Original title: Foreign media reveals 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; and finally Khrushchev himself appeared. He preferred chicken patties with mashed potatoes for breakfast, and some small pancakes. Lan Yuhua was stunned and ordered. He nodded and said: “Just think about it clearly. However, if you change your mind and want to redeem yourself someday, let me know again. I said, I let it go. Sausage and cheese will also be on the table. He is a person who likes good food, so he cannot miss out on baked pastries on weekends, and baked apricot pancakes are his favorite. Once I made a large plate of apple pancakes for the whole family, but I didn’t understand the General Secretary’s habit of putting his snacks in separate metal containers with lids, so I didn’t expect him to eat the whole plate of pancakes in one go. ”
Klinna has put a lot of thought into the table settings for various receptions in the Kremlin Palace. The themes of different dinner parties are different. If it is to celebrate humanity When developing 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 made a rocket out of bread; when the ‘Lenin’ When the nuclear icebreaker was launched, we even launched three-dimensional icebreakers, Soviet flags, ice cubes and even penguins and whales. 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, but in fact, most Soviet leaders just raise their glasses to their lips.
Alexey Salnikov, chief instructor in the Kremlin kitchen from 1965 to 1993(Lieutenant Colonel rank) revealed: “Khrushchev has a specially customized wine glass. We put it in the medicine box and carry it with us as necessary. Because of the decorative pattern on the cup body, it looks like the crystal used for banquets. The wine glass is no different. In fact, the bottom and wall of the glass are much thicker. My husband has been reducing the amount of alcohol he drinks at banquets. Once when we went to Vladivostok, he told me to be careful not to serve white wine at the reception. I asked the waiter to only serve wine and put vodka on the side table. Covering it with a napkin. The first secretary of the local party committee came over and scolded the waiter when he couldn’t find the liquor. The latter argued that he did it according to my instructions and started to blame me: “How could you do this?” What’s the reason?’ I replied politely: ‘Please don’t yell. Do you think Khrushchev came to you to drink vodka instead of talking about something? Do you think it was my decision? Do you want to drink? ‘”
Receive a fur coat as a thank you
When visiting the Soviet Union, foreign dignitaries usually tasted Russian cuisine even if they brought 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, they found that the food had not been touched much. Some people praised the chef’s skills and felt that they should repay him with courtesy.
Yuri Ponomarev (rank of captain), who worked in the kitchen of the Kremlin Palace from 1972 to 1997, recalled: “Mongolia Chinese guests gave us fur coats, two- to three-meter-long suedes, camel hair quilts, and leather jackets; the Czechs gave them Bohemian vases and tea sets; and the Bulgarians left behind plum wine and suit fabrics. The one he most wanted to serve was the Iranian distinguished guest, because he had the chance to get a 6-gram gold cast with his image as a reward from the king. When Pei Yi told his father-in-law that he was going to Qizhou on the day he returned home, the bachelor’s father-in-law did not stop him, but carefully I asked about his thoughts and future prospects. I have had such good luck twice and I feel happy that my efforts have been respected. ”
The former Cuban leader Fidel Castro once invited Ponomarev to come. The latter recalled: “I was uneasy, thinking that it would was criticized. His translator told me: “Don’t be nervous. You gave me 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 since the country was still in the ruins of war and was in need of reconstruction. 1976-20 Who is this person? “Difficult to get along with? Deliberately making things difficult for you, making you follow the rules, or making you do a lot of housework? “Mother Lan pulled her daughter to the bedside and sat down, and asked impatiently. Anatoly Zhukov (rank of lieutenant colonel) who served as a service member of the Kremlin Palace for 12 years was quite impressed by that business trip: “We I saw with my own eyes how the food was cooked there… They could smash the ice cubes on the ground, break them and then pick them up and put them 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, repeating 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 and eat less greasy food. 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 he suffers from diabetes.sick. Gorbachev liked to eat baked pasta, but Raisa thought it would make him gain weight 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.