French actor Gerard Depardieu is set to open a new Franco-Russian restaurant in Moscow called Gerard. The actor — who counts Vladimir Putin among his friends — surprised the masses when he took Russian nationality 18 months ago.
Depardieu already owns three restaurants in Paris as well as bistros and brasseries in Belgium. His Moscow restaurant is set to open in October and will serve what he calls, “the simple food that I like, with dishes from Russia and France.” He told the Komsomolskaya Pravda he has plans to open more restaurants in Russia in the future. When asked about his relationship with Putin, Depardieu said, “I think everything that man does he does for Russia.”ßßßß
Depardieu was supposed to appear at the Edinburgh Film Festival in Scotland last weekend for a premiere of his film Welcome to New York but failed to show up (he plays former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the movie). The no-show was blamed on a night feasting on too much haggis – the unofficial national dish of Scotland, consisting of oats and sheep innards - and overindulging in hops.
sjohnson@thenational.ae
