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LUNCH ON THE BALCONY: Recipes from the table of Russia’s last imperial family
Have you ever wondered what kind of food was served and consumed at the table of the last Tsar of Russia and his family? Did you know that Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a strict vegetarian most of her life, or that one of Nicholas II's favorite foods was the humble baked potato? And that in the last week of their lives, the Romanov sisters learned to make bread from scratch? From the lavish kitchens of St Petersburg palaces and Windsor Castle, to the ultimately humble meals in the dining room at the Siberian Governor's house, you will follow the journey of Russia's last imperial family, whose meals reflected their status and ultimate fate. In this book, you will not only learn about all these things and more, but will also have the opportunity to taste some of the meals by replicating them yourself. The result of years of research, this publication consists of a collection of menus and diary entries which mention the meals eaten by the members of the last Russian imperial family members, along with recipes for many of these dishes. This volume is a great example of history told through food, so if you are a Russian imperial history enthusiast, and love trying out new recipes, this book is custom made for you!
- GenresHistory
225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2022
5 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Helen Azar
22 books107 followersHelen Azar has been interested in history of the Romanov Dynasty for many years, ever since she became fascinated with the saga of the human remains discovered outside Ekaterinburg in the 1990s, which were proven to be those of Russia’s murdered imperial family. The subsequent controversy about these bones, and Helen’s science background (she studied biochemistry), moved her to co-author several articles explaining the authenticity of the remains.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2022
Once again Helen Azar has come through with another well done and well thought out book about the Romanov family. Complete with actual recipes and snippets from letters, diaries, and other sources from the last Imperial family.
Step back to a time when Russian was still ruled by the Romanovs and take a peek at what graced their tables over the years.
In all honesty I'll most likely never cook any of these recipes, but it's still fun to see what sorts of foods the Imperial family ate whether when dining alone, with important guests or while leading the Russian Army during World War One.
Did you know that Nicholas prefer simple dishes over the more complex meals that were often served? Or that Empress Alexandra was a vegetarian for the majority of her life?
Step back to a time when Russian was still ruled by the Romanovs and take a peek at what graced their tables over the years.
In all honesty I'll most likely never cook any of these recipes, but it's still fun to see what sorts of foods the Imperial family ate whether when dining alone, with important guests or while leading the Russian Army during World War One.
Did you know that Nicholas prefer simple dishes over the more complex meals that were often served? Or that Empress Alexandra was a vegetarian for the majority of her life?
August 6, 2024
interesting
It was nice to step back in time and with the help of this book, I did. Excellent historic puece
It was nice to step back in time and with the help of this book, I did. Excellent historic puece
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews