All the tastes of a Russian wedding: guests and newlyweds of the Wedding Festival at the National Centre RUSSIA took part in the festive gastroshow

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A festive gastronomic performance "Wedding Traditions of the Peoples of Russia", dedicated to the II All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts", was held on July 9 in the Gastronomic Rows of the National Centre RUSSIA. The newlyweds and their family members, as well as guests of the festival, took part in special master classes.

The event was hosted by Ekaterina Shapovalova, an author-methodologist and head of the federal project "Gastronomic Map of Russia", and her husband, colleague, and project director Eduard Shapovalov. This year they are celebrating 28 years of marriage.

"For the first time, the All-Russian Wedding Festival was held as part of the International RUSSIA EXPO, so it can already be called a wonderful tradition. Our multinational team of chefs sincerely congratulates the newlyweds on an important event in their lives! There are more than 190 nations living in Russia. And each nation preserves the cultural traditions of the wedding feast, as well as the culture of preparing festive ceremonial dishes. Thanks to the All-Russian Wedding Festival, it is our second year here that we have been reviving and giving new life to the unique wedding gastronomic traditions of the peoples of our country," Ekaterina Shapovalova said. 

One of the common traditions in most regions of Russia is the meeting of newlyweds by their parents with a loaf in their hands. During the master class "Wedding loaf of the South of Russia", the newlyweds learned the secrets of cooking and decorating the main ceremonial dish of a Russian wedding, and, of course, traditionally broke a loaf for happiness, health and a long life together. The master class was conducted by Irina Khasaeva, a Don Cossack by her mother, and a Lak by her father, a chef and baker of the "Tsar-Kurnik" chain of Russian cuisine. The guests of the gastroshow also received dough cones as a gift. In the south of the country, they symbolized wealth and well-being, and the newlyweds distributed them to the guests at the end of the wedding, and in return, those wished the young family happiness.

The Buryat city of Kyakhtu, one of the oldest cities in Russia, was informally called the "Russian Capital of Tea" in the 19th century. Employees of the Buryat cuisine chain "Orda", Garel Batkhishig and art director Angarag Chagdurov, presented to the newlyweds and guests an accurate reconstruction of the tea ceremony held by the Buryat bride to meet the groom and senior family members. From the Buryat language, the name of the traditional drink "nogoon sai" translates as "green tea" or "tea of the color of leaves." Its making is an integral part of the national wedding traditions of the nomadic Buryats. 

"Kosovik" is a special pie for a son-in-law, who, as the head of an emerging family, was identified in Russian folklore with a nascent month — "kosovichok" (a sickle). Kosovik pies were baked by the peoples of the North of Russia when matchmakers came to the house, so they have another name — "matchmaker pies". The "kosye" pies were presented to the guests of the event by chef of the ethnocultural project "InKareliaEat", a member of the art school of gastronomy of "Tavrida" Art Cluster, father of many children, Mikhail Gavrilov.

In the Russian wedding ceremony, pancakes served as a symbol of the bride's farewell to her former maiden's life, so our ancestors on the eve of the wedding arranged a special girls' feast — pancakes. The guests of the gastroshow tasted pancakes with fillings of "50 flavors of Russia", and the newly married husbands and wives competed merrily with each other in the art of baking pancakes in a pan and turning them in the air. The master class "Bride's Blinky" was conducted by Andrey Vinogradov, chef of the corner "North" of the Gastronomic Rows, by Sergey Fedoseev, chef of "Azbuka Severa"  Northern deli chain, and Mikhail Gavrilov, chef of the ethnocultural project "In Karelia Eat". The acquaintance with the wedding gastronomic traditions of the peoples of Russia ended with a romantic wedding dance of the young couples. 

The II All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts", is taking place at the National Centre RUSSIA from July 8 to 10. The unique event brought together more than 200 couples from all over the country. Each couple writes its own unique story of love and family happiness. On the festival opening day, timed to the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, a simultaneous wedding of 141 couples took place at the National Centre RUSSIA.

Besides the solemn registrations of marriages, participants and guests of the event will take part in a rich program - thematic public talks on family relationships and wedding traditions, gastronomic performances with tasting dishes of the wedding cuisine traditional for the peoples of the country, master classes on creating traditional family amulets, concerts of pop performers, an exposition of wedding costumes, and much more. Admission to the festival is free of charge by pre-registration on russia.ru website.

You can visit culinary shows, tastings, and other events in the Gastronomic Rows of the National Centre RUSSIA free of charge. In order not to miss new culinary surprises, and to become pioneers of flavors from different parts of the country, follow the updates of the "Events" section on the russia.ru website and publications in social networks of National Centre RUSSIA.