July 02, 2021

From MMA to Crème Brûlée


From MMA to Crème Brûlée
Cheesecake is becoming an increasingly popular dessert in Russia.  Photo by Chinh Le Duc via Unsplash

In 2020, MMA fighter and ex-police officer Azamat Kabaloev was training full time with ambitions to rise to the top of his sport, then a knee ligament injury put this dream on pause and forced him to find an alternate occupation while he focused on healing. In an interview with the website, "This is the Caucasus," Kabaloev recounts how his journey from the MMA octagon to the kitchen counter.

Kabaloev has always enjoyed cooking, especially as a professional athlete, and he took a particular interest in the foods he prepared and ate, to make sure that he was giving his body the proper nutrition it needed to perform. When he was unable to train, he needed something to do and decided to take up baking as a form of entertainment and as a mental challenge.

He fell into cheesecakes as his craft of choice, both because they are a relatively healthy dessert and can also be complicated to create. He looked up recipes on YouTube and began to experiment. When friends and family encouraged him to sell his incredible homemade cheesecakes, he approached a local coffee shop and created a partnership.

He calls his confectionary business "New York Cheesecake," but insists that the focus is not on making a profit, but on sharing healthy, high-quality, and low-cost food with others. In the future, his goals include developing a unique cheesecake recipe, opening a cheesecake coffee shop, and, of course, getting back into MMA fighting when he is fully healed.

You Might Also Like

A Celebratory Cake
  • May 01, 2020

A Celebratory Cake

А фestive Napoleon Cake that is plenty complex to offer lots of stress baking relief.
An Immigrant's Story, with Cake
  • November 25, 2020

An Immigrant's Story, with Cake

Polina Chesnakova's family moved from Russia to Georgia, then from Georgia to Ukraine, and to the US. A cookbook author and cooking instructor, Chesnakova keeps her family traditions alive through cooking and baking, and inspiring others.
Milk Foam Pancakes is Only the Beginning
  • April 07, 2021

Milk Foam Pancakes is Only the Beginning

Traditional Yakut meals get a second chance thanks to local museum. Tuyara, museum employee and part of the program to bring back these recipes, shares her story.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955