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Interviews with Cuisine Historians

Researchers of authentic domestic traditions of culinaria ars, authors of a series of books about "Invented Stories" of Russian cooking, TV presenters, bloggers and simply gastronomic educators - all these are Pavel and Olga Syutkin.

This fall, their bestseller CCCP Cook Book was released in London, and the Russian publishing house AST published a new book, Faces of Russian and Soviet Cuisine.

In an interview with Orloff Magazine, Pavel and Olga Syutkin talk about culinary manifestos, culinary memory and the Vatels of Russian cuisine.

Books that do not just collect recipes under their cover, but explore certain aspects of food culture, have recently attracted particular interest from readers. What do large-scale archaeological journeys into Russian gastronomic history mean to you, as authors?

Pavel Syutkin: Studying our "table" past, we have never considered it in isolation from the general history of the country. The kitchen is as much a part of our culture as fashion, costume, language. In our books, we try not to talk about "what" our ancestors ate, but "why". It is the knowledge of the general historical context of the era that allows us to draw the right conclusions about why our cuisine was exactly like that. Talk about its "pluses" and "minuses" in detail.

Olga Syutkina: Old cookbooks, memoirs, memories of people who lived 300-500 years ago - this is, after all, a kind of time machine. Only now, in order to understand what these people wrote about, you need to immerse yourself in that era. Otherwise, we are trying to judge the life of our compatriots of those years with our today's stereotypes. Life, which today we can not always understand. It is in this that we see our task - to explain the motives, the secret and obvious springs that underlay our kitchen culture of the past centuries.

Recently you published a book "CCCP Cook Book" about Soviet cuisine (products) in the English publishing house "Fuel". What experience was the most valuable in the process of working on the book?

Olga: Unlike our books devoted to earlier periods of Russian history, this work was both easier and more difficult. It is easier because living people survived - witnesses of that era. Veterans who still remembered Mikoyan and created that same Soviet cuisine and food industry. It is more difficult because the big is seen at a distance, and too little time has passed for all the passions and emotions about that era to subside.

Pavel: Let's be frank: the theme of the USSR for today's Russia is extremely ideological. The official discourse dictates that the collapse of the USSR be considered the greatest historical catastrophe of the 20th century. We do not hide our position. There are vivid and unforgettable memories of our youth, which we write about in our book. And there is nostalgia for the USSR and Brezhnev (and even Stalin), for the orders that prevailed in those years. This is what we put aside for lovers of this kind of historical "antiques". And in our works we focus on the cultural component of our kitchen past. Leaving for fans of leaders and "national leaders" their own platform for fantasies and reminiscences. In the end, everyone will be rewarded according to their faith.

But if we talk about the culinary and food industry of those years, then there is a lot of things that can be rejected and, conversely, closely studied. Finding this fine line between ideology and real life is perhaps the most difficult thing in writing our book.

And why do you think some domestic products, in particular, Soviet ones (from herring under a fur coat to doctor's sausage), still cause culture shock in a simple layman in the West? Is it a tradition or a certain way of culinary labeling of "foreign"?

Olga: Yes, indeed, let's say, our jelly is very ambiguously perceived by foreign tourists. Well, so what? Yes, the Russian culinary experience is different from the Western European one. Just like Polish, Chinese or Turkish. I see no reason to draw far-reaching conclusions from this. For example, do you like the so-called "sour fish" - cod marinated almost without salt, which acquires a distinct smell of rot? But this is the same “surströmming”, festivals of fans of which are regularly held as public holidays in the Scandinavian countries.

Pavel: Our (Russian and European) culinary cultures have historically intertwined quite closely. But they cannot match until they are completely identical. It would be foolish to demand that our cuisine completely conform to generally understood standards. After all, all world trade and tourism is based on the fact that oranges grow better in one country, and penguins in another.

For some peoples, the concept of art prevails in the culture of food, for others - a ritual, for others - a way of life. How do you see the attitude of Russians towards their cuisine? And can we talk about the national quintessence of nutrition?

Olga: In fact, the national cuisine is even more complicated than the sides you listed. First, let's just try to understand what it consists of. After all, to say that cuisine is dishes and recipes is the most primitive, upper level of its perception. What else?

First, it must be said that national gastronomic products are often used as ingredients for dishes, preparations for them and seasonings. Shchi with sauerkraut, pea soup with smoked brisket, pies with jam - it is no coincidence that all these dishes have a national flavor (at the same time, they do not differ in any way from their foreign counterparts in terms of the method of preparation).

Secondly, food processing technologies are important. And in Russian cuisine they are really original. The most obvious example is the Russian stove, which allows a dish to simmer for many hours at a relatively low temperature. Here we should also mention pickling cabbage, and urinating apples, and drying marshmallows ...

Third, the type and nature of the food. The predominance of animal fats, cereals, the presence of homogeneous salads and the widespread use of offal - these and dozens of other features together give our original dishes an original character.

And, finally, the customs of serving dishes. All those, sometimes elusive, feast features: sour cream in soups, horseradish for hot smoked fish, boiled potatoes with vegetable oil, herring with onions, and salmon with lemon ...

Pavel: We should not forget about one more circumstance - the variety of tastes within the kitchen itself. This moment is often missed, but in vain. Moreover, the analogy with European cuisine works here in full force. Agree, many of us only relatively recently began to understand that pizza, spaghetti and chianti are not authentic Italian cuisine, but only some food constructions created not so long ago and which are the "face" of this cuisine in the eyes of foreign countries. The authentic cuisine of Italy is a unique conglomeration of culinary habits and dishes of twenty historical regions and one hundred and ten provinces.

Also with Russian cuisine. Apparently, it is time, instead of stubbornly defending its historical identity, to move on to a new, deeper understanding, the realization that a unified Russian cuisine is also partly an artificial construction, generated by the desire to centralize everything and everyone, which developed back in the days of the Russian Empire and lasted until the collapse Soviet Union.

Yes, Russian cuisine is the cuisine of the metropolis, which has absorbed thousands of dishes, habits, and dietary habits of its constituent peoples. She created many unique dishes that are common throughout Russia and allow us to talk about common culinary tastes and passions (from prehistoric pancakes and cabbage soup to relatively “young” Pozharsky cutlets and beef stroganoff). But at the same time, this is a unique phenomenon that combines a lot of local brands, gastronomic and culinary products that are not distributed everywhere, but only in those places where they historically originated. Smolensk ham and Kolomna marshmallow, Moscow bacon and Tula gingerbread, Khoper fried crucian carp and Suzdal pickled cucumbers - this is the indescribable image of real Russian cuisine and the most promising way to revive it, based on supporting the initiative of people, on encouraging local industries, on recreating a unique cultural space of Russian cities, ancient names and culinary preferences. We are convinced that this is how, and not through the search for some other mythical national idea, Russian cuisine will be revived and become a real living heritage of hundreds of generations of our ancestors.

So, Russian cuisine as a national idea. Perhaps we are leaning towards this definition.

The use of the concept of "high Russian cuisine" is legitimate, in your opinion?

Pavel: Certainly. It is a big mistake to think that Russian cuisine is only peasant cabbage soup, pancakes and cereals. The cooking of a wealthy society has been an integral part of it in all ages. Another thing, has she always been exquisite? Can boyar feasts with swans and mountains of fried meat be considered elegant cuisine? Unlikely.

This concept comes to us, rather, by the end of the 18th century, when both public tastes and the culinary “offer” itself change. New products and cooking methods appear, European chefs arrive. And by the 20-30s of the 19th century, this cuisine was established not only as a table of kings and nobles, but simply as a bright direction of Russian gastronomy. It turns into a part of our culture praised by Pushkin.

At the same time, it is important to note that this elegant cuisine is gradually returning to a domestic basis. A lot of talented Russian chefs put a lot of effort into creating this amazing "fusion" of European influence and our traditional menu. The classic once spoke in a satirical vein about this mixture of "French with Nizhny Novgorod". But apart from comical exceptions, this fusion has become a powerful and lively current. Which by the end of the 19th century became the great Russian gastronomy, known far beyond the borders of our country.

Olga: Another thing is that in Soviet times this part of cooking was severely removed from our lives. So decisively that even attempts to revive it for the party elite in the 1970s bring a sad smile today. Indeed, decades of socialism have dealt a huge blow to our fine cuisine. First of all, due to isolation from the whole world - in the form of a lack of exchange of experience in cooking techniques, ignorance of new products, spices, and a lack of basic things. Perhaps only today, almost thirty years after perestroika, we can say that “elegant Russian cuisine” is not the pages of historical novels, but our life today. Anatoly Komm, Vladimir Mukhin, brothers Ivan and Sergey Berezutsky - this is not a complete list of talented people working on this site.

The rhythm of life of modern man is distinguished by extremeness and speed. Is domestic cuisine shaped by conservatism in this regard, or is it also subject to industrial pace?

Pavel: This is a rather serious dilemma of Russian cuisine. The fact is that, with a few exceptions, she has never been adapted to fast food. A leisurely, measured meal is the ideal variant of our cuisine. Naturally, he assumed no less lengthy preparation. After all, baking - one of the main methods of the Russian menu - is clearly not a quick process. Especially in the oven.

That is why it is impossible to transfer the Domostroy menu unchanged to today. Yes, to be honest, you don't have to. Tastes, the rhythm of life, the concept of healthy food have changed. And healthy conservatism should not manifest itself in making the early feudal table the ideal of our current diet. And to “rethink” old dishes in a new way, preserving historical tastes and regional products. But to make everything clearer and closer to modern man. Naturally, in the event that we want to build a harmonious cuisine of today, and not just another tourist restaurant-museum.

Sometimes breaking the habitual culinary order can change the lifestyle of a certain community. Could you give examples of the cardinal influence of gastronomic phenomena on the national culture?

Olga: It is hardly necessary to exaggerate the importance of gastronomy as a factor in historical development. But it shouldn't be underestimated either. You just need to understand that cooking is a product of the general culture of the people, a sharp breakthrough in which becomes a real stimulus for overall progress. For example, did the shaving of beards and the introduction of European dress under Peter the Great influence the national culture? Obviously yes. But, just do not forget that it was under this Russian emperor that the so-called “Chukhonian” butter enters our lives - an analogue of today's butter, which was salted, and indeed, prepared more thoroughly and purely than before. Needless to say, all the haute cuisine that we subsequently adopted in Europe would not have been possible without this basic product. Just like all the St. Petersburg restaurants and secular dinners praised by Pushkin.

Or, for example, potatoes. In addition to purely taste qualities, we should be grateful to him for getting rid of general hunger. Still, the last mass "epidemic" of famine in Russia was the 1840s. That's when they try Russian authorities to introduce this garden crop among the peasants middle lane- remember the "potato riots". Let violence and "over the knee", but implemented. Since then, famine has occurred in the country, but it has not taken on such epic proportions (before the Soviet period, of course).

Pavel: Of the examples closer to us - the introduction of oceanic fish into the mass cuisine of the USSR. In the 1970s, its extraction became a huge help for the socialist economy, which was already “failing” into a shortage of basic food products. Nowhere in the world were such experiments related to the transfer of millions of people to historically uncharacteristic food. People of the older generation, perhaps, remember how wary customers were in stores with "seafood" with unusual names - hake, prystipoma, merow, bluefish, pagrus. But nothing, got used to it. So the customs of culinary culture are quite a flexible phenomenon. And it is hardly worth exaggerating the commitment of the population to certain manifestations of the “national historical heritage”. Especially today, when the TV allows you to "switch" these principles to the opposite in just a couple of days.

Who do you consider Vatel of Russian cuisine?

Pavel: What do people remember about Francois Vatel? Yes, it was the skilful cook of the Prince of Condé. But he went down in history with one of his actions. Taking in Chantilly King Louis XIV, he spends days and nights in the kitchen. And here is the apotheosis - a gala dinner. In the morning, Vatel is horrified to see that the suppliers let him down and did not deliver the fish. “I will not survive this shame, I have the honor and reputation,” he tells his assistant. Then he rises into the room, puts his sword to the door and pierces his heart. A sort of sacrifice on the basis of devotion to the profession.

In general, your question sounded surprisingly timely. At the end of the year, our book “Russian and Soviet Cuisine in Persons” was published. It is about them - those who have dedicated their lives and the fate of our cooking. There are a number of lessons we have learned from this work. Some of them are simple and obvious. To understand others, it was necessary to go through a considerable path of research, meetings and conversations with dozens of participants in the events described or their descendants.

The first and main feeling that we experienced was the closeness of history. Yes, yes, despite the past years and centuries, all this is near. Time after time, we stumbled upon long-standing details and events that have a direct response in our today's reality. We walk along the Moscow streets and run into an old house where the Hermitage restaurant was located. The same place where the famous Olivier salad was invented 150 years ago. We take “Vologda” oil from the shelf and remember Nikolai Vereshchagin and Anastas Mikoyan. Those thanks to whom this product became known around the world. And when we hear another statement from the chief sanitary doctor on TV, we involuntarily think that one of those who laid the foundation for this control was Mikhail Ignatiev.

But history is close not only to these elusive details. Those who made it are still alive. Many of the veterans we encountered while working on this book remember both Anastas Mikoyan and Nikolai Kovalev. Relatives of Pelageya Alexandrova-Ignatieva carefully keep old yellowed photographs. And the descendants of the Tolstoys gratefully remember their great-grandmother, who wrote the family "Cookbook". This is the direct memory of generations. And while it is passed from mother to daughter, from teacher to student, our culture and its traditions are still alive.

But these memories are not always light and sunny. We are surprised at how difficult the fate of our heroes was at times. What difficulties did they have to endure, what to overcome. And then suddenly we understand the validity of the phrase of the Soviet poet: “Walk not on the edge, but on the main road - and meet everyone who is close and dear to you!” And then it becomes obvious that the hungry serf childhood of Nikolai Kostomarov and Mikhail Ignatiev was only the beginning of a brilliant career of scientists. And the hardships experienced by Gerasim Stepanov and Vladimir Filimonov on their life path became only a consequence of this very principle - “walk the main road”.

And here, probably, it would be very appropriate to say one simple thing, of the justice of which we ourselves are convinced. Dozens, hundreds of talented people created this cuisine, not obeying fashion trends. They did not work for money and fame, which they clearly did not receive in due measure. Not in search of a position at the royal court or in the party nomenclature. Each of them just did his job - the way he understood it. To the best of their talents and beliefs. Not looking back at stupid criticism and envy of mediocrity. For some of them, life has become a small feat, for someone - just an honest and difficult road. But it doesn't make it any less important, does it?

Pavel and Olga Syutkin / photo kuhnyatv.ru

Food and genetic memory is a separate chapter of the country's historical past and present. Do you plan to highlight the unknown pages of the culinary culture of the Russian emigration?

Olga: Naturally. This is probably impossible for an unbiased researcher. Moreover, we are faced with these examples at every step. Here, let's say, salad Olivier. He is also "Russian salad" - as they call it in many countries of the world. And here is a real life example, told by our friend from France. At their work, it is customary for employees to treat colleagues with their national dishes from time to time. And then one day a woman who came from Iran brings her national dish to work - ... Olivier salad! Only long historical "excavations" allowed us to assume that it was brought to Iran at the end of the 19th century by expeditions of Russian Cossacks. Since then, it has taken root there and has become a local folk dish.

Pavel: Or take Kiev cutlets. Thanks to Pokhlebkin, we were sure that they arose in Kyiv after the Great Patriotic War. It wasn't there. Soviet history is very one-sided. Not in lesser degree it refers to the history of culinary. She seemed to pretend that no world around simply did not exist. Life, it turns out, is richer than Soviet stereotypes. And Kiev cutlets lived quietly outside the USSR even when they were forgotten in their homeland. The earliest references to Chicken Kiev, for example, can be found in American newspapers from 1937. It mentions a certain Colonel Yashchenko, the owner of the Yar restaurant in Chicago, created based on the famous pre-revolutionary Moscow restaurant. And in the archive of The New York Times for 1946, I found an interview with the Ukrainian chef of the New York restaurant Casino Russe Sidorenko, in which he tells how to cook those same Kiev cutlets.

While collecting and mapping gastronomic practices and images, did you think about your status - ethnographers, collectors or educators?

You list only the different aspects of what we do. We are far from considering our work as deeply academic. Although our books are distinguished by much greater attention to the scientific apparatus and real sources than many studies published over the past decades (say, by the same William Pokhlebkin). But still, we see our audience much wider. These are not narrow specialists who study the life of the peoples of Russia. And the widest range of readers interested in the past, its culture and everyday life. It is no coincidence that our books are positioned as "non-fiction" - popular science literature. And this role has a very important function. Being at the intersection of different sciences, it is designed to awaken interest in national history generate discussion and controversy. This is where we see our task. The term "enlighteners", in the same understanding of the XVIII century, is very close to us. Only unlike those Russian enlighteners - Novikov, Levshin, Bolotov - we strive to show not the achievements of the present century. But to give an unbiased picture of our past, utterly littered with all sorts of historical myths and ideological stereotypes.

text: Artem Kalnin

I would like to thank everyone who responded to the post!
The topic of literary plagiarism raised by Olga and Pavel Syutkin did not leave many indifferent. As evidenced by the fact that the post was reprinted 68 LJ users, who collectively have 141 thousand Learn friends.

Different opinions were expressed during the discussion. But the general alignment of judgments, approximately, coincides with the range of opinions

Who, in the end, will turn out to be right, we will only know when we finally hear the answer from the Syutkin writers themselves. For being strict adherents of observance" rules of good manners and decency ", of course, they will not ignore the desire of more than one hundred and forty thousand LiveJournal users to know the truth, no matter how bitter it may be.

In case of need, I will gladly present Syutkin with a page in my journal for this.

Once again, many thanks to all!

Sincerely, iz-za-pechki

• September 27th, 2013 09:21 am

Miracles with the texts of the Syutkins continue to be created further. In response to my previous post, a strange text appeared on Pavel Syutkin's website signed by Pavel under a strange heading"They scared the hedgehog with a naked ... quote" . This "frightened hedgehog" on behalf of Pavel reports that the authors of all the unquoted quotes I have cited are allegedly mentioned in the bibliographic list of the Syutkins' book, and therefore are not written off.

At the same time, scans of this list are given, from which it follows that the statement of the "frightened hedgehog" is completely untrue, because the list does not contain the names of such authors as professors I. Chepurnoy, Yu.Goncharov, L. Khoroshkevich, Yu.Eskin, A.Yurganov, S. Perevezentsev, Ph.D. S. Bunina, journalists V. Abarinov and O.Bulanova, as well as anonymous authors of sites Torzhok.Info, Yandex Encyclopedia and Khronos.Ru, like the books of the academician M. Tikhomirova "Beginnings of book printing in Russia"and the writer P. Melnikov-Pechersky "The number of schismatics". I'm not talking about the fact that the rules of writer's ethics require not only to indicate the books of cited authors in a list at the end of the book, but to mark borrowed quotations with quotation marks and give a link to the year of publication and the page from which the quotation was taken.

What's happening? Who writes on behalf of Pavel Syutkin? After all, he himself cannot write such an obvious lie, knowing that it is easily detected? It becomes clear that it's not a computer virus, not "frightened crooks" and not "typing monkeys". It turns out that the desired intruder is a certain "Scared Hedgehog", writing on behalf of the Syutkins. Who is this rascal? And why are Olga and Pavel Syutkin silent, allowing some "hedgehog" to shamelessly lie on their behalf?

• September 26th, 2013, 11:01 am

This fashion has not bypassed a narrow circle of culinary writers, among whom the prominent connoisseurs of Russian cuisine - Olga and Pavel Syutkins. In two of his books, LJ-blog, on the culinary site of Elena Chekalova, in numerous interviews with newspapers, magazines, radio and television, they blame William Vasilyevich with enviable constancy Pokhlebkin for his .

And although the Syutkins themselves do not use the term “plagiarism” in their, as they themselves write, “investigations”, preferring to use the word “borrowing”, which is similar in meaning, nevertheless, taking into account that the “Literary Encyclopedia” believes, we are talking about in this, if not in the legal, then at least in the ethical sense of the word, which is clearly seen in the rhetorical question with which the Syutkins repeatedly address the readership: “ Why these "investigations"? We are by no means going to accuse William Vasilyevich of some kind of compilation. Even if the citations show a fairly exact match, it can be assumed that both researchers "went along parallel paths." But, these are just the rules of “good manners”, couldn’t they tell Pokhlebkin that decency requires pointing out similar and previous works of his colleague? ”.

Put in an open form, this question encourages readers to enter into a public discussion about Pokhlebkin's compliance with the rules of scientific ethics in terms of appropriating other people's thoughts and words. Which, in my opinion, in itself can turn out to be a very good deed, because such a discussion allows not only the whole world to deal with the actual presence or absence of repeated borrowings ” in the recognized classic of the history of Russian cuisine, but also in the books of other culinary writers, as well as to wonder whether any coincidence of thoughts and words has signs of plagiarism.

Therefore, being, though biased, but a regular reader of the Syutkins, I decided to accept their invitation to participate in the discussion they started. Well, as an example, in order not to go far, I took their own book " Uninvented history of Russian cuisine", where quite a few phrases, paragraphs and even whole pages are found that literally coincide with the texts of other authors. But there can be no plagiarism among plagiarism fighters, right? Accordingly, the numerous coincidences I found should have some other explanation, and not just shameful cheating.

These other explanations will be my story, which I decided, following the example of the same Syutkins, to put in the form of "questions to the audience", so that the reader can draw conclusions himself, and at the same time help the Syutkins figure out which cases " the rules of good manners and decency require you to refer to similar and previous works of colleagues "and which ones don't.

To whom we decided to entrust the gastronomic week in LiveJournal and the duty on the rubric « Food » ? There was no doubt - Pavel and Olga Syutkin, the nominees for the Neforum Awards 2017, are not only great experts on the past and present of Russian cuisine. Their near-detective study of the Soviet man's refrigerator is described in the best-selling book The True Story of Soviet Cuisine, and their joint blog fills in the gaps in our knowledge of a brief history of Russian cutlets, the delicacy of turnip dishes, and the technology of growing vegetarian meat. And the question of whether Russian cuisine was forgotten under the USSR, still torments us.

Olga and Pavel Syutkin

Before the start of the shift, we asked Pavel and Olga to tell us a little about themselves and asked our most burning questions. You can ask your own in the comments to the first duty post of the week.

You are connoisseurs of Russian cuisine, let's start with a question that has been tormenting our compatriots for quite a long time: dumplings and borscht - can we consider them our dishes? And what dish, in your opinion, is the hallmark of Russian cuisine?

Of course we can. Both dishes are examples of a successful synthesis of our traditions and borrowed experience. By the way, this is also the answer to the eternal dispute of the Slavs: whose borscht? - General. Borscht is clearly under a thousand years old, or even more.

Not a single nation that claims to be its "primogeniture" then existed - neither Russians, nor Ukrainians, nor Poles, nor the Baltic states, nor Belarusians.

At the same time, each of these nations has developed its own wonderful versions of borscht over time. And Moscow borscht is the same achievement of national culture as Poltava and Lithuanian borscht.

How many years should a dish be in the kitchen to become national? Ask the Italians: "Pasta al pomodoro is your specialty?". Although tomatoes appeared in the mass cuisine of the Apennine Peninsula, it is good if 250 years ago. And in our country, the zealots of "pokonnosti" all wrinkle from potatoes - not ours, they say, she.

I would not look for the “calling card” of Russian cuisine in the Middle Ages. Yes, there are dishes suitable for this - gingerbread, kalach, sauerkraut, botvinya, telnoe.

But it is no coincidence that today many scientists attribute the phenomenon of "national cuisine" more to the bourgeois culture of modern times.

This is logical. Prior to this, the cuisine (including ours) is not very rich. And most importantly, this cuisine is not pleasure, but saturation. But the 19th century already produces a lot of wonderful, and most importantly, widely applicable dishes today - beef stroganoff, Guryev porridge, fire cutlets, hodgepodge ...

You are an example of a happy family and a successful LJ blog. Tell us a little about your kitchen - what's it like to have one blog for two? Who chooses the topics? Who writes? Do you sometimes criticize each other? What is the hardest thing about co-creation?

Joint creativity arose with us more than 25 years ago - this is our family. But the first joint book was published in 2011. "Uninvented history of Russian cuisine" - that's what it was called. Now there are eight such books. But from the very beginning, we try to follow this standard - not to "make up" a story, but to strictly follow documents and sources. A lot of people like it, because people see that the history of the kitchen can be treated like science, and not like tales and anecdotes. Others are outraged that our authentic historical cuisine is not as abundant, spiritual and ancient as they would like to see.

Working together is both easy and difficult for us. We must have gotten used to each other for a long time.

That is why talking in raised tones about cabbage soup with headiness (there was, there was such a thing) is already in the past.

And the division of responsibilities is simple and logical. I, as a candidate of historical sciences, am engaged in working with sources, substantiating one or another point of view. Olga, as a practicing culinary specialist, who knows our ancient cuisine very well - the recipe component, the search for lost tastes and their reproduction for today's person.

But topics are easy to choose. First, we always have a book in the works. Here, for example, we recently finished another one about the history of Suzdal cuisine. "A Thousand Years at the Russian Table", apparently, that's how it will be called. It is clear that many blog posts over the past year reflected our meetings, discoveries, trips to this city. Later they turned into the corresponding chapters of the book.

In addition, Olga and I actively travel around the country and the world. The Kola Peninsula, Azov, Udmurtia, China, Central Asia, Bulgaria, Italy, France - where our culinary travels have gone in recent years. Many of their episodes are also pages of our blog.

In it you can often find just curious "things" from the past. For a couple of years, I led the Culinary Mystery column, where readers were asked to puzzle over forgotten items, dishes, and customs of our cuisine.

In general, we also consider the blog as a certain kind of way to discuss topical issues.

And one more our conclusion regarding the topics. Don't be afraid to go against public opinion. After all, most often this opinion was formed at the expense of the laziest and incurious people. Who, having seen some thought somewhere on TV or in a newspaper, are immediately ready to agree with it. Do not be afraid to make the topics of posts related to criticism of authorities. Just this criticism should be objective and justified. Here is an example from our practice. How many "shouts" there were a few years ago about the fact that we reproached V. Pokhlebkin for being biased and distorting the facts. How many angry words were said about how insignificant Syutkins can criticize the great Pokhlebkin. And now what? Everything fell into place.

And a couple of years after the publication of our works, the opinion that Pokhlebkin is a very controversial author in terms of reliability has become generally accepted.

And our works are cited as sources in Wikipedia (including English), leading Russian and foreign media, introduced into scientific circulation. There is only one conclusion - do not be shy in choosing a topic if you are sure that you are right.

- Why do you think the topic of food has become so popular, and chefs suddenly turned almost into rock stars?

This is a natural desire, reflecting attention to the inner world of a person. In Europe and America, the popularity of culinary magazines, TV shows, and then blogs has been growing since the 1960s. For obvious reasons, under the USSR, this wave passed us by. It is amazing to remember, but under socialism we did not have a single culinary program on TV.

Today, cooking is one of the most powerful platforms for the exchange of opinions, creativity, and disputes. Sometimes I'm even ironic, saying "one of the last sites." Its popularity is akin to football. As you know, everyone understands it. So the topic of "delicious food" is close to everyone. Another thing is that approaches and assessments here can be very different.

And as for the chefs… You just have to know how exhausting, exhausting their work can be. It is very difficult to find a place for creativity behind the daily routine. And if someone succeeds, you can only take your hat off to his success. God grant that every rock star worked as hard as they did.

- Tell us about the loudest gastronomic event in Russia in recent years.

This is not so much a one-time event. But rather, a process that began with the well-known events of 2014. This is a turn of public opinion towards domestic cuisine. But this process is very ambiguous. We, as people involved in the history of Russian cuisine, on the one hand, are very pleased to see how our old words become the "slogan of the moment."

Read how speakers and the media almost verbatim repeat passages from our publications three to five years ago. The fact that our cooking is a huge part of the national culture.

On the other hand, the process inevitably generates "empty foam". The chatter of deputies, the window dressing of officials - the consequence of this is "faiklor". Traditions invented out of the blue, reasons for culinary holidays with the distribution of pancakes on a shovel and the preparation of five tons of porridge, sucked from the finger. The true history of our cuisine - alive, full of victories and tragedies - is being replaced by a soulless lubok. But the lubok is "highly patriotic" and "spiritual", allowing one to compose a very convenient history of the country. Unlike what we do, the story is "made up" and fabulous.

- Which Russian chefs do you follow? What local restaurants do you like?

Recently, we have been observing a new trend with a smile - a sharp increase in the number of "great Russian chefs". The term “great” always makes me smile when applied to a living character. That is, I understand that, say, Pelevin or Sorokin, many can call "great". But I can't imagine any of them taking it seriously. Well, like, "Yes, I'm great, what can you do?".

In culinary matters, everything is different.

"Great" chefs and "titans" of Russian cuisine have recently been breeding like rabbits. And apparently, these characters themselves are genuinely enjoying these characteristics.

But seriously, I know really great Russian chefs - Belyaev, Filin, Komm, Mukhin, Berezutsky.

As for our attention, we follow with interest both experienced chefs Maxim Tarusin, Rustam Tangirov, and their young colleagues - Maxim Rybakov, Alexander Volkov-Medvedev. It seems to me that they very subtly capture the main trend of our cuisine - to use traditional flavors and products, but to make modern bright dishes out of them.

- Will Russia be able to set gastronomic trends at the international level?

We need to deal with ourselves first. Are we striving for international recognition at all? Or is Russia above this and the opinion of some [the usual offensive terms go on] Europeans and Americans is indifferent to us? Or is it indifferent in politics, but very important in terms of cuisine? “So first of all, let’s just not be disingenuous.

In essence, the country has been looking for the ideal of its future in the past in recent years. “Domostroevsky” order, “autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality”, reverence for paternal habits… But why are we surprised that as a result of this, the image of Russia abroad becomes a bear with a balalaika, pancakes and vodka? This, after all, is exactly what we ourselves “aspire” to!

The popularity of our cuisine abroad is a moot point. Yes, queues for pancakes and pies line up at Russian cultural festivals. Yes, there are examples of successful concepts working abroad - from Teremok in New York to MariVanna in London. But so far these are happy exceptions.

A typical image of a Russian restaurant abroad is the Soviet cuisine of the 1970s with Russian salad, jelly, chicken Kiev, saltwort and honey cake.

And, often in a very sad performance. It is not surprising that these establishments become mainly a haven for emigrants who associate their best memories with Soviet youth.

On the other hand, many international culinary competitions in recent years have put forward our young chefs to the first places. But they don’t win there with “Domostroevsky” porridges, cabbage soup and kurniks. And with a bright and talented imagination, combining tradition with novelty. Here, in my opinion, lies the recipe for our success.

- What did you cook for the New Year at home? Who in your family usually stands at the stove?

We are often asked: “Do you cook only Russian cuisine for yourself?”. There's nothing funnier than hearing that. We love to cook delicious food, and it doesn't matter what it will be - Russian, Ukrainian, Italian or French. For many years we traveled to Austria - for work, recreation, skiing. This Austrian-Bavarian cuisine has become almost native to us. Goulash soup, strudel, Sacher cake are frequent guests on our table. Many years ago, they discovered the Italian "outback" - Tuscany, Liguria, Lombardy. And they were captivated by it. From a culinary trip to Provence, we had truffle oil in our closet for a long time, and an apron from Paul Bocuse's restaurant in Lyon hangs on a hook.

New Year's hodgepodge really brings back to life

As for the New Year, along with the usual Olivier (which is done differently each time, for example, with salmon), Olga and her daughter Vasilisa cooked duck with cranberry, orange, rum, allspice and cinnamon sauce. For dessert - stollen soaked in liquor. And on the morning of January 1 - a traditional reviving fish hodgepodge with capers and olives.

Should Russian people give up, say, mayonnaise and semolina? Why is our cuisine so often criticized as unhealthy?

Today, Russian cuisine is in a difficult situation. There are at least two serious questions here. The first is the perception of Russian cuisine by public opinion. Ask the first person you meet what Russian cuisine is. And get the answer: cereals, cabbage soup, pancakes, fatty meat, a lot of calories, etc.

You may not agree with this. But such is the mass opinion about our cooking. Trying to fight it is very important. But to ignore this fact, to pretend that the perception of Russian cuisine by the people is not like that, is stupid. And above all, for the prospects of the very Russian cuisine.

However, there is another problem. And it is connected just not with external circumstances. Let's fast forward 200 years. Beginning of the 19th century.

The Russian nobility prefers "widow Clicquot", oysters and "Strasbourg pies". But, Russian cuisine at times really “slows down”, lags behind historical development.

And at the beginning of the XIX it became obvious. People who had the opportunity to compare, get acquainted with foreign cuisine, made their choice. Another thing is that half a century has passed, and through the efforts of Russian chefs, our gastronomy has reached the world level.

By the way, history repeats itself, and the same thing happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. When the decaying Soviet cuisine got so tired of most of our fellow citizens that they rushed to all these waves of French, Italian, Japanese dishes that overwhelmed us.

So they criticize our cuisine, sometimes, and on business. But our job is to turn it into a truly modern gastronomy. Which, without abandoning the traditions and tastes of the past, will correspond to today's concepts in tasty and healthy food.

- What else inspires you besides food?

The last two years - a grandson. Which, we hope, will receive a strong culinary hardening in the family. The little man is a serious test for us. But also great joy.

The editors of LJ are looking forward to the start of the duty of Pavel and Olga and wish them great success!

Alas. I didn't want it, but I have to. Once again, write a post about Pavel Syutkin and Olga Syutkina. About this family couple of cute liars, charming mediocrity and envious people who have already tired the entire culinary community with their libels and intrigues.

Let me get straight to the point, without further preamble. Because the case began to spin so interesting that what kind of forewords are there ...

So, first of all.

Pavel Syutkin and his dearest wife want to recover money from me through the courts for the “material damage” allegedly caused to them by my humble person.

What exactly is the damage? And here's what.

I laughed at the Syutkins. I gave in my posts a link to a brilliant exposure of their "creativity" made by a third party - which leaves no stone unturned in their "historical" activities. He gave a link to the analysis of their little books, consisting of a good part of borrowings from other authors - without links and quotes. For those of you who haven't read this yet, check it out here:

What do you think happened next? And then, according to the Syutkins, they began to suffer terrible material losses. The statement of claim mentions the terminated contract between this enterprising family and a certain farmer Klimov. Who is Klimov? And here he is, just yesterday he distinguished himself again:

Klimov and the Syutkins have been friends for a long time, this is known to everyone who is somehow familiar with them.

And suddenly, imagine - such a surprise - the termination of some serious contract (between the farmer and the "historians", yeah).

How could this happen?

There are two versions. One is based on the Syutkin version. Farmer Klimov, accidentally reading my post, indignantly broke off all relations, as an honest person, not wanting further cooperation with such persons.

The second is a little different. And it implies some kind of agreement, with the subsequent division of dividends ...

But no, you and I have not yet lost faith in humanity, and we will never believe in such a terrible collusion between the most honest people! Although they say that the Syutkins and Klimov are still very friendly, despite ...

Do you know how much the Syutkins have lost from my revelations and how much they are now demanding from me through the court? Almost three million rubles. Klimov and his comrades did not give them just such an amount, recklessly believing in what I wrote about the Syutkins.

Dear farmer Klimov, I am addressing you personally! Touched, so to speak, by trust! It's no joke to break up with old friends and throw them for money because of the mention of these losers in a couple of my publications. Cheer up, Klimov! I'll send you a bowl of homemade lentil stew if I get a chance.

But that is not all.

In the end - everyone earns his living than he can. For example, I work a lot - in different cities of Russia. I am trying to revive and increase Russian cuisine (the same Russian cuisine that the Syutkins themselves declare insignificant and unnecessary). And someone - a fraudulent path was chosen, is also not new.

This is what surprised me more.

The Syutkins, having decided to remove me from the site, turned to the old and reliable method.

They track all the places on the map where I appear and immediately write (you will not believe) political denunciations about me.

They provide links to the websites of the administration of the Primorsky Territory, the Tver Region, TV channels etc. about my political unreliability. Confidently reporting my political views, not at all caring about confirming my denunciations with at least some evidence.

God be with them, with evidence.

Just think! In our time. In order to shut up the opponent - a denunciation is sent to his place of work - they say, such and such, invited to your territory, is a supporter of political ideas, with which our current government is not on the way. And this is not about a political strategist, but about a chef, just something ...

Someone asked about those who wrote thousands of denunciations in the thirties? Yes, such syutkins wrote them. Then - in order to knock out a position for himself, get someone else's apartment, or just out of revenge. And now the Syutkins write about my unreliability for the sake of appearing on the TV screen, it makes all the difference. And these are the most liberal people, eternal visitors to democratic rallies - the flesh of the flesh of the creative class, haters of all kinds of dictatorship.

Of course, I cannot be sure that the world court will understand everything thoroughly. It is possible that, at his decision, I will have to throw some money to this family for another plastic surgery. And even host a formal post with some ritual words.

But you can pay for everything, including the pleasure of publicly calling liars and scammers liars and scammers.

Connoisseurs of Russian cuisine (Olga and Pavel have published books about its past and present), TV presenters and authors of the LiveJournal blog beloved by many.

Be sure to watch the full video of the meeting, you will find many discoveries and new knowledge!

The evening opened with a themed buffet.. The guests were treated to pies, as well as delicious mead and kvass from the partner of the meeting - company "Ochakovo". Let's share the impression of the guest of the meeting, the doctor, Inga arctic-inga.ru :

Useful prevention of colds - mead with cranberries, warming with apple-ginger-cinnamon, and traditional. I liked this sunny amber drink. Pleasant on the palate, sweet, as it should be mead and slightly sour.

The story of Olga and Pavel turned out to be long and very interesting. Here we present only a small part of what was discussed at the meeting, and we recommend that you watch the full version in the video.

The history of Russian cuisine is full of fairy tales. Specialists, including Pavel and Olga, work with archives to dispel myths. The story about our kitchen began from the most ancient past. It is important to understand when cooking is born as a separate part of the culture. Pavel said that it arose many thousands of years ago from the attempts of people to change the natural natural taste of food.

The listeners learned both about the origin of specific dishes of Russian cuisine and about the full history of its development. Russian cuisine has been known to us since the 9th-11th centuries, but only because the first written sources appeared then. Of course, the development of general cooking began much earlier.

The cuisine, unfortunately, was "not important" for chroniclers, unlike historical events, to write about it separately. Therefore, historians collect bit by bit references to the kitchen in historical documents. It is interesting that archeology studies, among other things, questions of the history of cuisine.

Pavel paid special attention to the design of the Russian stove. The first kilns date back to the 6th-9th centuries, but these are simple hearths and round clay structures. Until the 13th and even until the 17th century, they were not the same as they are drawn in fairy tales. Ilya Muromets could not lie on such a stove. Furnaces acquired their familiar form in Peter's time.

The most important monument to the history of Russian cuisine is Domostroy, published in the 1550s. There is no exact date of its publication, because the first Russian printed books were published without indicating the year. This is a work that gives a more or less complete look at the old Russian cuisine. This is not a cookbook, but a guide on how to invite guests, run a household, and buy food.

It is important to understand that the books show the kitchen of the boyars or wealthy people, and we don’t know for sure what the simplest kitchen was. In 1610-13, the "Painting of the Tsar's Meals" was published. Russian authors showed no interest in cuisine, and the book was created for a Polish prince claiming the Russian throne.

Another significant fact of the history of Russian cuisine. Even "strong masters" baked bread with quinoa in order to "not relax", since difficult times could always arise.

Similar dishes are found in all cuisines of the world. An important question is connected with this, to which there is no exact answer - how many centuries a dish must last in the kitchen in order to be considered national. Pavel Syutkin expressed the opinion that if the product has been included in various dishes of the cuisine familiar to us for centuries and is popular with the population of the country, then it can be considered "our own".

In the history of cuisine, foreign and Russian, much depended on the rulers. For example, Catherine de Medici brought Italian chefs to Paris, which laid the foundation for French cuisine.

Pavel asked the audience a question: "What is the national Russian cuisine?" Answers were given: buckwheat, pickled mushrooms, jams and pickles, pancakes, as well as the option "to mix everything that is." It is important to understand that the cuisine consists not only of products, but also of the traditions of the feast and many other customs.

Olga Syutkina said that food consumption used to be very reasonable, often leftovers from previous dishes were used. For example, they prepared a "hangover" soup in brine, vinegar in those days was only beer.

Not all dishes can be reproduced correctly today. For example, buckwheat (“red”) pancakes used to be made from green buckwheat, but now buckwheat is being processed.

An interesting fact: kalachi was the first street food, the first fast food in our kitchen. This is where the expression "to reach the handle" comes from. Kalachi were baked with a handle, you had to hold on to it while eating and then throw it away. If a person was so hungry that he ate a pen, they said that he reached the pen. It is also curious that the names of the dishes levashnik and lavash are the same root.

What general conclusion can be drawn? The kitchen is always "edited" to modernity and that's fine. Throughout its long history, our kitchen has experienced ups, downs, tragedies and achievements. At all times, except for the Soviet period, it was closely connected with the rest of the world, took in dishes and technologies.

At the end of the lecture, the audience could ask questions and get comprehensive answers.

The listeners were interested, for example, what to send to foreign friends, like a real Russian? There are many options: caviar, marshmallow, gingerbread, etc. Should dumplings be considered a national Russian dish? Dumplings originated simultaneously among many peoples. Russian version of dumplings: kundyums, kundyubki, stuffed with cabbage or mushrooms, fish. First they are cooked like dumplings, then they are baked, poured with any broth and cooked in a pot. There were many questions and they were all interesting.

Olga and Pavel's book was presented as a gift to the author of the best question - another industry specialist, gastronomic journalist, blogger and culinary critic Anatoly Gendin anatoly_gendin

Some photos of the guests of the meeting - Vlad shchukin-vlad.ru

Daria daryadarya

Maxim novikovski

Traditional group photo at the end of the evening. Of course, these are not all the participants of the meeting - we are grateful to those who stayed until the end.

We hope that you spent a pleasant and informative evening in the company of friends and like-minded people. Thank you for being with us! We are waiting for you again!

Thank you for the photos for the final post Ingu