If you are looking for a Ukrainian cookbook with detailed instructions on how to make dishes that you remember your grandmother making, this is not it. But if you are looking for some interesting reading about food, mainly that of Ukraine and Russia, along with some truly old-school recipes (no quantities given), then “Adventures in the Slavic Kitchen” would be a great addition to your bookshelf.
“Adventures in the Slavic Kitchen: A Book of Essays with Recipes” is exactly what its title says: a cultural study of the role food plays in the formation and expression of a nation’s character. It focuses primarily on the Russian and Ukrainian kitchens, discussing them in the context of international food practices.
The book is divided into four major sections: “The Philosophy of the Kitchen,” with chapters including “The Origin of the Kitchen,” “Tell Me What You Eat,” and “We Do Not Eat It!”; “Cultural Dictionary of Eastern Slavic Food,” with chapters devoted to salo, kielbasa, cheese, vodka and “Hangover Cookery”; “Seasonal Culinary Art,” with chapters about pelmeni and varenyky, kasha, carp, cabbage, and “Is eggplant really ‘blue’?”; and “Cities and Dishes,” including chapters on Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; Aqaba, Jordan; Riga, Latvia; and Kyiv, among others.
Igor Klekh’s formative years were spent in western Ukraine, mostly in Ivano-Frankivsk and in the multicultural city of Lviv, where he had access to the literature of East-Central Europe. He currently resides in Moscow. His prose style has been compared to that of Jorge Luis Borges and Bruno Schulz, whose novellas he was among the first to translate from Polish into Russian. He has authored seven books of prose, essays, translations and literary criticism and has been a frequent contributor to the best Russian literary journals including Novyi Mir, Znamya and Druzhba Narodov.
His works have earned numerous prizes including the Alfred C. Toepfer Pushkin Prize (1993), the Yury Kazakov Prize (2000) for Best Short Story, and the October Magazine Prize (2000) for his book on the artist Sergei Sherstiuk. His works have been nominated for the Russian version of the Booker Prize twice (1995 and 2012). His prose works have been published in English translation under the title “A Land the Size of Binoculars” (2004) by Northwestern University Press.
“Adventures in the Slavic Kitchen” has received numerous positive reviews, including the following.
“With a style that has been compared to Jorge Luis Borges, and covering topics from hangover cookery to the political significance of the sausage in Ukraine, Klekh’s essays make for a highly amusing and informative read – a literary feast, if you will.” – Matthew Janney, The Culture Trip.
“The author Igor Klekh has a sense of humor and a philosophical attitude towards ‘Soviet times.’ But he also has some interesting observations to make about food and cooking in general.” – Lisa Hill, ANZ LitLovers LitBlog.
“Igor Klekh’s poignant, humorous and authentic (at least to this reader) voice is translated by Slava Yastremksi and Michael Naydan into an entertaining read about Slavic food.” – Megan McIntyre, Portland Book Review.
“Adventures in the Slavic Kitchen” is available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and through the publisher at http://www.glagoslav.com/en/Book/1/159/Adventures-in-the-Slavic-Kitchen.