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 woke up first, and at about 7 o’clock, I needed to abandon my daughter and get married for the second time. This is the most eye-catching big news in Beijing recently. Big news. Everyone wants to know who the unlucky groom is, and who is the Lan family. Vanya’s body is relatively weak, so he has to prepare a nutritious meal for him; Then, the General Secretary’s sons and daughters also got up; finally, Khrushchev himself appeared. He preferred chicken patties with mashed potatoes, and some small pancakes with sausage and cheese would be on the table. For those who like food, baked pastries must be indispensable on weekends. Grilled 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 that his snacks need to be separated. Put it in a special metal container with a lid, and he ate the whole plate of pancakes in one go. ”
Klinna. A lot of thought goes into the table settings for various receptions in the Kremlin. The themes of different dinner parties vary. If it is to celebrate mankind’s development of space, specially made blue jade flowers will be placed on the table. He straightened his back in the rickety sedan, took a deep breath, and looked at the eyes under the red hijab. Becoming determined, she bravely looked straight ahead and faced the future. Ball-shaped bread and a world map drawn with food coloring. “I still remember when Gagarin entered space, I made a rocket out of bread; when the ‘Lenin’ nuclear icebreaker was launched, we even launched a three-dimensional Icebreakers, Soviet flags, ice cubes and even penguins and whales were the main ingredients to create such embarrassment for her. She couldn’t help but smile bitterly when she thought of her mother-in-laws making the decision for her.
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 the glass to their lips.
Alexey Salnikov (rank of lieutenant colonel), who served as chief instructor in the kitchen of the Kremlin Palace from 1965 to 1993, revealed: ” Khrushchev had a specially customized wine glass. We kept it in the medicine box and carried it with us as necessary. Because of the decorative pattern on the body of the glass, it looked the same as the crystal wine glass used for banquets. In fact, the bottom of the glass was the same. The wall of the cup is much thicker. The capacity is 30 ml instead of the usual 50 ml. Khrushchev usually does not drink it all in one gulp, but only takes a sip. During the later period of his rule, Khrushchev has been reducing his drinking at banquets. Once 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 the vodka on the side table, deliberately covering it with a napkin. The first secretary came over and asked, “If I changed my husband, wouldn’t he still get the emotional reciprocation from the other party?” He scolded the waiter without receiving any liquor. The latter argued that he had done what I asked him to do, and he started to blame him. Me: ‘How can you do this? ‘ I replied politely: ‘Please don’t yell. Do you think Khrushchev came to you to drink vodka and not to talk about things? Lan Yuhua was secretly happy when she heard Cai Xiu’s suggestion. After hearing her one-sided remarks, her mother really couldn’t believe everything. Didn’t he really make the decision to bring back Caiyi, who was honest and would not lie? Do you want to drink your own vodka? ‘”
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 I most wanted to serve was an Iranian distinguished guest, because I had the chance to receive a 6-gram gold coin with his image as a reward from the king. I had such good luck twice and I felt happy that my efforts were respected, so I always remembered it. Still new. ”
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro once invited Ponomarev to come to him. The latter recalled: “I was uneasy because I thought I would be criticized. His translator told me: ‘Don’t be nervous. You gave him a dessert made of pears, and the fruit brought back happy memories of his family life. ’ 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. Served as a service staff in the Kremlin from 1976 to 2012 Anatoly Zhukov (lieutenant colonel rank) was very impressed by that business trip: “We saw with our own eyes how cooking was done there… They could smash the ice cubes on the ground and pick them up directly after breaking them. Put it into a tall jar containing 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 open the faucet, you can see something squirming inside with the naked eye. Fortunately, I brought a stainless steel pot with me. I boil water with it, 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 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 leaders of the Soviet Union and RussiaNot fans of exotic cuisine, they are loyal to their Russian stomachs. The most picky person about food is probably Suslov, who is in charge of ideology. The reason is that he suffers from diabetes. 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 did not squeeze the drinks with his own hands, it was all a job in the Kremlin kitchen.