With a slightly small stature and barely able to contain his passion and geniality, Arkady Novikov exudes a laid-back, carefree demeanour – something you might not expect from a self-made restaurateur ruling over an empire of nearly 70 restaurants around the world. Now reportedly worth more than US$300 million, he started out in a university kitchen before taking on a chef position at Moscow’s Hard Rock Café, and eventually opened his first venture in Moscow, seafood-restaurant Sirena in 1992 – after McDonald’s overlooked his chef application (but more on that later).

As the first seafood restaurant in Moscow, Sirena was an instant hit, and Novikov’s one restaurant soon snowballed into dozens more, though the restaurateur appears to have no interest in slowing down anytime soon. Catching up with the so-called “Blini Baron” at his eponymous Dubai hotspot, we uncover his recipe to success.

The lasting success of a trendy restaurant is a tricky thing to pull off in a dynamic city like London where there’s always a new, hot restaurant stealing the spotlight – to what do you attribute Novikov London’s appeal?
We first need to understand why we became popular in London, which is due to a number of factors: it’s in a perfect location; the actual concept, which is three zones – Asian, Italian and lounge – spread over 18,000 square feet; it has an excellent team; cosy design; and the ability to have retained full control over the quality and detail. Additionally, English critics kind of attacked it, but that ended up benefitting us positively.

How has the concept of Novikov evolved since it first launched in 2012?
The ideology was good from the beginning, so we have just maintained that, rather than alter it. The people who were involved originally – the managers, chefs, directors – they are still the same people there today. We have kept exactly the same concept for kitchen and food, focusing on consistency. But we are constantly looking for something new – in terms of products – to add to the menu. It’s important to stick to our base, our concept and direction, but continue to add something new to spice it up.

Have any new additions proved tremendously popular?
Not one thing in particular, but the beef carpaccio with foie gras really took off; it’s not my favourite, but it’s very popular. Even other restaurants have copied it, so when we see that we know we are moving in the right direction.

You own more than 60 restaurants around the world, many of which are in Moscow – but do you ever worry you might be spreading yourself a bit thin, possibly causing the quality of your restaurants to suffer?
I’ve been scared of this for 20 years, but what to do? If you’re scared then you don’t dare. Of course I’m always worried but I’m always trying to do my best and watching, and retaining control over it all.

And of all of these restaurants, do you have a favourite?
It’s like talking about children – who do you love more? You always love the youngest best until it grows up. There are a few projects open in Moscow that are popular among party and young people – there’s one place called Syrovarnya which has a factory where we produce Italian cheese – it’s very, very popular. It has 100 seats and we do around maybe 600 people a day. I also very much like my steak house and burger shop called “No Fish” [Ryby Net in Russian]. It’s also proven very popular and very successful.

How have your experiences opening the Dubai venue been?
I’m very happy, but I am a perfectionist and I always want to improve, definitely. I have a very picky eye, and find it easy to criticise my own work.

So what improvements are you looking at making at Novikov Dubai now?
I’ll never tell you! There’s always space for improvement and I can see it, but we try to keep that to such a minimum that the guests still view perfection themselves.

What made you want to open a restaurant in Dubai?
First of all, Dubai is one of the places where you have lots of Russian people and lots of English people, who are going to restaurants in Moscow and in London, so they are here and they know the brand, they know how Novikov works. The second reason is the city itself, which is always developing and it’s a beautiful city. It seemed like a good idea to come and be a part of it. And – come on – it’s Dubai. You have to be here.

What makes the Dubai Novikov venue different from the other Novikovs?
We don’t have the Italian area here, because it wouldn’t fit in the space; we wouldn’t be able to have two restaurants function properly in this one space. We’re planning to open a Novikov in Miami, and it will also be only Asian – look for it to launch in November or December this year. Each is different and unique in their own way; here the style and interior is different, and is where the main differences lie. Novikov London is in the financial centre so it’s full for lunch and dinner, whereas here it’s a bit away from that financial scene, and is full mainly for dinner. If we had a little more time to search for the right place, perhaps we would have reconsidered, but this particular place really impressed me. It’s huge, it’s beautiful, it’s inspiring. It’s an easy location with a lot of movement around it.

What plans do you have for Novikov Dubai in the future?
Simply to continuously work on the service and improve, improve, improve.

Do you have any plans for other ventures to open up soon in Dubai or the GCC?
Yes, definitely. I’m always planning. We’re planning around 10 restaurants in the near future [globally]. I’ve been approached in other countries and people are very interested to bring the brand, but I’m very specific to what I’m doing, I pay a lot of attention and I’m not in a hurry. If I don’t have time, I don’t have time, but if it’s meant to be, it will happen.

What inspired you to start your restaurant empire?
I was working as a chef at the beginning so food has always been special to me – and of course, a love for money. Things just happen; it was organic and natural, and that is the best way to start something. Everybody wants to realise and produce their dreams. It’s like comparing myself to a painter: I always want to paint, come up with new concepts. Straightaway, I often enter a place and think: “How to make this a restaurant?”

What destination do you next want to conquer?
Europe and the rest of the world are like the World Cup, but New York City is the Olympics. There’s lots of competition and amazing restaurants. But if you’re successful around the rest of the world, but have not yet entered the New York scene, you haven’t won yet.

What about any upcoming and hip, upmarket destinations, like Montenegro?
Why not? It’s all relative but for me, New York is my goal.

You famously never got a call back from a job interview to cook at McDonald’s – had you gotten that job, where do you think you’d be today?
I don’t think I would have stayed there for too long anyways – maybe unless I became the president! In one of my restaurants in Moscow, a Russian Minister of Commerce and one of the co-owners of McDonalds were sitting there, and I came over and said: “Thank you for not taking me on!” Nobody knows what’s good and what’s bad in life; everything happens for a reason.

Where do you like to travel in your off time?
Italy. I am in love with Italy. But I’ve been all over – even the North Pole. But for a good holiday to relax, it’s Italy – especially Sardinia or Lake Como