The formation of St. Petersburg gastronomic traditions told about at the Presidential Library

April 29, 2021 the Presidential Library hosted a multimedia lesson “Petersburg gastronomy: the formation of traditions”. This was the third lesson in a cycle of "The origins of St. Petersburg hospitality: events, people, places" lessons, organized by the Presidential Library in cooperation with the St. Petersburg State University of Economics.

Within the framework of the lesson, Viktor Shabalin, a member of the expert council of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia, Chairman of the Board of the St. Petersburg Association of Culinary Specialists, Head of the Laboratory "Technology of Food Enterprises" at St. Petersburg State University of Economics, told schoolchildren about the formation of gastronomic traditions from the foundation of St. Petersburg to the middle of the 19th century thanks to the imperial court and people close to it.

Participants of the event also learned what Peter I brought to gastronomy, what culinary traditions were the features of the reigns of Catherine II, Paul I, Alexander II and for the Soviet era. In addition, Viktor Shabalin, in terms of gastronomy,  told what St. Petersburg was famous for today.

The lesson included materials from the Presidential Library’s collections, which contained more than a million depository items - electronic copies of books and periodicals, archival documents, audio and video recordings, photographs, scientific and educational films and other materials. Among them there are publications telling about domestic gastronomic traditions: an art menu during the coronation of Alexander II, a dinner menu in honor of the coronation of Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Feodorovna on May 23, 1896, a lunch menu of the Life Guards of the 4th Infantry Imperial Family of the Regiment and others.

The multimedia lesson was broadcasted live on the Presidential Library's portal in the Live broadcasts section, in the Presidential Library's cinema club group on the VKontakte social network and on the institution's YouTube channel.

The cycle of multimedia lessons "The origins of St. Petersburg hospitality: events, people, places" was launched on March 18, 2021 with a lesson on the history of the first industrial exhibition in Russia, which took place in St. Petersburg in 1829. In the second lesson, the participants were told about the first St. Petersburg hotels. At subsequent events, schoolchildren will learn about the origins of the St. Petersburg congress and exhibition business and tourism, discover little-known historical facts.

Interactive lessons are regularly held in the Presidential Library. The detailed information is available on the institution's portal in the Multimedia lessons section. The classes are held free of charge. More information about entries is available by calling (812) 305-16-51 or by emailing cep@prlib.ru.