popularity of Renat’s creations was greatly influenced by the posting on the Internet of a photograph of the ordered cake along with words of gratitude by TV presenter Ksenia Borodina. A couple of days after this, the number of Agzamov’s followers on Instagram, where you can see his work, increased 5 times.
By 2017, Fili Baker Premium became widely known not only at home, but also abroad. She has implemented international projects in Japan, France, Italy, America, and the UAE. Renat delighted customers with cakes in the shape of palaces, dinosaurs, fountains and even flying art objects.
In order to improve his knowledge and skills, the “star pastry chef” completed internships in Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, and France. He himself conducted training seminars, tournaments, organized exhibitions, and participated in the shows “Tiliteletesto” and “Confectioner”.
Personal life of Renat Agzamov
The cook is married. His wife's name is Valeria. She is his ideological inspirer; in her honor, Renat created one of his most skillful works - a fountain where glaze flowed instead of water. He worked on this perfection for more than a year.Renat Agzamov is a famous confectioner; his works amaze even the most skilled masters; he is also the host of several culinary programs. Renat Agzamov’s wife, Lera, is his ideological inspirer; he created many of his works thanks to her. The pastry chef also named one of the cakes after his wife.
Renat's biography begins in 1981, when he was born in Kyiv. After some time, his family moved to Sochi. Agzamov’s family is small; in addition to his parents, Renat also has an older brother. The father worked as a cook on the train, so from childhood the children learned their cooking skills from him. The future pastry chef began cooking at the age of seven, and at the same time it was quite difficult dishes.
At the age of 15, the boy went to study at a culinary school and, in addition, to practice boxing, but due to family circumstances he was forced to return home and work there. By 2002, Renat Agzamov achieved great success in Sochi and realized that he wanted more, so he decided to conquer Moscow. His brother Timur was always next to the cook; he was also fond of this craft. The young people initially had a hard time; Renat changed jobs many times to find a suitable one.
After some time, Agzamov began to engage in confectionery not only as a cook, but also as a manager. And soon he opened his own business and began producing original cakes. This business brought good income to the young pastry chef, and he developed through various internships abroad. Also, large confectionery companies invited him for cooperation and work.
By 2017, his works became popular almost all over the world. The most famous celebrities today order the creations of Renat Agzamov for important special events, because his cakes are not only delicious, but also very beautiful. Foreign stars are also “queuing up” to get a job as a pastry chef. Some cakes are more expensive than a good apartment, according to Renat; for example, he and his team recently made a cake completely decorated with diamonds for a foreign customer. Some creations take more than two years - but the result exceeds all expectations.
Renat Agzamov's wife Valeria - photo
Renat Agzamov's wife's name is Valeria. The personal life of the pastry chef is not very accessible to journalists, so little is known about it. Renat says that before meeting his wife, he led a hectic life, but then settled down. Agzamov says that he simply adores his wife and it is impossible to say in words how much she means to him. He is ready to dedicate all his creations to his wife.
The confectioner's wife Renata Agzamova loves her husband's work very much, but she herself is in no hurry to try his culinary masterpieces, since she only eats healthy food. She says that she admires his treasures as a work of art and nothing more. According to Renat, Lera cooks much tastier than him; for example, he simply adores her borscht.
There is a child in the family - son Timur, according to dad, he, like Valeria, is for proper nutrition, so he doesn’t eat cakes, but he simply loves healthy vegetables. Renat still hopes that when Timur grows up, he will continue his father’s work. In the photo, Renat Agzamov with his wife and son.
Renat regrets that he does not get to spend as much time with his family as he would like, but at any free moment he is always with them. Now he only has one day off, which he takes specifically to be with his loved ones. In the future, Agzamov dreams of going to boxing with his son.
Today, in 2018, Renat is developing new recipes and supervising confectioners, as well as working on television. In addition, he began to take up photography and really enjoys it. Agzamov says that he never rests on his laurels and always tries to exaggerate his results.
Famous Russian confectioner. Champion of Russia in confectionery, member of the Russian Olympic team in confectionery art and the Council of the Guild of Chefs of the Russian Federation. Host of the show “Confectioner” on the “Friday!” TV channel.
Renat Agzamov. Biography and career
Renat Agzamov born on April 13, 1981 in Sochi. Since childhood, I have been interested in the art of cooking; I baked my first cupcake at the age of 7. After graduating from school in Sochi I studied at a local culinary school. At the same time, together with his younger brother, he was seriously involved in sports, even winning the title of Russian boxing champion. However, he gave up his sports career, making a choice in the direction of confectionery.
Renat Agzamov: “My grandmother let me in on her culinary secrets. And my father, a former chef of the dining car, always cooked. I grew up with a great love for cooking. When I was 5-6 years old, my father taught my brother and me to use knives and other kitchen tools correctly. This is a family thing for us.”
He started working in a Sochi confectionery shop. INIn 2002, he won the confectionery championship in Krasnodar and then decided to go to Moscow with his brother to earn money, and also for new information and experience. In the capital, he first settled in cafe-confectionery in Kitai-Gorod. Then, having changed several jobs, he was a pastry chef at the Nostalgie restaurant for 2.5 years. Restaurant critics began to write about Renata, and he gained popularity. Then I gotto the French confectionery chain Legato, where he began to manage a number of enterprises. Mastered the basics of accounting and other managerial skills.
A few years later, Renat joined the company Fili Baker, which opened a separate project specifically for Agzamov - the Fili Baker Premium factory.
Renat Agzamov is the owner of many titles, including: champion of Russia in confectionery, prize-winner of the World Championship, member of the Russian Olympic team in confectionery, member of the council of the Guild of Chefs of the Russian Federation.
The master of culinary masterpieces gained even greater fame after made a cake for the presenter of “Dom-2” Ksenia Borodina. She posted her gratitude and a photo of the treat online. As a result, in a short time, the number of Renat’s Instagram subscribers reached a million.
Renat Agzamov: “Instagram made us popular all over the world. I can say for sure that thanks to him we have projects in Dubai, Australia, America, and Japan. We probably would have ended up there anyway, but in 20 years, not earlier.”
Spring 2017 Renat Agzamov together with the actress and star of the “Let's Get Married! Larisa Guzeeva and her husband, restaurateur Igor Bukharov, became the host of a culinary show on Channel One “TiliTeleTesto”, in which amateur bakers compete with each other.
In 2017, Renat became the host of the culinary project of the Friday! TV channel. "Confectioner". The reality show features amateur pastry chefs from all over Russia who have decided to radically change their lives and learn from Renat all the tricks of the profession. The second season of the show was released in the spring of 2018, and a third is planned for 2019. Agzamov not only runs the program, but also acts as the main mentor of young confectioners.
Renat Agzamov: “Every customer, coming to me, regardless of who he is, wants to be delighted. This means that the cake should make a person proud of it and, of course, provide aesthetic and taste pleasure to all guests. Here are the basic requirements. But the main request is individuality. Every time I listen to the customer, I have to surprise! And I can do it."
Renat Agzamov. Personal life
Renat Agzamov is married to Lera Agzamova. They are raising a son Timur.
Renat Agzamov: “My wife and son, unfortunately, don’t like sweets. Lera taught Timur to eat healthy food from childhood. He would rather eat celery than a piece of cake... My wife is my ideological inspirer. Lera gives me strength, energizes me, supports me. In honor of her, I named one of my brightest and most skillful works - a fountain made of chocolate and glaze. It took almost a year and a half to create. Although this is a perfect project, it still does not convey even a part of who my Lera is for me...”