"Traditions of the Voronezh Region": a workshop by chefs of the region was held at the National Centre RUSSIA

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The gastronomic workshop "Traditions of the Voronezh Region" was held on 9 September at the National Centre RUSSIA. It took place as part of the Week of the Voronezh Region at the exposition "Region-2030. The Platform of the Future." The guests were introduced to the achievements and abilities of the regional cuisine, as well as treated to traditional dishes.

"The Voronezh region has a lot to offer both in terms of production, and in terms of food and special ingredients, and, of course, all this is harmoniously intertwined in regional gastronomy. I would also like to note that a special working group under the Ministry of Industry and Trade works on the popularization of Russian cuisine.  One of the fields of its activity is the creation of a standard of Russian cuisine, which is planned to be approved this year. It will describe basic, historically established and unique recipes, many of which we don't even know about. And on 4 November, the National Unity Day, we are going to hold the All-Russian Festival of Russian Cuisine, and hope that it will become a good tradition in all regions of the country," said Alexander Lifintsev, Deputy Director of the Department of Domestic Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

One of the main goals of the gastro-performances at the National Centre RUSSIA is to awaken guests’ keen interest not only in the regional dishes themselves, but also to bring attention to their origins and cultural and historical value.

"The Voronezh region has become one of the first to promote traditional folk dishes particularly. In 2024, we have included a whole gastronomy block in the regional brand support programme. As part of this programme such events, for example, as the "Gastronomic Expedition" are taking place. On such expeditions, our gastronomy industry’s professional community has already traveled through almost all districts of the Voronezh region, and collected a whole library of recipes that belonged to our grandparents. This library will be constantly updated and modified. We thank the National Centre RUSSIA for giving us the opportunity to show the whole country our unique regional dishes and products that are recorded in our cultural code, and which we will continue to promote and support both at the regional and federal levels," said Olga Yakovleva, Deputy Minister of Entrepreneurship, Trade and Tourism of the Voronezh region.

In the best traditions of the region, the best restaurateurs and connoisseurs of Voronezh region cuisine cooked a full lunch for the guests. The participants of the gastroperformance tasted Kalacheyevsky cutlets with fried potatoes and chef's sauce, dessert of Bobrov strawberries and biscuits based on millet, beetroot in chocolate, marshmallows named "Voronezh Chernozem", a cocktail "Atomic Dawn" and, of course, the famous Bobrovsky okroshka with white kvass and kholodets (meat jelly) or, as they put it in the Voronezh land, the "droshachka".

The cuisine of the Voronezh region was presented by Ilya Zemlyanukhin, Just Fmly brand chef. Mikhail Merkulov, restaurateur and food researcher, worked on the drinks. And Oleg and Svetlana Kolesnikov, founders of the "Literary Jam" cultural project, treated the participants to jam made of Voronezh plum without adding water, but with the addition of a "dry perfume" mix of spices.

"We have brought to the National Centre RUSSIA only a small part of what we could showcase, including dishes that were undeservedly forgotten, but revived in modern reality. Maybe our culinary traditions are not too different from the cuisine of other regions, but the main thing that distinguishes us is the freshness and availability of our food. It is, as they say, out from under our feet, and onto the table: that is, it has always been, is, and, I am sure, will be. And, of course, speaking of Voronezh cuisine, it is impossible not to mention our gastronomic feature — okroshka with white kvass," said Dmitri Vyrodov, chef, president of the Association of Cooks and Restaurateurs of the Chernozem region, founder of the culinary studio "Kuhmister".

The days of the regions are being held at the exposition "Region-2030. Platform of the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA for two months. From 9 to 14 September, the guests are getting acquainted with the Voronezh region. The large-scale programme of the thematic Week of the Region features lectures and workshops, presentations, performances by artists and teams, distribution of souvenirs, and much more.