Carte De Gatit UNESCO

Metamorphoses VII

Our Common History is

DELICIOUS!

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Metamorphoses VII

Our Common History is

DELICIOUS!

Project coordinator Metamorphoses:

Daniela Popescu

Editorial team:

Anca Maria Pricop, Anca Dumitrescu,

Adeline Popescu, Daniela Moia

Photography: George Dumitriu

Graphics & dtp: Nina May

Concept: SC Sfera Albastra SRL

Printed in Romania

CIP

Contents

Introduction by the Director General of UNESCO...... 7

The Metamorphoses.................................................. 8

European culinary identity. Conclusions of the Metamorphosis

brainstorming............................................9

Bread, our common heritage................................... 10

Armenia.....................................................................12

Belarus.................................................................... 14

Bulgaria................................................................... 16

Cyprus..................................................................... 18

France..................................................................... 20

Greece..................................................................... 22

Italy.......................................................................... 24

Moldova................................................................... 26

Poland..................................................................... 28

Portugal................................................................... 30

Romania.................................................................. 32

Russia..................................................................... 34

Serbia...................................................................... 36

Turkey...................................................................... 38

Ukraine.................................................................... 40

European gastronomy as reflected in painting......... 42

The literary gastronomical imaginary or about belletristic

feasts............................................................... 42

Metamorphoses step by step................................... 47

Interviews................................................................ 49

© CNR UNESCO 2015 Bucharest, Romania

http://youthandmuseums.org/alumnus/en/

https://www.facebook.com/AlumnusClubPentruUnesco

ISBN 978-606-92520-5-5

Preface

Heritage protection is one of the UNESCO's

main mandates. The protection of the cultural

heritage of peoples and its valorisation contribute

to avoiding conflicts because of ignorance

of each other’s ways and lives has been a

common cause, throughout the history of mankind,

of that suspicion and mistrust between

the peoples of the world through which their

differences have all too often broken into war

(as stated in the Preamble of our Constitution).

If UNESCO has been a pioneer in safeguarding

and preserving the monumental heritage, the

Organization was also among the first ones

to draw attention to the intangible heritage of

humanity. This heritage, skills and traditions,

transmitted from generation to generation, is

one of the main characteristics of the identity of

women and men of each culture.

I welcome the initiative of the Romanian

Commission for UNESCO to support from the

beginning the Metamorphoses Programme –

implemented by Alumnus Club for UNESCO

- which propose to young Europeans to define

the identity of their continent. This programme

was born with the Organization’s support and

continues to benefit from this support, as well

as from the involvement of representatives of

civil society in several European states.

Every nation is proud of its culinary traditions,

but from region to region, one can recognize

common characteristics in spite of specific

differences. Let us focus on what we have in

common, while respecting and protecting our

specificities.

I congratulate the young Europeans who undertook

the task of defining the common features

of the gastronomy of their continent being inspired

by the traditions of their own countries.

Irina Bokova

Director-General of UNESCO

7

The Metamorphoses

The Metamorphoses project is a good

illustration of the collaboration between the civil

society and UNESCO. The Romanian National

Commission for UNESCO has supported,

from the beginning, this project initiated by

Alumnus Club. The project encourages young

Europeans to define the concept of European

identity. UNESCO financially supported three of

the seven sessions.

The first session of the Metamorphoses project

was organized in 2009 at Sinaia (Romania).

On this occasion, young people tried to define

European identity and imagine how to express

it throw a museum. The excellent results

obtained motivated a French municipality

(Tergnier) to join us for the organization of a

second session (2010) where young people

defined the identity of the European woman

throw a show entirely created by them (script,

costumes, music, performance, direction).

Finally, another session was held in Bucharest

(2011) to enable young people to define the

European city throw a video entirely designated

by themselves (script, interpretation, direction,

etc.).

has over 20 ethnic minorities, recognized and

present in social, political and cultural life,

young people issued from these community

have been asked to reflect on this theme. Last

year, with reference to the identity of European

city, research was carried out by young

people on “Bucharest rediscovered” and was

materialized throw an exhibition.

This year, the seventh session of the project

was organized with the aim of defining the

European culinary identity. The enthusiastic

participation of young people in this session

and the relevance of their achievements are the

best evidence of the usefulness of the project.

It is my hope that Metamorphoses project will

continue with the same success!

Professor Ani Matei

Secretary General

Romanian National Commission for UNESCO

The fourth (2012) and the fifth (2013) sessions

were organized around the concept of

European multiethnic identity. As Romania

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Every nation is proud of its specific

characteristics, such as gastronomy. Romanians

have a phrase to describe well-prepared dishes

considering that they are "like at mother’s home."

This shows how domestic gastronomy prevails

over the local, regional or continental one. But

the young participants to the Metamorphosis

Project, have been questioned whether there is

a real European gastronomy.

Thus, we found that, traditionally, only the

Europeans eat with a fork and that, in general,

they have a range of tools to savour the aliments,

including the plate. But traditionally, the fork

was used just to help those who cut cooked

meat, before distributing it to the guests. As for

the plate, in the Middle Ages, it was a piece of

bread. Indeed, all Europeans eat bread, which

is an ancient food inseparable from European

gastronomy. In English "dish", meaning both

the object in which food is served and food

preparation, is derived from the Latin discus.

This is explained by the French word “assiette”

whose origin is due to mark the place of the guest

of low Latin assedita, past participle of assidēre

(“to sit”). In almost all Balkan languages, a

“dish” is designated with a word of Turkish origin

(farfuri of literary fağfuri) adopted from Persian

language (faghtūrī).

European

culinary identity.

Conclusions

of the

Metamorphoses

brainstorming

As concerns bread, even though the Europeans

have various bakery recipes, they would not

conceive eating without it. British have even

invented the sandwich, outstanding example of

the importance of bread, which during modern

times has been also developed outside the

continent. It attributes the invention of this

way of eating food preparations between two

slices of bread to John Montagu, the 4th Earl

of Sandwich, who would not want to waste too

much time at the table. A kind of eighteenth

century fast food.

Obviously, what Europeans eat today is as

a mirror of their history. Can we imagine the

inhabitants of the Mediterranean coasts eating

without tomatoes or those in the north of the

continent without potatoes? Yet these two

basic components of European gastronomy

arrived in Europe after the discovery of the

Americas species. Similarly, a certain unit of

the gastronomy of the south-eastern region

of Europe reflects the Persian influence in the

Ottoman Empire.

Globalization has expanded the European

gastronomic characteristics, but Europeans

continue to eat dishes of the same culinary

family, accompanying them with bread, using

forks and drinking wine or beer.

Ana Dumitrescu

9

BREAD

our common heritage

Frankenlaib

Frankenlaib is a classic type of bread from

the Franconia region, in the northern part of

the Bavaria county. „Laib“ is the old German

word for a round loaf, long ones are in Franconia

called „Kipf“. Normally it is made with a

flour-covered, grainy crust, but there are many

various kinds of loafs as there are bakeries.

Some bakers use also spices such as fennel,

anise, coriander, and caraway seeds to give it

a stronger taste. The basic recipe sounds very

easy. It contains three parts rye flour and one

part wheat flour. The reason for that is very

simple too. Most of the recipes are recorded

from generation to generation, from the fathers

to the sons and in the former times scales were

rare and mostly used for the fine ingredients as

salt or spices. Flour was normally weighed with

flour shovels, that means you use three shovels

rye and one shovel wheat flour. That was also

the way my father and my grandfather did. So

it was really hard to say, what the measurement

exactly is, it also depended a little bit on

the baker‘s daily mood, and you have to keep

in mind that Franconia is not only famous for

bread but also the region with the smallest

breweries in the world.

Michael

Schwessinger

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Nowadays bakers do not work in that way any

more and have exact scales and recipes for

their very own varieties of bread. We, at Brot

Manufactur use 80% rye flour, mostly integral

and 20% wheat flour for our Frankenlaib.

Most important for a good rye bread is the

sourdough (Sauerteig), a special predough

made with flour, water and a little bit of the

mature sourdough-culture from the day before,

which rests for 16 to 24 hours to activate the

natural yeasts and the bacterias to give the

bread it special taste. So regional uniqueness

is a fortunate characteristic of sourdough bread.

The ambient yeasts and bacteria in one region

will naturally differ from those in another, and

breads from different locations have a subtle

distinctiveness of their own. So in artisan

bakery – also when we live now in a globalised

food culture – there is always something you

can not absolutly control through technology or

ingredients, something you can not transport

from one point to the other. It is the nature in

interaction with the ingredients and the bakers

skills, which creates a good bread and gives it

a special and unique taste. That makes bread

making around the world so fascinating. To can

create with not more than three ingredients

thousands of different varieties of bread. That

is something what the famous American baker

Jeffrey Hamelman calls „the true alchemy of

baking“ and there is more than a kernel of truth

in it.

Michael Schwessinger

Master Baker at Brot Manufactur

11

Burum

Burum is a very popular

aperitif, type of breakfast and

it was the first Armenian fast

food dish. The most important

ingredient is Lavash. Depending

on the season the stuffing

may be different. Lavash is an

ancient Armenian bread, which

was included in the UNESCO

Representative List of the

Intangible Cultural Heritage of

Humanity. Information about lavash

has been available since

the 12th century.

ARMENIA

Difficulty level: medium

Time of preparation: 30 minutes

Number of portions: 6

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2-3 medium tomatoes

sweet peppers large grated

Armenian lavash

hard cheese

greens

garlic

Method of Preparation:

Prepare the stuffing :

Grate 100 gr of cheese on a fine grater.

Prepare the garlic, the tomatoes, the pepper

and the finely cut parsley. Combine all the

ingredients, add 2 eggs and mix thoroughly.

Cut lavash in isosceles triangles and

spread the stuffing on the smaller side of each

triangle. Then wrap the triangles and spread

the stuffing of the smaller side of each triangle.

Then wrap the triangles and spread whipped

eggs on the above surface without untwisting

them. Fry the rolls in vegetable oil and then

spread them on a paper towel to remove

excess oil.

Serve hot.

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Mari Gabrielyan

Pasketa

(traditional Armenian Yogurt)

This is a traditional Armenian recipe, typical

food of the shepherds. The main ingredient is

choratan- dried matsun




Ingredients:

200 gr lentil

100 gr choratan (may be replaced with yogurt

or kefir)

30 gr butter

salt

Method of preparation:

Dissolve choratan in warm water. Boil the

resulting mass on low heat. Boil the lentis,

making sure that it does not become mushy.

Chop and fry the onion. Pour the resulting

soup in a deep plate, add the fried onion and

salt according to taste. Serve hot, with lavash

crackers.

Amich with fruits

The first known records about Amich date back

to 5 th century Byzantium. There are two types

of Amich- stuffed with fowl and stuffed with

fruits.

Difficulty level: easy



Ingredients:

3 peaches

3 apples

3 apricots

50 g honey

walnuts

cinnamon


Cut the fruits in two, remove the core. Mix the

diced walnuts with the honey and put 1-2 tsp of

the composition in the center of each half. Bake

for 15 minutes and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serve hot or cold.

13

Kissel

Kissel has been known for over

a millennium and is a nutritious

sweet dessert.

BELARUS




Ingredients:

300g fresh cherries

7 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp potato starch

1 l water

Anastassia

Skalaban


Put all the cherries in a casserole, cover them

with water and boil over medium heat. After

the water boils, mash the cherries and boil the

resulting composition for a max. 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, stir well and dissolve the potato

starch in a glass of water half full and pour it in

the mixture. Stir well.

14

Vereshchaka

Vereshchaka became common in the territory of

Belarus in the mid-18th century. At first it was

known as one of the variations of machanka –

a meat sauce for pancakes. Vereshchaka was

invented by a royal chef named Vereshchaka.

The dish became widely known in the 19th

century, because its name coincided with the

family name of Maryla Wereszczakowna, Adam

Mickiewicz’s biggest love. Vereshchaka is one of

the hallmarks of Belorussian cuisine. The recipe

has many regional and individual variations.

Difficulty level: hard



Ingredients:

4 white sausages

150g bacon

100g onions

50g flour

0.5 liters beer

cumin, bay leaf, black pepper and salt

according to taste

Ingredients:

150-200g buckwheat flour

50g wheat flour

2 eggs

1 liter milk

salt and sugar according to taste

vegetable oil for cooking


Dice the onion and fry it in the vegetable oil

until it is light brown. Add the julienne bacon

and keep frying the mix until the bacon is

ready. Put the white sausages in the boiling

water mixed with beer and spices. When the

sausages are cooked, take them out and cut

them into pieces. Put the sausage pieces back

in the broth and add the onion and bacon. In

a dry frying pan, fry the flour until it is creamcolored,

cool it, and add the remaining broth

in the amount needed in order to obtain a

homogenous consistency. Pour the mix slowly

into the vereshchaka with the sausages stirring

the mix all the way. Keep it on low heat until

it thickens. In order to cook thin pancakes

combine buckwheat flour, wheat flour, salt, and

sugar, add the eggs and pour the milk slowly

until you get a homogenous, even liquid dough.

Take a small amount of composition at a time

and fry it in the vegetable oil. The vereshchaka

is served in a pot; the buckwheat pancakes are

put on a plate nearby.

15

Holodnik

Holodnik is a type of cold soup and has been

known for 200 years. Holodnik is prepared from

a kefir base, with the addition of pickled beets

and fresh vegetables (sliced cucumber, onion,

dill).




Ingredients:

1 beet

2 large fresh cucumbers

1 onion

3 green onions

500g kefir

2 eggs

dill

4 tablespoons sour cream

salt, sugar, citric acid or lemon juice


Boil the beets until cooked, then peel and grate

them. You may use pickled beets, provided

they are without vinegar. Put the beets into

cold boiled water. Boil the eggs, peel and slice

them. Pour the kefir in the beets with water,

then slice the cucumbers, the onions and

chop the dill. Add everything to the mixture.

Add sugar, salt and citric acid or lemon juice

according to taste. Before serving, add sour

cream and decorate with dill.

Tikveni

(Pastry with

pumpkins)

This is a popular dessert,

especially in times of fasting.

BULGARIA




Ingredients:

Dough:

1 kg. Flour, salt

a spoonful of sugar

a spoonful of cooking oil

2 teacups of warm water

Filling:

400 g pumpkin, stewed in fat

200 g sugar

200 g nuts

A spoonful of cinnamon

cooking oil

powdered sugar, vanilla

Desislava Vutova


Mix well all the ingredients for the dough.

Separate into 12 parts and flatten them, giving

them a similar aspect. In a separate bowl

mix the pumpkin, the sugar, the nuts and the

cinnamon and put the composition on each of

the 12 doughs. Roll each of them like a snail,

place in the tray and pour the previously heated

oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and vanilla

powder.

16

Wedding wheat

This traditional wedding recipe began as

crushed wheat with milk. Later on, in the 19 th

century, it took on the form it has today, with

roux.


Time of preparation: 2 days


Ingredients:

1,5 kg. wheat

1 l cooking oil

½ jar of lard

1 kg flour

1 kg sugar

3 l milk

salt


Wash the wheat, boil it in hot water and let it

stew for one night. The following day, boil it

again. Mix the flour with the sugar, the lard

and the oil and bake the composition until it

becomes golden. Added it to the wheat mix,

and add the milk.

Leave it to rest for 4 hours.

Plum brandy

(rakia)with herbs

This is a recipe which comes from the Central

– Northern region of Bulgaria, namely Troyan.

The monks in the region had been making this

type of brandy for centuries and the recipe

has been secret until the beginning of the 20 th

century. Initially there were 44 herbs, but now it

is generally made with 6 herbs.


Time of preparation: 6 months


Ingredients:

3 l plum brandy (rakia), 1 year old (42-43°)

Herbs (a handful of each type): Teucrium

chamaedrys, Hipericum perforator, Origanum

vulgare, Artemisia absinthum


In April pour the brandy in one or several glass

vessels. Add all the herbs, mix and make sure

that the herbs sink. The brandy will be ready in

October. If the savor is too strong, dilute with

simple brandy.

17

Sheftalia

Sheftalia is a type of sausage

without any membrane, that

uses however the membrane

surrounding the pig's stomach

for wrapping the ingredients. It is

a traditional Cypriot dish whose

name comes from the Turkish

word "şeftali", which means

"peach", and presumably refers

to the texture and consistency

of the prepared food. Another

explanation for the name is

that it was created by a Turkish

Cypriot street food vendor called

"Şef Ali" (Chef Ali), who called

it "Şef Ali kebabı", which in

time became known as "Şeftali

kebabı" by the consumers.

Although it bears similarities

to the French crépinette, both

dating back to the second half

of the 13th century, there are

no historical sources regarding

the possibility that sheftalia was

introduced in Cyprus by the

Franks (13th-15th century).

CYPRUS


Time of preparation: 120 min


Ingredients:

½ kg minced pork meat

1 big onion (chopped)

¼ parsley (chopped)

2 spoons of ground breadcrumbs

Dried mint , Salt , Pepper

2 spoons of iced water

½ pork backfat


Mix thoroughly all the ingredients and let

the composition sit for one hour so that the

flavors mix evenly. Wash the back fat carefully

and slice it into thin strips. Fill each one with

composition and wrap them around the mixture.

Put them on the grill and leave until cooked.

Turn the pieces regularly, to avoid them getting

burnt.

18

Marina

Christofidi

Trahana soup

with Halloumi Cheese

Historically, the trahana dates back to Ancient

Greece and Rome; Apikian mentioned a meal

named „tractae”in a cookbook written în the 1st

century.




Ingredients:

250 gr trahana

4 cups of water

1 chicken broth cubes

salt

halloumi cheese

Method of preparation :

Soak the trahana in water for 15 minutes. Slice

the cheese into cubes. Boil water in a pot, add

the chicken broth cube, salt according to taste

and add the trahana. Cook on a low flame and

when it is nearly ready add the halloumi cheese.

Serve the soup hot.

Halva

semolina pudding

Halva is a popular sweet in the Balkans, the

Mediterranean and the Middle East, dating

back to late 12th century. The name probably

comes from the Arabic root hulw (halva) which

means sweet.




Ingredients:

2 cups of coarse semolina

¾ cups corn oil

1 cup of sugar

4 cups of water

cinnamon powder

cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon of cloves

1 cup of roasted almonds

1 spoon of crushed mastic

Lemon juice

Lemon peel


Take a pot and mix the water with the sugar, the

cinnamon stick, the cloves, the lemon juice and

the lemon peel and stir until it becomes a syrup.

Keep it on fire for approximately 3 minutes after

boiling and keep stirring. After you are finished

with the mixture, put it aside. Take another

pot and boil the corn oil After the oil is hot add

the coarse semolina and stir on low fire until it

becomes golden. Then add the crushed mastic

and add a bit of cinnamon powder as well as

the almonds. While boiling and stirring go to

the other pot with the syrup and remove the

cinnamon stick, the lemon peel and the cloves.

Take the syrup and pour it carefully into the other

pot and stir quickly until the mixture is ready.

Turn off the fire, let it cool and serve in a mold.

19

Tatin Pie

Legend says that at the end

of the 19th century, in Sologne,

France, two sisters, Caroline

and Stephanie Tatin invented

this particular apple pie by accident.

While cooking, the apples

started to burn, and in order to

stop the process, the sisters

decided to add a short pastry

directly on the apples to cool it

and then put the preparation in

the oven. This made an insideout

apple pie : the Tatin pie.

FRANCE




Ingredients:

1,6kg Apple “Golden” or “Royal Gala”

120g sugar

80g butter

short pastry : 250g flour

125g butter at room temperature

1 egg yolk

4cl water

5g salt,50g sugar

Mallorie Durier


Put sugar and butter into a pastry dish. Place

on a heated plate to melt the butter.

Peel and cut the apples into quarters, then

place them starting from the centre in the shape

of a rose. Place a second layer of apples,

inside-out.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and cook the apples

for 30 min. Then place the preparation on a

heated plate again in order to evaporate the

juice for around 30 min. Stop it when the apples

start to brown.

Prepare the short pastry while cooking the

apples and keep it in a cool place.

20

When the apples are ready, place the short

pastry on the apples and cover it completely.

Cook the mixture for 35 min.

Wait 1h30 before trying to turn it from the pastry

dish.

Niçoise Salad




Ingredients:

1 kg tomatoes

2 eggs

8 white onions

1 green pepper

4 artichoke hearts

1 garlic clove

8 anchovies

100g black olives

few basil leaves

olive oil

Method of preparation :

Prepare hard-boiled eggs. Cut tomatoes into

slices and salt them. Cut the green pepper into

thin slices and remove the seeds. Peel the

white onions and the garlic. Cut the artichoke

hearts into quarters, Keep the cut vegetables in

a cool place.

Rub the plate with garlic.

Cut the eggs in quarters and chop the basil

Place the tomatoes, the green pepper, the artichoke

hearts, the white onions and the basil on

the plate. Season with pepper. Add a dribble of

olive oil on each ingredient, add the eggs, the

black olives and the anchovies în a decorative

manner.

Veal à la Normande




Ingredients:

4 veal cutlets (~600g)

400g Paris mushrooms

4 reinette apples

400ml fresh cream

5cl Calvados (French apple brandy, may replace

with any type of apple brandy)

30g butter

½ Lemon

salt/pepper


Peel and dice the apples. Melt a slice of butter

into a frying-pan and add the apple dices to

brown. Cut the Paris mushrooms, place them

into a saucepan, season with salt and pepper

then add a dribble of lemon juice. Cover the

saucepan and cook the mushrooms on a high

flame for a few minutes. Melt the rest of the butter

in a frying-pan and sear cutlets on high heat;

season with salt and pepper. Flambé the cutlets

with Calvados. Add mushrooms with juice and

fresh cream.

21

Mussels with

ouzo and pasta

Ancient Greeks were inventive

în many fields and the gastronomic

one was no exception.

Surrounded by the sea, the

Ancient Greeks turned to it a?

their main source of food. Many

traditional recepies are based

on fish and seafood.

GREECE




Ingredients:

1 pound fresh mussels

1 package spaghetti

2 onions

2 green peppers

2 garlic cloves

ouzo, olive oil, tomato sauce

paprika, salt, pepper

cinnamon, laurel, nutmeg, mint, dill

Konstantinos

Mouzakis


In a saucepan with water, add the mussels until

they open. In a large pan, add olive oil and fry

the onion and garlic and when they are brown,

add the green peppers, the mussels and continue

browning then season with a little ouzo and

add the tomato sauce, the boiled water from the

mussels and stirr for 5 minutes. Boil the pasta,

once it‘s ready put it in the pan and stirr for 5

minutes.

Serve warm.

22

Dakos

Traditional Cretan dish

The dakos is a traditional Cretan dish. It is

based on Cretan rusk, made commonly from

barley.




Ingredients:

4 large ripe tomatoes

1 green onion

salt and freshly ground pepper

a handful of chopped basil

a pinch of fresh oregano

olive oil

crumbled feta cheese to serve

4 pieces of rusk


Take four plates and put one rusk on each. Cut

the tomatoes in two; grate half of it in a bowl

and the other half cut into cubes. Pour the grated

mixture over the rusk with a little olive oil.

Then add the diced tomatoes and the chopped

onion. Serve with grated feta cheese, some

olive oil on top and a little pepper.

Pasteli

The nougat is a sweet made of sesame seeds

and honey; records of it exist from Herodotus in

the 5th century BC.




Ingredients:

1 kg of honey

1 full glass of sugar

½ glass of sesame


Boil the honey and the sugar in a pot. Once it

starts to take a brownish color take one teaspoon

of the composition and pour it în a glass

of water. If it remains evenly on the surface it is

ready. Remove it from the heat and pour the

sesame seeds. Place it on cooking foil and

even it out with a knife. Let it rest for 1 hour, cut

into pieces and serve cool.

23

Sarde in saor

The ‘saor’ was the preservation

method used by Venetian

fishermen to store the food on

board. Once cooked with oil

and vinegar, the onions were

alternately layered with fried

sardines in clay containers.

Later on raisins and pine seeds

were added.

ITALY




Ingredients:

600 sardines,

200 g white onions

50 g maize flour,

2 dl vinegar,

50 g sugar

40 g pine seeds

40 g raisins

30 g extra virgin olive oil

chopped parsley, salt


Clean the sardines (scale them, remove the

head , rinse them in water and dry them up),

then flour the sardines and fry them in hot oil;

put them on blotting paper.

Let the julienne onions fry in extra virgin olive

oil with sugar, deglaze them with vinegar and

slightly salt them; add the raisins previously

softened in water and the pine seeds.

Then take a bowl and start with a layer of

onions, then a layer of sardines (well lined up),

then again onions, sardines, to end with the

onions; complete with chopped parsley and

serve them warm.

24

Alessandra

Michelin

Boreto alla Gradese

The ‘Boreto’ is a fish dish of the Grado lagoon;

it was prepared by fishermen who lived in the

‘Casoni’ (typical dwellings); using the fish which

had not been sold at the market, they created a

simple though tasty recipe. Local families have

then created their own recipes keeping them

secret.




Ingredients:

800 g fish slices such as turbot

grey mullet and monkfish (you may as well use

one single type of fish)

½ glass of white vinegar

2 garlic cloves

20 ml extra virgin olive oil

black pepper.

For the ‘polenta’:

50 g of white maize flour

400 ml of water, salt


Heat the oil in a wide saucepan, add the garlic

cloves slightly crushed and leave them until

they are golden brown (cover the pan to avoid

squirts); add the fish slices, previously rinsed

in water and dried with blotting paper, add

salt and abundant black pepper to taste, pour

vinegar, let it cook for some minutes, then remove

the garlic, add a ladle of fish broth and let

it cook until reduced to a sauce which, together

with the fish, will be served with soft ‘polenta’,

previously prepared with water and maize flour.

Gubana

Typical cake of Friul with an ancient history. The

name ‘guba’, ‘bend’ in Slovenian language, recalls

its spiral shape. Its roots date back to past

religious celebrations and great events: in 1409

it was served by the Municipality of Cividale in a

banquet in honour of Pope Gregorio XII.


Time of preparation: 100 min + 120 min resting

time


Ingredients:

For the dough:

600 g wheat flour

30g brewer’s yeast

50 ml milk

125 sugar

100g butter

Eggs

1 grated lemon skin, salt

For the filling:

100g walnut kernels

50g hazelnuts

30g almonds

2 dried figs

2 dried plums

30g glaced oranges and citrons

100 g raisins, 50g toasted pine seeds, 20 g

amaretto biscuits, 10 ml grappa.


Dough: Prapare the dough mixing 100 g flour

with milk, 25g sugar and yeast and let it rest

for one hour. Add to the risen dough the other

ingredients and let it rise for one more hour.

Filling: Chop up all the ingredients until smoothly

blended. Lay the risen dough in the shape of

a stretched rectangle, spread the filling all over

it and roll it until cylinder-shaped. Twist it and

give it a spiral shape, put it on a baking sheet at

180° C for about 45 minutes. Serve it cold.

25

Moldovian

Borscht

On Christmas Eve Moldavians

usually sacrifice a pig.

Countrymen celebrate “pork

alms”, and the housewife

serve all the participants a

roasted pig. From ancient

times, people think that before

being slaughtered the pig

dreams about the knife used

for sticking him off. After being

slaughtered, the pig is singed

with straw and covered with a

bed-sheet. Children ride the

pig, play and joke. After that the

pig is washed with hot water

and the skin is rubbed off until it

is clean. Participants are given

the pig skin şoric that is eaten

salted.

MOLDOVA




Ingredients:

800 grams pork (ribs)

¼ cabbage

4-5 potatoes

1 carrot

1 bunch of parsley

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 beet

1 onion

0,5 liter of sour borscht

1 bay leaf

100 gr oil

salt


Boil the pork in a saucepan of 5-6 liters, add the

onion, a bay leaf and salt to taste. Add minced

cabbage in boiling water and simmer, then add

diced potatoes and simmer, add grated carrot.

The tomato paste is heated (fried) in oil and

is put in a pan. Add grated beets, then pour

0.5 liters of sour borscht into saucepan and

simmer. Place the chopped parsley and simmer

over 5 minutes. Serve with peppers, onions and

cream.

26

Olesea Girlea

Sergiu Cogut

Roast pork




Ingredients:

1 kg pork

300 gr onions

200 gr oil 200

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

3 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper


The meat is diced then salt and pepper are

added to it. Put the oil in the pan and heat it,

add the meat and mix, then fry until the meat

becomes pink, add chopped onion and fry over

10 minutes, then add tomato paste and simmer

over 8 minutes. Crush the garlic and mix it all,

after that simmer over 2 minutes. It can be

eaten with mashed potatoes.

Fritters




Ingredients:

0.5 litre of kefir

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of sugar

patent flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1.5 spoon of lemon juice

150 gr oil

strawberry jam


The ingredients are mixed to form a paste. Pour

oil into a pan and make it hot, put a teaspoon of

batter into the pan and let it fry on both sides.

Consume with strawberry jam and compote.

Stewed fruits

Ingredients:

5-6 grapes

3-4 apples

6 plums

300 gr sugar


Wash the fruits. Choose better grapes and

put in a saucepan of 5-6 liters, clean and slice

apples, cut the plums and stone them. Add water,

put sugar while boiling these stewed fruits.

Drink the compote cold.

27

Bigos

(Hunter’s Stew)

Bigos is a well known meal

often eaten by hunters after

hunting. The great Polish epic

poem „Pan Tadeusz“ by Adam

Mickiewicz includes a beautiful

poetic description of the

dish eaten by the members of

the nobility after coming back

from the hunt. The plot of the

epic poem is set in 1811 and

1812. The dish was described

as aromatic, appetizing and

exquisite. Bigos is a nutritious

dish and it makes you warm so

it was also eaten by noblemen

after they went on sleigh rides.

POLAND


Time of preparation: 3 h


Ingredients:

1,5 kg sauerkraut

3 small onions

2 spoons oil

1 sausage

250 g beef

250 g veal

100 g bacon

150 ml red wine

2 handful dried plums

2 handful dried mushrooms

4 bay leaves

allspice

1 spoon cumin

1 tablespoon marjoram

salt, pepper

Katarzina Anna

Labus


Boil 1 liter of water. Place the beef, veal and

bacon in the pot. Boil for 1 hour. Then drain

the meat. Wash and chop the sauerkraut. Put

it in a big pot with boiling water. Add the plums,

bay leaves and the allspice. Stew until tender

(about 1 hour). Scald the mushrooms in boiling

28

water for a few minutes. Fry the onion and add

the sausage. Add the chopped mushrooms,

meat and onion with sausage to the cabbage.

Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the wine and again

simmer for 20 minutes. Add the marjoram,

cumin, salt and pepper. Mix and simmer for at

least 1 hour.

Barszcz z uszkami (Borsch

with dumplings)




Ingredients:

Beetroot soup:

1,5 kg red beetroots

2,5 l water

2 carrots

2 parsleys

1 celery

2 sour apples

½ lemon

2 garlic cloves

2 handful dried mushrooms

black pepper

3 bay leaves

Salt, honey, marjoram

Dough:

350 g wheat flour

150 ml hot water

1 egg

salt

Stuffing:

600 g sauerkraut

40 g dried mushrooms

1 onion

1 garlic clove

salt, pepper


Dumplings: Make a dough. Roll it up and leave

for 1 hour. Boil the mushrooms until tender.

Drain and chop them. Dice the onion. Wash

and chop the sauerkraut. Fry the onion and

garlic. Boil and simmer the sauerkraut till tender.

Add the onion with garlic and spices. Roll

out the dough and cut it into 4x4 cm squares.

Put a spoon of stuffing on every piece. Stick

each square to make a triangle and then stick

two ends of the triangle together to make a

dumpling. Boil water in a big pot and add a

spoon of salt. Put the dumplings in the pot. Boil

them till they float to the surface.

Borsch: Peel the beetroots and cut them into

pieces. Peel the other vegetables as well. Fill a

big pot with water. Add all the vegetables and

boil them. Add lemon juice. Season with spices.

Boil until the vegetables are tender. Strain the

borsch. Serve it with the dumplings.

Makowiec zawijany

(Poppy seed roll)




Ingredients:

Dough:

3 glasses wheat flour

180ml milk

150g butter

6 yolks

45g fresh yeast

6 spoons sugar

1,5 spoon oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1,5 spoon rum

1 packet of vanilla sugar

29

Poppy seed stuffing:

6 whites

500g poppy seeds

250g sugar

100g raisins

50g chopped walnuts

1 spoon honey

1 spoon margarine

½ glass powdered sugar

2 spoons hot water

almond or vanilla oil, cnnamon, candid orange

zest, icing, poppy seed and chopped walnuts

for decoration


Place the poppy seeds in a pot and add 500 ml

of boiling water. Cover the pot until the poppy

seeds swell up. Then remove the cover and

leave the poppy seeds until they dry. Grind the

poppy seeds twice or three times. Dissolve the

yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk. Leave for 15

minutes. Add the other ingredients, the last ingredient

being the butter. Make a dough. Cover

with a cloth and leave until it raises.

Add the other stuffing ingredients to the poppy

seeds. Whisk the whites and mix them with

the stuffing. Divide the dough into three parts.

Roll them out (4 mm thick). Place 1/3 of the

stuffing on each dough part. Roll them up. Stick

the ends. Place the rolled up dough on baking

paper covered with oil. Rolled up the paper

twice over the dough (1cm space). Bake at 180

°C for40 minutes. Add hot water to powdered

sugar and mix. Decorate poppy seed rolls with

it. Sprinkle some poppy seeds and chopped

walnuts on the rolls.

Bolinhos de

bacalhau

(Salted cod fish)

This popular recipe dates back

to 1904.

PORTUGAL



Portions: 5

Ingredients:

250 g boneless salt cod, soaked

2 potatoes, boiled

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 small onion, minced

Parsley, pepper, cooking oil

Francisco Carlos

Taveira


Boil the codfish until tender and then remove

any bones. Chop in small pieces. Boil the potatoes

and mash them. Add the salt and the fish

and mix well. Add the onion, the pepper, the

parsley and the eggs and mix. Form small balls

using your hands. Fry the balls in a saucepan.

30

Cozido á Portuguesa

This traditional dish has been a part of Portuguese

history for centuries. It started as a

meal of the poor, who threw in whatever leftovers

they had in order to create a meal.


Time of preparation: 1.30 hours


Ingredients:

500g beef

500g pork

500g chicken

4 sausages

4 carrots

6 potatoes

1 cabbage

2 turnips


Peel and slice all the vegetables and shred the

cabbage. Boil all the meats together in a very

large pot. After the meats are boiled, remove

them, keep the stock and boil all the vegetables

in it, except the cabbage. Add the sausages

and boil them and after that add the cabbage

and re-add the meat. After everything is

cooked, throw the stock.

Ovos moles de Aveiro

(Soft eggs from Aveiro)

The history of this recipe is closely linked to that

of the city. The eggs were created in a convent

but many stories circulate on why and how they

were created. The most popular story states

that the egg whites were used by the nuns to

make starch needed for ironing. In order to minimize

the waste, the nuns mixed the egg yolks

with sugar and created one of the most loved

desserts in history.




Ingredients:

Crust: cold water, olive oil, 500g flour

Filling: 8 egg yolks

300g sugar

Cinnamon

Lemon peel

0.5 l water


Crust: mix all the ingredients until you have a

dough. Roll the dough until it is extremely thin

and lay it in a mold

Filling: mix the water with sugar and boil until

they become syrup. Cool it slightly and add the

egg yolks, the cinnamon and the lemon peel.

Cook for another 10 min on medium heat. Pour

the filling in the molds.

31

Sarmale

(Stuffed cabbage

leaves)

Each region of Romania (or

even each village or each family)

has its own sarmale recipe. The

rollers are larger or smaller,

smoked bacon is added or not,

they are made of pork only or a

mixture of two or three kinds of

meat, etc. For all Romanians,

stuffed cabbage leaves are a

national dish. They call them

„sarmale“. The name is of

Turkish origin (sarmak means

to wrap). Other nations (in the

Balkan region, but also the

Armenians, the Ukrainians, the

Hungarians, etc.) have a similar

dish calling it “sarma” or “dolma”.

The Romanian name (sarmale)

is a plural. The specificity of the

Romanian recipe compared

to the Balkan cuisine is the

use of sour cabbage, pork and

smoked bacon. The Romanians

kill the pig for St. Ignace day

(20 December) and sarmale

are prepared for the first time

at Christmas. Traditionally, this

dish is eaten for the last time

before Easter Lent (a period of

approximately six weeks before

Easter Sunday). During summer

time, sarmale can be prepared

with fresh cabbage.

ROMANIA




Ingredients:

1 whole head of sour cabbage

1 ½ kg meat (50% pork & 50% beef)

150 g short-grain rice

2 minced and sauté onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill and/

or parsley

Salt, pepper, paprika

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons oil

1 cup of sour cabbage juice

Sliced smoked bacon (6-8)

Sliced tomatoes (fresh or canned)


Prepare a mixture of meat, rice, sauté onion,

salt, pepper, paprika, fresh dill and/or parsley

and water. Mix thoroughly by hand to obtain a

homogeneous mixture. Cut leaves for more

than half of the cabbage, conserving only the

core. Finely cut this core like sauerkraut. For

the largest leaves, cut them into two parts and

remove the rib. Place on each leaf a tablespoon

of the meat mixture and wrap it. Enter each

extremity inside the roll obtained. Continue like

32

Adeline Popescu

that using all the meat mixture. Put at the bottom

of a pot the oil and form a layer of sauerkraut.

Place above the rolls and cover with sliced

smoked bacon and finish with another layer of

sauerkraut. Cover all with sliced tomatoes and

add the sour cabbage juice. Cover the pot and

bake it over a medium heat during one hour.

Serve the sarmale with polenta and fresh cream.

Chicken ciorba from the

city of Radauti




Ingredients:

650 ml cream

1 kg chicken breast

2 carrots

2 onions

5 egg yolks

4 spoons of flour

3 garlic

1 parsnip

1 parsley root

parsley

2 peppers

1 spoon vinegar


Wash and peel all the vegetables. Chop all the

vegetables, except the onion which must remain

whole. Wash the chicken breast, clean it and boil

it in 4l of water. After it boils, remove the foam

and add the vegetables. Continue to boil until

everything is cooked, take out the meet and

chop it. Mix the cream, the yolks, the flour and

the vinegar. Take the vegetables out of the pot

and store them for another use. Boil the water

again and add the chicken, the carrots and the

garlic. Serve with cream and paprika.

Papanasi with

cream and jam

Papanasi are a traditional dessert. This word

comes from the Latin papa, which means,

among other things baby food. The boiled

type is originally from the Austro-Hungarian

Empire but the Rpmanians invented the fried

ones, specific to the Northern part of Romania.

Regarding its shape the legend says that a

captain was holding a doughnut while grabbing

the helm. Surprised by the waves, stuck his

finger in the middle of the pastry, creating a

hole and a cooking habit.




Ingredients:

500 g cottage cheese

3 eggs

250 g flour

100 g sugar

1 spoon bicarbonate soda mixed with 3 tablespoons

of lemon juice

1 lemon zest

semolina, oil, salt, cream, jam


Mix the cottage cheese with salt, the

lemon zest, 3 yolks and the sugar. Add the

bicarbonate. Beat the egg whites until they

are hard, add them to the composition, then

add 200 g of flour mixing carefully. Put the oil

to heat in a deep pan. On a clean surface,

powder with the flour. Divide the dough in 9

parts and divide the 9th part in 8 small balls (for

decorating the papanasi). Flour your hands,

form 8 big balls and use your finger to make

a hole in the middle. În the boiling oil, put two

papanasi at a time and as many small balls, on

both sides. Usually it takes up 5-6 min until they

are ready. Cook on a low flame. Serve warm

with cream and jam.

33

RUSSIA

Russian salad



Number of portions : 2

Ingredients:

3 potatoes

2 carrots

2 small beetroot

2 pickles

1 small onion

3 spoons apple vinegar

3 l spoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sweet mustard

salt, pepper

Danil Potorochin


Wash the potatoes and carrots, peel and boil

them. Grate the beetroot. After the vegetables

have cooled grate the potatoes, carrots,

beetroot and the pickels. Mix well and add the

remaining ingredients.

Keep refrigerated for 1h, allowing the aromas

to mix.

34

Siberian ravioli

Siberian ravioli, a traditional festive food, are a

delicious meat dish with an interesting history.

What started off as a way of storing meat in the

winter, turned into a festivity for the whole village.

Hunters chopped the meat, the housewives

prepared the dough and the children shaped

them.




Ingredients:

250g flour

water

1 egg

250g ground meat (pork beef chicken)

1 onion

salt, pepper


Stuffing: Mix the ground meat, salt, pepper and

onion.

Dough: Mix the flour, egg and water. Add salt

and knead the composition. Use a wodden

rolling pin to even it out until it‘s approx. 3 mm

wide. Cut 2.5 cm circles and place the stuffing

în the middle of each one and fold the margins

then stick the margins together. Powder them

with flour. Place them în the freezer for 1 day.

Then boil in salted water for 20-30 minutes.

Turn them from time to time.

Serve warm with cream.

Blini

Blini are traditional Russian pancakes, and

come in all sizes. In ancient times the pancakes

were presented as offerings during

pagan rituals. The blinis symbolized the round

shape of the Sun. After giving birth, women

received blinis representing the symbol of life.

In the Russian Orthodox faith, while fasting, it

is forbidden to consume meat but it is allowed

to consume butter, milk and eggs, the exact ingredients

of the blinis.The Russian aristocracy

brought the blinis to France where they became

very popular; the French version is served as

appetizer with cream cheese and caviar.




Ingredients:

2 eggs

250 g flour

salt

250 ml milk

20g melted butter

10 g yeast


Sift the flour in a bowl. Add salt, the eggs, the

melted butter and 150 ml milk. Mix very well

all the ingredients. Dissolve the yeast in 100

ml of warm milk (approx. 15 min) and add it to

the composition and mix. Let it rest for 30 min.

Butter the pan and put it over medium heat. Fry

the pancakes and oil the pan if necessary.

Serve warm, with fruits, jam and cream.

35

Cevapi

Ćevapi is a type of grille,

sausage without a membrane.

It is a typical Serbian dish. The

word ćevap comes from the

Persian word kebab. Hajduks,

during the Ottoman occupation

(rebels, outlaws) used to cook

a dish hajdučki ćevap (“hajduk

kebab”), because it was

extremely easy and fast to

make. The foot became very

popular in the 1800s when it

was first imported to Belgrade.

SERBIA


Time for preparation: 150 min


Ingredients:

1 kg ground pork

1kg lean ground beef

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1kg ground lamb

2 garlic cloves

500 gr onion, finely chopped

15 pita bread 2 glasses mineral water

salt, black pepper, paprika

Kosta Živanovic


Mix well all the meats together. As you are

mixing add the garlic, the paprika, and the onion.

Season with the spices. Add the water and mix

well. Use your hands to shape the meat into

links of approx. 5 cm. Store them in a cool, dry

place for 1 hour. Grill them for a few minutes on

both sides. Serve on the pita bread.

36

Pekarski Kumpir




Ingredients:

4,5kg potatoes

oil, according to taste

2 onions, diced

600 gr bacon

pepper, salt, oregano, paprika


Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices. Add a

little salt and pepper. Put the potatoes in a baking

pan, add the bacon and a little water. Bake in the

oven for 1 hour at 200 °C. Serve warm.

Cheese muffins Proja




Ingredients:

5 eggs

8 tablespoons of cornmeal

10 tablespoons flour

1 small package baking powder

200 ml whole simple yogurt

150 ml oil

500g cottage cheese

salt


Mix the eggs, then add yogurt and oil in a

big bowl. Take a second bowl, mix all the dry

ingredients and add them to the composition.

Mix well and add the cheese. Pour the

composition in the bake shapes, filling 2/3 of

the shape. Bake for 30 min at 250°.

37

The Imam fainted

A long time ago a Turkish Imam

(Muslim cleric), known for his

love of good food, surprised

his friends by announcing his

engagement to the young

daughter of a wealthy olive-oil

merchant. Her father gave the

groom twelve jars. After her

marriage the bride each day

prepared a special dish for her

husband. One of them, eggplant

cooked in olive-oil, became

his favorite. And he ordered

that his wife prepare it each

night for dinner. This she did for

twelve consecutive days. On

the thirteenth, she said „Dear

husband, I do not have any

more olive-oil. You will have to

purchase some more for me.“

The lmam was so shocked that

he fainted.

TURKEY


Preparation time: 25 minutes


Ingredients:

2 medium aubergines (eggplants)

2 medium onions, chopped

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Sauté the onions in a little oil. Add the garlic,

tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cook until

mushy. Cut the stem ends from each aubergine.

Make 3 lengthwise slits, almost from end

to end. Hold each slit apart and using a spoon,

put the onion mixture into each cavity. Arrange

aubergines in a baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar,

lemon juice, and 1/2 cup oil. Bake covered

in preheated moderate oven (190 C for 30

minutes), or until tender. Serve hot or, as they

do in Turkey, cold with yogurt.

38

Taykan Sökmen

Malik Bilal Elahi Khan

(invited from Pakistan)

Cigar shaped patty

(Börek)




Ingredients:

2 sheets of dough

For the filling:

150 g white cheese

1 egg yolk

6-7 sprigs of parsley

To fry:

1 cup sunflower oil


Soak the white cheese in cold water to remove

the excess salt and mash with the egg yolk.

Mix in the chopped parsley. Divide a sheet of

dough into two equal semicircles and place one

on top of the other. Then cut into four equal

triangles.Place a teaspoonful of the filling at the

base of each triangle and roll up like a cigarette.

Wet the pointed end and stick down. Fry the

böreks in hot oil until golden brown all over.

Milky semolina dessert


Preparation time: 15 minutes


Ingredients:

4 l milk

100 g butter

15 tbsp sugar

10 tbsp durum semolina

1 tsp vanilla extract

walnut pieces or cinnamon for garnish


In a pot, melt the butter. Add milk and sugar, stir

occasionally over medium heat. When the bubbles

form on the surface add semolina and stir

continuously till it becomes thick (3-5 minutes).

Finally, add the vanilla extract and stir. You can

pour the milky semolina dessert into a Pyrex

dish, small bowls or cups. Cool and garnish

with walnut pieces or cinnamon.

39

Red borscht

The most popular dish in the

Ukrainian cuisine.

UKRAINE




Ingredients:

4 l water

pork chops

small peas

5 potatoes

1 beet

2 onions

garlic

2 tomatoes

1 carrot

1 kg potatoes

Iurie Levscic

Svetlana Ursu


Boil the meat, the peas and the potatoes. Boil

the tomatoes, then peel them. Cut the onions,

the carrots and the beet, and fry them in a pan

with plenty of hot oil. Add spices. After the meat

is boiled, remove all bones, and replace it in

the pot. Add the peas, the potatoes and the

vegetables. Add the greens and close the heat.

Leave the composition to rest for about 15-20

min. Serve with cream.

40

”Vinegret” salad




Ingredients:

1 red cabbage

2 carrots

2 potatoes

50 g boiled peas

pickles, onion


Boil all the vegetables, peel them and chop

them. Add the diced pickles and the chopped

onion. Add oil, salt and mix.

Derunî

Derunî, are very popular in Ukraine, especially

in the Northern and Western regions of the

country. The main ingredient is the grated potatoes.

Actually, the name comes from the verb

”dertî” which means to grate. For the first time

the written recipe appeared in Jan Szyttler‘s

book in 1830.




Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes

1 onion

1 egg

some flour

salt

pepper

oil


Peel the potatoes and the onions and grate

them. Add salt and pepper and the egg. Add a

spoon of flour then mix. After the oil heats up

in the pan, put one spoon of composition at a

time. Let them fry for 3-5 minutes and turn them

on the other side. Eat them warm with plenty of

cream.

Homemade pie with apples

and honey




Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 glass of water

1 glass of sugar

1 glass of kefir

flour

baking powder

caramelized apples

salt

vanilla sugar


Mix the sugar and the eggs. Add the kefir, the

salt, the baking powder and the vanilla sugar.

Mix everything and add the flour. Pour the composition

over the caramelized apples and put it

in the oven.

41

European gastronomy

as reflected in painting

Gastronomy was considered as a set

of domestic activities and therefore not

suitable to be represented in art. During

the Greco-Roman antiquity, the frescoes

decorating interiors show or suggest

activities related to eating habits but not

to gastronomy properly speaking. In the

Christian era, things related to everyday

life become even less important for artists

who now concentrate on the illustration of

sacred history. Except for some few scenes

at the royal or aristocratic banquets, the

only information related to gastronomy

appears in the painted scenes from the

life of Christ (or of various sacred persons)

that occur at table (the Wedding at Cana,

the Last Supper, the Supper at Emmaus,

Philoxenia of Abraham, etc.). These details

are rather scarce and they tell us more on

the social frame (for example, how to sit at

table, how the meals are served, etc.) than

the gastronomy itself.

The Italian Renaissance and the whole

Western art that is greatly influenced by

it, brought about a concentration on the

human being, on his secular everyday

life. This particular feature applies to the

artistic development in the regions (like the

Netherlands) in which Protestant Christianity

has spread. Protestantism penetrates

into the sphere of intimate aspects; it is

orientated towards practical everyday life

and its artistic imprint is obvious in the

illustration of everyday activities. In modern

times, the reference to food remains mostly

linked to feasts, to bars and restaurants

and very little to food preparation.

The literary-gastronomical imaginary or about

belletristic feasts

Institute of Philology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova

PhD Olesea Gârlea and PhD Sergiu Cogut

In the course of time literature directly or indirectly

has dealt with the matters of gastronomy as a

perfect area where food have not been allowed

to be seen, smelled or touched, but relished in

full. The area of interference between literature

and gastronomy is the word, as it creates the

recipe and the taste even it cannot be relished

properly. Literature allows for an international

gastronomic journey, and some writers gives us

delicious virtual walks through inns, bait houses,

houses, restaurants, pubs, kitchens and

canteens. Food habits and the cuisine specific

to each country characterize a nation just as

language, culture and art do. The gastronomy

of a nation is a mark of the level of culture but

at the same time the term „traditional food” is

very vague, due to geographical interferences

and gustative preferences. Mamaliga says

Ioana Constantinescu in the preface of the work

A world in a cookbook, can’t be reduced to the

Romanian culinary tradition: “Firstly mamaliga

is known by other peoples: Bulgarians, the

Piedmontese (who call it “meliga”), Friulians and

actually by all medieval and modern peasants

in Europe who baked for a long time the millet

mash (whence the Piedmontese and the

regional Romanian word “măliga”) in which they

put a bard or a slice of meat” [1, p. 6].

The first familiarity with Greek cuisine, literary

speaking, begins with the ancient epic poems

42

the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, where

hearty meals consist of meat dishes,good

wine honey sweet, a large number of guests

and offerings made to the gods. In Book 3 of

the Odyssey Homer describes the feast as

follows: “Nine companies there were, and five

hundred men sat in each, and in each they held

nine bulls ready for sacrifice. Now when they

had tasted the inner parts and were burning the

thigh-pieces to the god, the others put straight in

to the shore”[2].

In the Iliad the gastronomic abundance is

just as impressive even if it is accompanied

in the time of war: “For ye are the first invited

by me to the feast when we Greeks prepare

a banquet for the chiefs. Then it is pleasant

to you to eat the roasted meats, and to quaff

cups of sweet wine, as long as ye please”[3].

Another eloquent example: “But when the fire

had burned away, and the flame grew languid,

strewing the embers, he extended the spits

over them, and sprinkled them with sacred salt,

raising them up from the racks. But when he

had dressed them, and had thrown them upon

kitchen tables, Patroclus, taking bread, served

it out upon the board in beautiful baskets: but

Achilles distributed the flesh. But he himself sat

opposite to noble Ulysses, against the other

wall, and ordered Patroclus, his companion, to

sacrifice to the gods; and he accordingly cast

the first morsels into the fire. And they stretched

forth their hands to the prepared viands which

lay before them” [3].

The culinary literary imagination can

harmoniously be combined with gastronomy as

it is in the Satyricon written by Gaius Petronius,

a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. In this

Latin work of fiction the dishes or the ingredients

are associated with zodiac sign Satyricon: “Our

applause was interrupted by the second course,

which did not by any means come up to our

expectations. Still the oddity of the thing drew

the eyes of all. An immense circular tray bore the

twelve signs of the zodiac displayed round the

circumference, on each of which the Manoiple

or Arranger had placed a dish of suitable and

appropriate viands: on the Ram ram’s-head

peas, on the Bull a piece of beef, on the Twins

fried testicles and kidneys, on the Crab simply

a crown, on the Lion African figs, on a Virgin a

sow’s haslet, on Libra a balance with a tart in

one scale and a cheesecake in the other, on

Scorpio a small sea-fish, on Sagittarius an eyeseeker,

on Capricornus a lobster, on Aquarius

a wild goose, on Pisces two mullets” [4]. This

association makes a connection between the

man’s position in heaven earth, between hunger

and distaste, the desire to surprise and create

bizarre connections. Gradually, food acquires

concrete sizes : “on a second tray in fact, stuffed

capons, a sow’s paps, and as a centerpiece a

hare fitted with wings to represent Pegasus” [4].

In the book A tour through gastronomic Italy

written by Ileana Tănase we can read about the

gastronomic preferences of the famous Dante

Alighieri. The author relates an anecdote in

which the major Italian poet of the late Middle

Ages was walking over Piazza Santa Reparata

– nowadays Piazza San Marco del Fiore – in

Florence, Dante was stopped by a passer asking

him:”Oh, you, Maestro who knows everything,

tell me which is the best food? – The egg –

answered/replied the poet. A year later Dante

was walking on the same places. The same

passer- being around there saw him and said:

„With what?”, the answer came immediately:

”With salt” [5, p. 14]. Also with respect to Dante

we find that he was very modest with regard to

food and drinks. He used to lunch at exact hours

and to eat as much as was necessary without

making excesses, he had no favourite foods,

„praised the delicate ones, but he rather fed

himself on plain dishes” [apud 5, p. 14].

The wine always had a special place in writers’

and poets’ food. Almost there wasn’t ancient

poet or writer in whose literary works we cannot

find references to vine, to wine, to stories related

to vintage or feasts. The worship of Bacchus is

revealed in Renaissance painting or in the Postrenaissance.

The painter Caravaggio (the end of

the 16 th century) bequeathed the most famous

portraits of Bacchus to future generations.

The representation of gluttony and intemperance

is a special feature of The Life of Gargantua and

of Pantagruel, a pentalogy of novels written in the

16th century by François Rabelais in which the

stomach becomes a bag of vices, but also a form

of exaggeration and ridiculosity of consumption.

A good table for a few persons could be enough

for a whole city: „...they made ready supper,

and, of extraordinary besides his daily fare,

were roasted sixteen oxen, three heifers, two

and thirty calves, three score and three fat kids,

four score and fifteen wethers, three hundred

farrow pigs or sheats soused in sweet wine or

must, eleven score partridges, seven hundred

43

snipes and woodcocks, four hundred Loudun

and Cornwall capons, six thousand pullets, and

as many pigeons, six hundred crammed hens,

fourteen hundred leverets, or young hares and

rabbits, three hundred and three buzzards, and

one thousand and seven hundred cockerels.

For venison, they could not so suddenly come

by it, only eleven wild boars, which the Abbot of

Turpenay sent, and eighteen fallow deer which

the Lord of Gramount bestowed; together with

seven score pheasants, which were sent by the

Lord of Essars; and some dozens of queests,

coushats, ringdoves, and woodculvers; riverfowl,

teals and awteals, bitterns, courtes,

plovers, francolins, briganders, tyrasons, young

lapwings, tame ducks, shovellers, woodlanders,

herons, moorhens, criels, storks, canepetiers,

oranges, flamans, which are phaenicopters,

or crimson-winged sea-fowls, terrigoles,

turkeys, arbens, coots, solan-geese, curlews,

termagants, and water-wagtails, with a great deal

of cream, curds, and fresh cheese, and store of

soup, pottages, and brewis with great variety”

[6]. In another quoted passage the quantity

of white wine drunk by Pantagruel and some

friends could be equivalent to the consumption

of a city for a few months: “Pantagruel very

willingly consented, and they drank so neat that

there was not so much as one poor drop left of

two hundred and seven and thirty puncheons,

except one boracho or leathern bottle of Tours

which Panurge filled for himself, for he called

that his vademecum, and some scurvy lees of

wine in the bottom, which served him instead of

vinegar” [6].

Uncontrollable appetite as a constant

preoccupation is characteristic to Sancho

Panza (whose name can be translated

as “Holy paunch”), a famous fictional

character in the novel Don Quixote written

by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes

Saavedra and published in two volumes, in 1605

and 1615. The knight’s squire is the main source

of the novelistic gastronomy as Don Quixote

wasn’t a glutton since it fell to the knights’ lot to

fast and to live on what they found on the way:

herbs, berries, dried fruit and water. Sancho is

“a mirror of the Spaniard of the Golden Age, but

also of the Renaissance appetite”. The novel is

an authentic sample of what and how people ate

in the days of Cervantes. The writer mentions

more than 150 dishes and the one who dares

to read the novel should have a good stomach.

For cooks this novel turns out to be a useful

guidebook of the Spanish gastronomy of that

period, since the novel “could be read with the

stomach “[4, p. 75-76]. Here are some names of

Spanish foods in the novel: olla podrida, salpicon,

duelos y quebrantos. They are only mentioned

by name in this masterpiece, the professor

Sergiu Pavlicenco makes an excursion into the

gastronomy of the novel and describes the way

of their preparation. The first dish is translated

as”rotten pot” and is a „stew or hotchpotch

prepared in large quantity and containing the

various ingredients, from many meats (lamb,

cow, chickens, capons, pork etc.) to vegetables

(garlic, onion, chick-pea etc.), all are braised

so much as to seen as something rotten” [7, p.

72]. Olla with mutton meat was eaten by nobles

and knights; instead olla with beef was a food

for the paupers. Salpicon was a kind of salad

with meat chopped up in which are added onion,

oil, vinegar, Duellos y quebrantos was a dish

prepared of the following ingredients: bacon,

cracklings, eggs. The novelistic gastronomy is

largely simple, dominated by bread, cheese and

onion, to Sancho shield bearer daily food acced

the Knight of the Rueful Countenance (Don

Quijote).

The prince chronicles written upon their request

left their mark on the Romanian Literature

of the 19th century. Noemi Bomher makes a

retrospective of Romanian gastronomy of that

time in a chapter entitled At the table with rulers

and chroniclers in the book... The food imagery

in cookbooks. The feast of a ruler was not only

a nourishment system (..) but also a system of

displaying the wealth, a order and supervision

system, and an opportunity to banter with

guests, sometimes even with the ruler, from

such an irony could result the death of boyars

[8, p. 82] (...) The way of life is detected in

the pleasure to have many dinners and many

dishes, during a meal were served usually 10

to 12 dishes. The exaggerated food regimen

„scandalizes a doctor of the late eighteenth

century as Oriental travelers are amazed by

eating habits (to tear meat with fingers) and by

the presence of flies. The big number of domestic

staff and foreign cooks have changed the food

system (...) custom of coffee and conversation

creates an interesting ceremonial, only after the

mid-eighteenth century usually after the meals

people drunk wine and distilled drinks” [8, p. 88-

89]. For fasting dishes lard, oil and butter were

consumed.

In the Romanian history royal banquets are

often occasions for the beheadings of boyars

considered traitors. In 1458, Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad

the Impaler) invites to a banquet in the royal

palace of Târgovişte a large number of boyars.

At the end of the banquet the ruler asks boyars

how many successions of princes to the

Romanian throne they have known, because

none of them gives a plausible answer, the 50

boyars are impaled.

The Russian cuisine can be found plentifully in

the novel Oblomov (1859) by Ivan Goncearov.

The characters in this literary work feed well,

drink, gather around the table and comment

on dishes. The care about food is the main

occupation of the family members of Agafia

Matveyevna Pshenitsina (it should be noticed

that her surname has gustative connotations,

”pshenita” in Russian means ”wheat”). It’s an

allusion to the preference of the protagonist’s

housewife who prefers to bake cheese cakes,

bread, chicken and mushrooms flans. This

novel can be considered a representation of the

traditional Russian cuisine, because its author

mentions the favourite dishes of this nation:

soups, porridges, pies, pickles, tripe stew, ukha

with sour cream, giblets soup, botvinia, soup

with groats, cabbage soup, broth, boiled fish,

fried or salty: ruffes, sterlets, salmon, trout,

zander, sturgeon, oysters. Roasted or stuffed

game, chicken, snipe, hazel-hen, fattened

chickens, turkey and quail fowl. We are struck by

Oblomov’s menu due to its amount of prepared

meat dishes: beef steaks, giblets, pie filled

with meat or fish, cold tongue, goose, roasted

mutton, salted meat, aspic of pig’s trotters,

boiled or roasted veal, luscious croquettes,

steak. Peas, fresh beans, herbs, cabbage salad,

asparagus, radish, pineapple, cherries, apricots,

apples, watermelon, pasta with parmesan,

Swiss cheese, varenyky, sour cream, whipped

cream, ice cream, coffee. The world seen in

the light of Oblomov’s cuisine becomes a feast

focused on excess.

44

The taste of some foods in fiction can rouse

feelings and events experienced by the narrator

in his past. The role of memory is central to his

novel In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927) and is

introduced with the famous madeleine episode

in the first section of the novel and in the last

volume, Time Regained, a flashback similar to

that caused by the madeleine is the beginning

of the resolution of the story. Throughout the

work, many similar instances of involuntary

memory, triggered by sensory experiences such

as sights, sounds and smells conjure important

memories for the narrator and sometimes return

attention to an earlier episode of the novel

Plump little cakes called ”petites madeleines”

which look as though they had been moulded

in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell. Soaked

in lime tea infusion, they brings back the image

of the mother and aunt Léonie: ”Many years

had elapsed during which nothing of Combray,

save what was comprised in the theatre and

the drama of my going to bed there, had any

existence for me, when one day in winter, on my

return home, my mother, seeing that I was cold,

offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily

take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular

reason, changed my mind. She sent for one of

those squat, plump little cakes called “petites

madeleines,” which look as though they had

been moulded in the fluted valve of a scallop

shell. And soon, mechanically, dispirited after

a dreary day with the prospect of a depressing

morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea

in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake” [9].

That „form of things, including that of the little

scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual in its

severe, religious folds” as named by Proust,

It aims to effect transition to cause, update

involuntary memory. Taste of the cake keeps a

memory of pure childhood moments.

James Joyce’s novel Ulysses (1922) is rightly

a veritable guide of Dublin, and an invitation

to discover Irish cuisine. Sets the tone of

gastronomic preferences protagonist Leopold

Bloom a gourmet enthusiast for the kidneys:

“Leopold cut liverslices. As said before he ate

with relish the inner organs, nutty gizzards, fried

cods’ roes while Richie Goulding, Collis, Ward

ate steak and kidney, steak then kidney, bite by

bite of pie he ate Bloom ate they ate” [10]. We

mention a few dishes and drinks tasted by the

characters: cheese sandwich, roast beef with

cabbage, chump chop from the grill, stew, sauce,

beer, wine. In Joyce’s novel we can find some

proverbs related to food: „ Born with a silver knife

in his mouth” which would mean that the person

was born rich, „Eat or be eaten” - the law of life,

any dish requires a little sacrifice, „God made

food, the devil the cooks” - good and evil are

relative terms, one of which cannot exist without

the other. Bloom’s journey is a gastronomic one

as he frequents bars, pubs, ale or beer houses,

pubs. The author familiatizes us with Irish meals.

The English cuisine with its traditional tea and

with Turkish influences can be enjoyed while

reading the novel The Magus (1966, 1967)

by John Fowles. Some fragments culled from

the novel are the following: ”I saw cucumber

sandwiches. He pourred the tea, and indicated

the lemon (..) He poured me more tea. It had

huge torn leaves and a tarry China fragrance.

On the over plate were kourabiêdes, conical

buttercakes rolled in icing sugar (...) The meal

was excellent. We ate small fish cooked in

wine, a delicious chicken, herb-flavored cheese

and a honey-and-curd flan made, according to

Conchis, from a medieval Turkish recipe. The

wine we drank had a trace of resin, as if the

vineyard had merely been beside a pine forest,

and was nothing like the harsh turpentine-tasting

rotgut I sometimes drank in the village” [11].

Uwe Timm Entdekung der Currywurst (”The

Invention of Curried Sausage”, 1993) describes

hunger endured by people during the Second

World War, fructifies the idea of an inventor

and a discovery of a product that is a recipe for

sausage flavored with curry powder, and acorn

coffee (a substitute of the original coffee during

the crisis). The recipe appears in the novel as we

could easily find in any cookbook. Acorn coffee

is prepared in the following way: ”Acorn coffee

– now that Mrs. Brücker had experimented with

over a long time, since in those days people

had next to nothing. Acorn coffee was that

served when she oppened her food stand after

the war. My mother could even still tell me the

recipe: Gather some acorns, dry them in the

oven, remove the cups, then, after grindling and

roasting the kernels, add the usual ersatz coffee

blend. The coffee tasted a little bitter. Anyone

who drank that coffee for a long time, so my

mother claimed, gradually lost their sense of

taste. Acorn coffee actually tanned the tongue, so

that, during the starvation winter of 1947, acorncoffee

drinkers could even bake sawdust into

their bread and think it tasted as good as bread

made from the finest wheat flour” [12]. The food

seen through obesity which becomes matter of

conscience of the character appears in the short

story Bitter Schokolade (”Bitter Chocolate”,

1980), signed by Mirijam Pressler. The exterior

of protagonist (Eva) does not prevent her to

be happy, loved, importantly that boyfriend

45

accept her as she is. Karen Duve’s novel

Regenroman (”Rain”, 1999) has protagonists

affected either by bulimia, or hyperphagia.

Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by

eating huge amounts of food in a very short

period of time, and then causing vomit, consume

special medications to induce forced removal

of consumed food. Food is accompanied by

loss of control then the sense of shame, guilt,

fear of fattening. After a period of abstinence

from food, excessive consumption temptation

returns always accompanied by a vicious circle:

prohibition and excessive consumption. Bulimia

is eating disorders characterized by excessive

consumption. Martina Voss the protagonist of

the novel Rain suffering from “recurrent bouts of

excessive eating, through a kind of self harm,

self-punishment” [7, p. 63].

Geographic interference should not

be overlooked, proximity to certain countries

influencing national cuisine. For example

Romania is among Central Europe and the south

east, which means that this favorable position

did enjoy Balkan cuisine (called also ”Byzantine”

or ”Ottoman”) but also the Central European

(Hungarian, German): ”From the south came

vegetable dishes like eggplant, tomatoes,

onions and peppers, okra and quinces, plums

etc. (pot, imam, Balda, moussaka) pilaf, all

kinds of soups, lamb tripe, Sheet cakes called

pie, honey and walnuts (baklava, sarailie, cataif)

sherbet and coffee. The pie is a Roman heritage,

clearly derives from the name ”placenta” in the

sense of the bag, filling, name entered as the

neologism in the medical field. We share with

Central Europe autumn and winter dishes based

on fresh and pickled cabbage, then potatoes, all

kinds of smoked pork (non-existent to Muslims,

but common Serbian and Bulgarian, as the

countries of Central and Western Europe) salami

and ham, cakes with whipped cream, Chocolate

and cocoa that we encounter in Vienna and

Budapest patry ” [1, p. 6-7].

Without claiming to exhaust the subject

and a random selection, preferably by the article

author, we can say that the food and how to eat

of characters express their material condition,

gastronomical preferences and quality of

life, character traits throw attitude towards

food, various rituals of consumption of food,

utensils accompanying food consumption or

contributes to its processing, arsenal of cutlery

46

from that is consumed food, outside characters,

psychological states, etc.

Bibliography:

1) O lume într-o carte de bucate. Manuscris din

epoca brâncovenească. Transcrierea textului, prefaţă

şi postfaţă de Ioana Constantinescu, cu un studiu

introductiv de Matei Cazacu. Bucureşti: Editura

Fundaţiei Culturale Române, 1997.

2) Smaranda Sburlan Bucătăria lumii, Bucureşti: ed.

Iulian, 2005.

3) https://archive.org/stream/iliadofhomerlite00homeu

oft#page/72/mode/2up

4) www.igibud.com/petron/satyr/satyr06.html

5) Ileana Tănase O călătorie prin Italia gastronomică,

Bucureşti: Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică, Ediţia a

2-a, 2006.

6)www.gutenberg.org/files/1200/1200-h/1200-h.htm

7)Literatură şi Gastronomie. Simpozion interuniversitar,

4-5 decembrie, Chişinău: CEP USM, 2010.

8)Noemi Bomher Imaginarul hranei în cărţile de

bucate. Iaşi: ALFA, 2005.

9) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7178/7178-h/7178-h.

htm

10)https://en.wikisource.otg/wiki/Ulysses-(novel)/

Chapter_11

11) John Fowles The Magus (1966).

12)Uwe Timm http://www.openisbn.com/

preview/0811213684/

The „Metamorphoses“ project, created by

Alumnus Club for UNESCO which celebrated

this year its 15 th anniversary, is an international

project which annually proposes themes of high

value (educational and creative camps), aimed

at stimulating young people’s ideas, talents and

ambitions in order to create artistic works (such

as exhibitions, movies and performances) and

in order to create a conceptual virtual space

for a European identity through young people,

as seen in many aspects: cultural, ethnical,

scientific and artistic.

The aim of the project is to strengthen the

feeling of “European identity” as a quantum

of national and regional IDs, to promote

cultural exchange by having access to

examining and using information about the

European countries, thus reinforcing the idea

of a “tangible” European identity, brought

as a response to the integration of the

ethnographical diversity and of the European

minorities.

- July 2009 – Metamorphoses I – European

identity – the project took place in Sinaia and

16 young people from 7 countries participated

and together, they collaborated to create 3

projects for a museum of European identity:

EUROMORPHO, EUROPEION, EUROFLUX;

the projects were presented during a exposition

in Paris in October.

-June 2010 - Metamorphoses II – the woman

in Europe. The event concluded with a movie

created by the participants from 7 countries

regarding the condition of the woman. The

project took place in Tergnier, France

- May 2011 - Metamorphoses III – the European

city in the context of multiculturalism, took place

in Bucharest and reunited young people from 8

countries and concluded with the creation of a

movie – The European City

- August 2012 - Metamorphoses IV -A Life

Dedicated to UNESCO – the creation of a film

which brings homage to the personalities who

have dedicated their lives to UNESCO. The

movie shows the awarding of the ceremonial

plaques A Life Dedicated to UNESCO; festivity

which was part of the General Assembly of the

III European Federation of UNESCO Clubs,

Centres and Associations in Bucharest

Metamorphoses step by step

-October 2013 Metamorphoses V – Interethnic

Traditions Camp: The European city at Brasov

– the project ended with the opening of the

European City exhibit where the works of the

young participants were displayed.

-October 2014 - Metamorphoses VI – Bucharest

Rediscovered – the project concluded with the

photograph exhibit with the same title by the

famous photographer George Dumitriu and the

photo album Bucharest Rediscovered which

enables all those who read it to have fast and

easy access to information regarding Bucharest,

a city full of charm and stories and bewitching

hidden places (the album was published in 3

languages and contains touristic and historical

information)

Year by year, this programme is included on the

agenda of the World and European Federation of

Clubs, Centers and Associations for UNESCO.

This year the project is dedicated to the

Traditional European culinary arts Young people

from 18 countries will be cooking national

traditional dishes, in Bucharest at the Arts and

Crafts College UCECOM Spiru Haret.

Daniela Popescu,

President Alumnus Club for UNESCO

47

Italy

About the project

“I find it great and a very interesting and wonderful

experience. I love all my colleagues, they are warm

and helpful and they know how to promote culture.

I consider this a fun way to spend my week.”

First reaction when hearing that cooking was part of

the project

“Oh my god! I felt anxious and excited at the

same time. Anxious because I considered it a big

responsibility in representing my country, Italy in

the best possible way. I could say that this was a bit

heavy for me but I am so grateful and pleased to be

here. I was familiar with the recipes. I tried cooking

this dish a few times before I came to Romania and

I found it easy. After finishing cooking here, I feel

happy.”

Pakistan

About the project

“I am so happy to be in a place which is so

multicultural and to learn new things and new

cultures and to have the opportunity to show my

culture. Through this experience I am not just

learning, I am also teaching. I feel very happy

because I can improve my kitchen skills at my

home.”


the project

“I felt really excited because I love cooking.”

Greece

About the project

“I would like to say “bravo” and “congratulations”

to the organizers for the successful organization of

this project and for the initiative. I consider this a

rich cultural experience and I had the opportunity to

learn more about other countries’ national dishes. I

am glad to see that cooking plays an important role

in this project.”


the project

“For me it was wonderful moment and being here I

am experiencing special and unique moments and it

is a great honour to represent my country, Greece.

I feel great because I get the chance to create

Greek traditional tastes that reflect the history of my

country.”

Portugal

About the project

“I find this a very interesting project. It is a good way

to interact with people from other countries and learn

about their national dishes.”


the project

“Since I don’t cook it will be my first experience and

I hope that I will be able not only to cook but also to

show one of the most important popular and cultural

dishes of my country, Portugal which I proudly

represent.”

Moldavia

“I am happy to have the opportunity of learning about

other recipes and how they are cooked and to test

other countries’ national dishes. This project is very

interesting because it focuses on interaction and

multiculturalism.”


the project

“I cook at home so it was not something that made

me feel anxious. It was something familiar for me

especially because after I got married I started

cooking more. Before that my mother used to

cook. Now being a mother I started to learn about

ingredients and what my child needs to eat. I cook

everything for my daughter. I consider cooking like

an exam; you either pass or you don’t.”

Bulgaria

About the project

“I am very happy to take part in this project. I met very

interesting people with whom I am going to keep in

touch after the project and work together. When we

visited the Bakery I met some people who work there

which I invited to Bulgaria to show us their work.”


the project

“Oh my God! I expected only to make an oral

presentation because this is a really old recipe and

even though I’ve seen how it is cooked, I never

cooked it myself. This will be the first time.”

France

About the project

“I think that this project is not only fun but also rich

as a cultural and social experiment to realize that

different cultures have common attributes. I love

having the opportunity to be a part of this project

and I enjoy interacting with other people.”


the project

“I liked the idea of cooking and representing my

country, France. I found it challenging and I felt as if

I had a lot of weight on my shoulders because if the

dish I was going to prepare was not good this would

be visible to others.”

Turkey

About the project

“It is great to be here and because of this project,

I learned how to cook and I got in touch with other

cultures and tasted national dishes from different

countries. Thank you very much for providing me

with this opportunity and for helping me realize that

I can cook.”


the project

“I felt anxious and this is why I brought all the

ingredients from my country, because the shape of

aubergines that I used is very important for my dish

and I couldn’t risk it. I practiced cooking this dish

twice before I came here. After cooking I feel that I

managed to prepare a genuine Turkish dish and this

made me feel very happy. I am glad that my friends

from other countries tasted this delicious “imam

fainted”.

Armenia

About the project

“This is a very good opportunity to promote

understanding through gastronomy. I feel happy

and proud to represent my country, Armenia and I

am very glad that the Armenian dishes had a great

success. I am also happy to have tried national

dishes from other countries. I love cooking.”


the project

“I was happy because I really enjoy and love cooking.

I am happy to bring to life the ancient Armenian

recipes.”

48

Belarus

About the project

“Cooking in an international team is the best way to

know other cultures and the persons who cook their

national dishes. This is a new experience for me to

cook in this environment, but I feel comfortable in the

kitchen. I am glad to be here and part of this project.

Thank you for this experience. I invite everyone to

Belarus.”


the project

“At first I was a little bit afraid because I have no

professional skills but I realized that it is a great

experience and an opportunity to learn. Being in the

kitchen makes me feel tired because every day we

have to prepare many dishes but since we work as a

team, I feel pleased and happy.”

Cyprus

About the project

“The project is a great opportunity to learn about the

gastronomic habits of other countries and to realize

that there are some similarities but also appreciate

and understand as well as respect the differences.

This is a project that promotes intercultural dialogue

and that helps to build genuinely good relations

amongst people from different countries. Thank you

for this opportunity and congratulations.”


the project

“I need to practise all the recipes in order to prepare

them successfully and represent my country’s

Cyprus, culture and gastronomy. I thought that this

would be challenging for me but also I could not wait

to cook. Even though I said that I would practise the

dishes, I didn’t, so I was a bit worried whether I would

prepare them good, but in the end everything went

more than well and with the help of my new friends

and colleagues I cooked for the first time in my life

a special Cypriot dish that everybody loves in my

country, shieftalia. Now when I will go back to Cyprus

I will cook shieftalia again for my friends and family.”

Russia

About the project“

Very good project with good organization. This

project creates opportunities for intercultural

dialogue and helps promote traditional dishes from

different cultures.”


the project

“This is the first time that I am cooking since I was

9 years old so I had my mom on the phone all the

time when I was preparing the salad. After I heard

so many compliments for my salad I began to doubt

the sincerity of the comments. I hope that next

Metamorphosis project will be on a different topic.”

Poland

About the project

“It is very interesting for me to learn recipes for

national dishes of different countries. I work in a

vocational high school and I teach students who

work in hotels. They have cooking classes and I am

going to introduce them to the new recipes I now

know from my experience in this project. This is a

great adventure and I really enjoy being here.”

Ukraine

About the project

“For me it is the first time that I participate in such

a project and I find it very interesting because I can

make new friends and learn about other countries’

national dishes. This is why I find this experience very

good. I think it will be very interesting to show a taste

of Ukraine through the media. I work in newspapers

and I will write about it. I am also happy to promote

how to eat healthy and to enjoy the process rather

than eat fast food.”


the project

“My mother cooks very well. I know how to cook but I

don’t have a long term experience. Despite this I felt

happy because at home every day I have no time to

cook but here I am relaxed, I have all the ingredients

and the help of my colleagues, young people from

other countries who also like cooking.”

Romania

About the project

It was of high importance for Romania to develop an

important cooking project since our country has as

main characteristic the hospitality. We are proud to

have with us little chefs from 17 countries. Through

continuous interactions, brainstorming and working

together we learned more about what differentiates

us and what brings us together. We talked about our

common European identity and we realized that we

should each enjoy our history and traditions. I love

being Romanian the same way the others enjoy their

nationalities and we discovered that we can have fun

together while being who we are.


the project

Cooking is about generosity and sharing and not

about skills. We were so relaxed it didn’t even feel

like a workshop. Learning together with new friends,

putting forward your creativity, creating new emotions

and studying an idea as complex as the European

identity opens people to each other. I never thought

that learning about something could be so delicious.

Serbia

About the project

“This is a great way to meet other people and other

cultures and especially to taste different food and

experience other traditions and cultures. It is a

great privilege to be one of the participants of the

Metamorphoses project. I am really please to have

the chance to cook some Serbian dishes and to

share them with others. I think that the aim of the

project is excellent and with its consistency we can

see that it provides great results. I consider this a

good way for young people to meet others from

different countries and experience how they live and

eat. I hope that in the future more participants will

join the project.”


the project

“I was pretty calm and relaxed because I know how

to prepare the dishes and I already knew some of the

people from the project, so I was happy when I got

the invitation and I could not wait.”

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