PHOTO: Архив придворного гастронома. Меню трапез российского императорского двора / The Archive of the Court Gastronome. Menus and Meals of the Russian Imperial Court and recipe supplement

NOTE: this post is for information purposes only. Due to the current Western economic sanctions against Russia, it is currently not possible to order this book from Russia. Nor do I know of any bookseller outside of Russia that offers this title for sale – PG

the State Hermitage Museum has issued a very interesting new book Архив придворного гастронома. Меню трапез российского императорского двора / The Archive of the Court Gastronome. Menus and Meals of the Russian Imperial Court. The publication of this book is a joint project of the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the retail company Magnit and the Hermitage 21st Century Foundation.

This title has been published in a limited edition printing of only 1,000 copies. It is only available in Russian, there is no English edition, nor is one planned. Below, are a small sampling of some of the beautiful menus of imperial banquets, created by outstanding Russian artists: Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926), Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942) and others.

The book contains several sections: coronation celebrations and major Russian holidays, regimental and order dinners, diplomatic receptions, wedding banquets, Orthodox feasts, hunting meals, yacht dinners. Each section contains a detailed description of the historical era and celebrations with colourful menus and illustrations.  

Leafing through the pages of the Archive of the Court Gastronome, readers will learn what privileged guests were served at the coronations of Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II, how the tables were set for wedding celebrations of members of the Imperial Family, what was served during the gala dinner in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913, as well attributes of meals served in the Imperial residences, hunting lodges, Imperial yachts and much more.

The authors of the book include: Yulia Vadimovna Sharovskaya – head of the Fine Art Sector of the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture; Irina Radikovna Bagdasarova – leading researcher in the Department of the History of Russian Culture.

In addition, the publication has a special printed supplement with recipes. These are recipes which have been adapted to modern times, taken from pre-revolutionary cookbooks. The recipes were reproduced by the Gastronom.ru team in their own kitchens, using up-to-date ingredients and cooking methods.

Some of the recipes from this book can be found at the Gastronom.ru web site, as part of the Tsar’s Kitchen project. These recipes [in Russian only] provide an opportunity for food-lovers to taste some of the delicacies enjoyed by members of the Imperial Family and their guests more than a century ago.

© Paul Gilbert. 8 March 2025