Original title: Foreign media reveal the Kremlin kitchen: Khrushchev eats lightly, Putin is not picky about food
Reference News Network reported on January 9 that Russia’s Lianta Network reported on January 6 that the Russian Federal Guard Service recently launched a limited edition new book “The Kremlin” Palace·Special Kitchen” sold out quickly. The book not only contains documents and secrets, but also includes reminiscences of the person in charge of this most mysterious kitchen in the country. One of the authors, Sergey Devyatov, serves as the director’s advisor and is a doctor of history. From the staff’s narrations, we can get a glimpse of some unexpected details of the work, life and rest of the Soviet and Russian leaders. The names of the chefs have been made public for the first time, and all of them have military ranks.
Lianta.com extracts the essence for readers:
Kitchens run by intelligence services
Special kitchens are not from the 20th century new products. In the tsarist era, the royal kitchen fell under the jurisdiction of the chamberlain, whose responsibilities included running the intelligence service and being responsible for the safety of the emperor and his family. Since 1878, chemical identification of food has been carried out in the palace. If the emperor is inspecting the country or visiting other countries, he usually brings some necessary food. Cost is not a consideration, safety is the most important.
After the Bolsheviks established power, ensuring the leaders’ food supply was one of the most difficult problems. In 1920, Gorky Farm was set up specifically for this purpose on the outskirts of Moscow. However, banquets have long been regarded as extravagant. It was not until the early 1930s that it became commonplace to hold various meetings, celebrations, breakfast meetings, luncheons, and dinners in the Kremlin.
In the 1930s and during the Great Patriotic War, Caucasian cuisine, especially Georgian cuisine, has always been the main course of various banquets in the Kremlin Palace, domineering The pepper-infused white wine impressed the foreign guests. Providing delicious, healthy and especially safe meals to the Kremlin has become a top priority for the intelligence agency. Since then, all cooks, waiters and other personnel in the Kremlin’s kitchens have held military ranks, a tradition that continues to this day.
Rocket Bread
Alevtina Klinna (warrant officer rank) who was in charge of the kitchen of the Kremlin Palace from 1956 to 1983 once served Khrushchev. She recalled: “They live here with a big family and work a lot. The children wake up first, about 7 o’clock, and I need to prepare breakfast before then. Vanya’s body is relatively weak, so she has to prepare the breakfast alone. He cooked a nutritious meal; then, the General Secretary’s children also got up. Finally, Khrushchev himself appeared. He preferred chicken patties with mashed potatoes, and some small pancakes with sausage and cheese. Serve at the table. He is a person who likes good food, and baked pasta is a must on weekends. Baked apricot pancakes are his favorite. Once I made a big plate of apple pancakes for the whole family, but I didn’t know the general secretary’s habits. His snacks need to be placed in special metal containers with lids, but he ate the entire pancake in one go. ”
Klina was unable to find and own the tables for various receptions in the Kremlin. Although she didn’t know how much she would be able to remember after waking up from this dream, and whether it would deepen the memories that had already been blurred in reality, she was also glad that she was able to put in all the effort to arrange it. The themes of different dinner parties vary. If it is to celebrate human development of space, bread specially made into the shape of a globe will be placed on the table, and a map of the world will be drawn with food coloring. “I still remember that when Gagarin entered space, I used Bread made a rocket; when the ‘Lenin’ nuclear icebreaker was launched, we even launched three-dimensional icebreakers, Soviet flags, ice cubes and even penguins and whales, and the main raw material was butter.”
Khrushchev’s wine glass
According to the description in “The Kremlin·Special Kitchen”, people may think that the Soviet state banquet is full of scenes of people drinking happily. In fact, most of the Soviet leaders just raise their glasses and get close to each other, and they also have to earn money. I use the money to pay for my mother’s medical expenses and living expenses. Because I couldn’t afford to rent a house in the city, I had to live with my mother on a mountainside outside the city. Going in and out of town every day is all it takes to cure my mother’s lip.
Alexey Salnikov (with the rank of lieutenant colonel) who served as the chief instructor in the Kremlin palace kitchen from 1965 to 1993 revealed: “Khrushchev had a specially customized wine glass. , we put it in the medicine box and carry it with us as a necessity. Because of the decorative pattern on the cup body, it looks like a crystal wine glass used for banquets. In fact, the bottom and walls of the cup are much thicker. The capacity is 30ml instead of the usual 50ml. Khrushchev usually did not drink it all in one gulp, but only took a sip. During the later years of his administration, Khrushchev had been reducing the amount of alcohol he drank at banquets. Once when we went to Vladivostok, he told me to be careful not to serve white wine during the reception. I asked the waiter to only bring wine and put the vodka on the side table, deliberately covering it with a napkin. The first secretary of the local party committee came over and couldn’t find the liquor, so he scolded the waiter, who argued that he had done it according to my instructions. He started to blame me: ‘How can you do this? What’s your background? ’ I replied politely: ‘Please don’t yell. Do you think Khrushchev came to you to drink vodka instead of talking about things? Do you think this is my decision? Didn’t he have his own vodka to drink? ‘”
Received a fur coat as a thank you
When visiting the Soviet Union, foreign dignitaries usually taste Russian food even if they bring enough food. When the American delegation went to the Soviet Union, they brought a Filipino chef and a large refrigerator with them, but before leaving, It was found that the food had not been touched very much. Some people praised the chef’s skills and felt that they should be politely thanked.
1972- Yuri Ponomarev (with the rank of captain) who worked in the kitchen of the Kremlin Palace in 1997 recalled: “Mongolian guests gave fur coats, two to three meters long suede, camel hair quilts, and leather jackets; the Czechs would Gift them with Bohemian vases and tea sets; the Bulgarians will leave behind plum wine and suit fabrics. But what we most wanted to serve at that time was the Iranian distinguished guests, because we had the opportunity to receive a 6-gram gold coin with his image as a reward from the king. I’ve had this kind of luck twice. The joy of being respected for my efforts remains fresh in my memory. ”
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro once invited Ponomarev to come, the latter recalled : “I was uneasy, thinking I would be criticized. His translator told me: ‘Don’t be nervous. You once gave him a dessert made of pears. The fruit reminded him of family life.happy memories. ’ Castro said that when his father came home from a long trip, he always brought pears to him and his brother. For young Fidel and Raul, this was a real treat. This memory aroused the tenderest feelings in his heart, so he was very grateful to me. ”
“I’m worried that I won’t survive”
The trip to Vietnam was a difficult journey for the Kremlin chef, especially as the country was still in the ruins of war. “What happened?” “Lan Yuhua asked with a confused look on her face. In the meantime, everything was waiting for something to be done. Anatoly Zhukov (rank of lieutenant colonel), who served as a service member of the Kremlin Palace from 1976 to 2012, was quite impressed by that business trip. Profound: “We saw with our own eyes how the cooking was done there… They could smash the ice cubes on the ground, break them, pick them up and put them directly into tall jugs for juice. We always bring our own electric stove just in case. Once, I accompanied Gorbachev on a business trip to Vietnam. There was no chef or food with me. Fortunately, the first lady Raisa brought soft cheese, milk and some hungry things. After arriving in Vietnam, the place was devastated. People were hungry, lacked clothes and shoes, and the official residence where they stayed was infested with cockroaches and had no kitchen. Because I would be there for 12 days, I was worried that I would not survive. When you turn on the faucet, you can see something squirming inside with the naked eye. Fortunately, I brought a stainless steel pot with me. Use it to boil water, let it cool and then boil it again, and repeat it several times. There were ants crawling everywhere and we had to sprinkle vinegar around the table. ”
Not a pampered master
Alexey Salnikov shared his views on Kremlin leaders: “Many leaders are not pampered gentlemen, so they advocate frugality on certain issues. Khrushchev liked to eat light meals and eat less oil. “Mom, this opportunity is rare.” Pei Yi said anxiously. greasy. He prefers Ukrainian cabbage soup with thick pancakes. When he went hunting, he would ask Podgorny, who was traveling with him, to make a rich farm soup and put yellow rice, potatoes and meat cut into large pieces into it. ”
Generally speaking, the successive leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia are not fans of exotic food. They are all loyal to their Russian stomachs. The most picky person about eating is probably Suslov, who is in charge of ideology. The reason is that Gorbachev likes to eat baked goods.Baked pasta, but Raisa thought it would make her fatter and stopped. Although Yeltsin was tall, he actually had a small appetite and had a special liking for fried potatoes with mushrooms and onions.
Current President Putin is never picky about his diet and advocates simplicity. The last time he invited reporters to visit his private kitchen was six years ago. His breakfast consists of milk residue with honey, quail eggs, sugar cane juice and horseradish. Of course, he didn’t squeeze the drinks with his own hands, it was all a job in the Kremlin kitchen.