Artek kids from different countries are getting to know Russian cuisine. At today’s cooking workshop children from the US, France, Vietnam, Italy and Serbia made cutlets with mashed potatoes, a popular Russian dish. They also added an important Artek ingredient to the classic recipe: good humor. The result was delicious.

According to the Preschool Foodservice Chef Konstantin Sorokin, chicken cutlet with mashed potatoes was Samantha Smith’s favorite food at Artek: her team leader’s recollection was found in the archives. This simple and nutritious dish is still included on the Artek menu today. To make it as tasty as in the cafeteria at the children’s center, the young cooks used fresh vegetables, poultry, milk and butter. They also added a healthy salad made with cucumbers and tomatoes, and then baked nut cookies for dessert.

“My mother and grandma can cook something like this. I don’t know the exact Italian recipe, but now I can compare it,” said Alessandro Altimario from Italy. By the way, Alessandro’s mother came to Artek twice, and she convinced her son to take part in the contest. She was very happy when he won a voucher. “My mother said that it was very beautiful at Artek, the cuisine was good, and she had fun here. It’s like that for me too: I like the classes and workshops held here, the team leaders are very good; they always care about you. At first I was too shy to talk with the other kids, but after a while I began to talk more. Now I teach them Italian words, and they teach me Russian.”

At the culinary workshop, Artek young people from different countries were also able to improve their Russian. For example, they learned what “the milk ran over” means. In addition, Konstantin Sorokin told his young helpers which foodstuffs were basic in traditional Russian cuisine, shared cooking secrets and taught them how to serve the food. Volunteer interpreters helped those who weren’t fluent in Russian.

“There are meat dishes in Serbia, but they are different from Russian; many things are cooked in a different way,” said Nikolina Ivic from Serbia. “Pancakes, borsch and salad are my favorite Russian food. When I’m at home I don’t go in the kitchen very much, but I think I will try to cook the dishes I’ve learned here at Artek.”

The tasting was beyond expectations. The young people noted that the cutlet was rich, and the mashed potatoes soft and puffed. “It’s cool that we made all this together. Perhaps this is why it’s so good,” said Nguen Thanh Hang from Vietnam.

The foreigners promised to cook the Russian dish at home to surprise their families and friends.

30.06.2019