Cuisine and Culture: Epic (and Epicurean) Travel in Russia and Georgia
Table traditions are built up over centuries. They are the “best practices” that give shape to a culture, born in a time when meals brought a family together to tell stories and pass on knowledge.
A feast is a meal with all the stops pulled out.
Feasts are different all over the world, but they’re strangely alike, too. They’re a time for celebration and camaraderie, but also a time when the cooks get to show off, to display what they can do with a limited palette of raw materials, as has been the case in Russia. Or with an abundance of raw materials, as in Georgia.
MIR specializes in showing off the table traditions, cooks and cuisines in two of our favorite destinations, Russia and Georgia, on these two small group tours:
- A Chronicle of Russian Cuisine & Culture – awarded the title “Tour of a Lifetime” by National Geographic Traveler
- A Taste of Georgia: Wine, Cuisine & Culture
A Chronicle of Russian Cuisine & Culture
Attend a hands-on cooking class with one of the most famous chefs in St. Petersburg, Russia
Photo credit: Katya Boyarskaya
MIR’s delectable journey (and 2014 National Geographic Traveler Tour of a Lifetime), A Chronicle of Russian Cuisine & Culture, is led by a passionate local foodie and lets you eat your way through Russia’s greatest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, while taking care to touch on all the definitive cultural sites. You will learn that Russian cuisine goes far beyond borscht and blini. (more about this tour)
- Vodka: Toasting a Russian Tradition
- Moscow’s Charming Chemodan Restaurant
- Recipe: Furry Shuba Salad
- Visiting a Russian Home
- Spotlight on St. Petersburg Theaters
(click on photo to see larger version)
A Taste of Georgia: Wine, Cuisine & Culture
A performance at the Georgian Table
Photo credit: Michel Behar
On MIR’s small group tour, A Taste of Georgia: Wine, Cuisine & Culture, discover the history and living traditions of this ancient country through its chefs, winemakers, artisans and musicians, as you taste your way from the mountains to the sea. (more about this tour)
- How to Eat a Georgian Table Feast
- Food Fare: Georgian Faves
- Pheasant’s Tears Winery: An Unforgettable Georgian Meal
- Baking Bread, Breaking Bread in Georgia
- Demystifying Megrelian Cuisine
- A Taste of Georgia: Photo Check-In of Wine, Feasts and… Puppies
- Recipe: Georgian Nutty Eggplant
- Cheers: Wines of the South Caucasus
(click on photo to see larger version)
(Top photo: A lunch at LavkaLavka, where a meal of seasonal classic Russian ingredients is served. Photo credit: LavkaLavka)
PUBLISHED: November 25, 2014
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