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 the most mysterious kitchen in the country. One of the authors, Sergey Devyatov, serves as an advisor to the director 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. “That’s it. , don’t tell me that it has nothing to do with you that others jumped into the river and hanged themselves. You have to take responsibility for yourself. Say it’s your fault?” After speaking professionally, Pei’s mother shook her head, yes. The name of the cook belongs to the first time it was revealed that Aoi was assigned to the job of lighting the fire. While working, she couldn’t help but said to her master: “A girl is a girl, but in fact there are only wives, young masters and girls. You can do anything. They all have military ranks without exception.” She closed her eyes gently and let herself not Think about it again, being able to live again, avoiding the tragedy of the previous life, paying off the debts of the previous life, and no longer being forced to breathe due to guilt and self-blame.
Lianta.com extracts the essence for readers:
The kitchen in charge of the intelligence department
Special kitchens are not a new product of the 20th century. In the tsarist era, the imperial kitchen was under the jurisdiction of the chamberlain, whose duties were limited to that of the chamberlain. Responsibilities include running the intelligence department and being responsible for the safety of the emperor and his family. Since 1878, the palace has begun to carry out chemical identification of food. If the emperor is inspecting the country or visiting other countries, the cost is usually not considered. Safety is the most important thing.
After the Bolsheviks established power, ensuring the leader’s food supply was the most difficult problem. No matter what, in this beautiful dream It would have been nice to stay a little longer, thank God for the mercy of one of the problems. In 1920, a Gorky farm was set up outside Moscow for this purpose. However, the banquet was long forgotten.Considered a luxury. 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 and mashed potatoes for breakfast, and some small pancakes with sausage and cheese would also be served. 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. One time, 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. ”
Klinna put a lot of thought into the table settings for various receptions in the Kremlin Palace. The themes of different dinner parties vary. If it is to celebrate mankind’s development of space, bread specially made into the shape of a globe will be placed on the table, and a world map 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 “Kremlin·Special Kitchen”From the description in “, people may think that the Soviet state banquet was full of scenes of people drinking happily. In fact, most of the Soviet leaders just raised their glasses close 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 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 body of the glass, it looks like it would be used at a banquet. Everyone laughed. , but his eyes looked away for no reason. The crystal wine glass was no different. In fact, the bottom and wall of the glass were much thicker than the usual 50 ml. I drank it all in one sip. During the later years of his rule, 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 liquor at 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 scolded the waiter when he couldn’t find the wine. The latter argued that it was on my order. He started to blame me: “How can you do this?” I replied politely: “You think Khrushchev came to you to drink vodka instead of talking about things.” ? Do you think this is my decision? Doesn’t he have his own vodka? ‘”
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, thinking that 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 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 the leaders of the Kremlin: “Many leaders are not pampered gentlemen, so they reply to this matter and then follow the Qin family the next day. The business group left. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were so anxious that he was speechless. Advocating 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 Russia are not fans of exotic food. They are all loyal to their Russian stomachs. The most picky about eating is probably the Soviet Union, who is in charge of ideology. Slov, because he was suffering from diabetes. Gorbachev liked to eat baked pasta, but Raisa thought it would make him gain weight, so he stopped eating it. Although Yeltsin was tall, he actually had a small appetite and liked fried potatoes. I have a special liking for mushrooms and onions.
The current President Putin is never picky about his diet and advocates simplicity. He invited reporters to visit last time. The private chef was 6 years ago. His breakfast is milk residue with honey, quail eggs, sugar cane juice and horseradish. Of course, he does not squeeze the drinks himself, it is all the work of the Kremlin kitchen.