Currently the food industry of the region is represented with more than 8,000 generally accessible public catering enterprises. The average provision index is 70 seats per 1,000 residents of the territory.

Gastronomic traditions of Kuban have been largely formed under the influence of natural and climatic conditions. The proximity of the sea, warm and mild climate and favourable conditions for husbandry have determined gastronomic specificities of the region. The Kuban cuisine is notable for loads of greens, fresh vegetables and fruits, a variety of meat and fish dishes, extensive use of fragrant herbs and sauces.

In the summer season, there are fresh eggplants, sweet ‘pink’ tomatoes and all kinds of greens on every table, no matter at home and in the restaurant. Vegetables can be served to the table both as independent dishes and as components of snacks and salads. Poultry and meat are cooked in many ways: they can be grilled, baked in the oven, stewed or boiled.

Summer home-made canned fruits and vegetables that are previously pickled and salted (‘zakrutki’) are incredibly popular in Kuban. Chief cooks of many restaurants have caught the useful habit from Kuban housewives to treat their guests with jams and compotes cooked as per family recipes.

The Kuban feast is long, generous, abundant, full of songs and heart-to-heart talks. Traditional dishes of the Kuban cuisine are the Kuban borsch (red-beet soup), Black Sea fish, dumplings (vareniki) with various fillings, meat cooked in different variants, and snacks made of eggplants which are affectionately called ‘sinenkiye’ (‘blue vegetables’).

Unlike the Ukrainian borsch, the Kuban one is not cooked with beetroot (which is called ‘vinegret beetroot’ in the region), but with candy-striped beetroot. That’s why a ‘correct’ Kuban borsch must be of a bright orange colour. The Kuban borsch is served with sour cream, finely chopped greens and fresh bread, and often with grated garlic.

A traditional dish of the Cossack cuisine is dumplings (vareniki). The paste for real Kuban dumplings has always been made of the finest flour and ice water. A variety of fillings for dumplings boggles the imagination: quark, potatoes with mushrooms, and soft sorts of cheese. But the most popular dish in Kuban is dumplings with pulpy berries – cherries or strawberries. The best way to serve dumplings is with honey or sugar syrup.

Eggplants are cooked in the most different combinations in Kuban: they can be fried, stewed or pickled. However, the most popular option is eggplants fried with tomatoes, onions and garlic, as well as ‘rolls’ – a snack from folded pieces of eggplants filled with nuts, cheese or mushrooms. In the summer, these dishes are included in menus of restaurants and cafes in all places.

Kuban wines are worth special notice. The Krasnodar Region is the region where winemaking was born more than two thousand years ago. There are several centres of traditional viticulture in the region located along the coast of the Black Sea. The most popular of them are the Kuban-Vino Winery, wineries of the Fanagoria settlement, Gai-Kodzor Winery, the Abrau-Durso Center of Wine Tourism, the Lefkadia Winery, the Myskhako Winery, the Divnomorskoye Estate Winery. All kinds of wines and cognacs can be tried in the Krasnodar Region.

The Krasnodar Region has become one of the pilot regions taking part in Gastronomic Map of Russia, a project of the Federal Agency for Tourism. In 2017, the expedition of the federal project visited the Krasnodar Region, and based on the results a unique photo bank of ethnogastronomic tourism sites of the Krasnodar Region was created, as well as an interactive guide. The interactive guide across ethnogastronomic tourism sites includes information on 24 sites from 7 districts of the territory (Anapa, Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Korenovsky, Seversky and Temryuksky Districts). It is available on the official website of the Ministry.