For a long time, it was believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not have any special preferences in food, but the thesis of the president's "omnivorousness" was refuted by his wife Lyudmila in the book "Vladimir Putin. The Road to Power."

Putin himself claims that he is simply trying to eat healthy food. "There are no special preferences," the president admitted earlier. "I love vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce. In the morning, cereals, cottage cheese, honey."

“If there is a choice between meat and fish, I prefer fish, I like mutton from meat. In general, I am indifferent to sweets, not counting ice cream,” Putin said. “When I come somewhere, I enjoy trying the local cuisine. green tea. That, in fact, is all ... I usually do not have dinner, I do not have time. During the day I try to eat fruit, I drink kefir when it works out. And when it doesn’t work out, I prefer not to eat at all ... ".

Lyudmila Putina, on the other hand, assures that the president is very picky and can refuse lunch if he doesn't like the dish even a little. And if he likes, he never praises, because in private family life he adheres to two basic principles: "a woman must do all the housework" and "you cannot praise a woman so as not to spoil her."

However, at official events (according to their organizers), Putin really eats everything, little by little and quickly. Apparently, because it's still work.

Recipe N1: "Putin's ear"

NECESSARY: 1 pike perch, 1 pike of medium size (about 500 - 700 g each), 1 carrot, 0.5 kg of potatoes, 1 orange, 2 raw chicken eggs, bay leaf, dill, parsley, celery and salt - to taste.

PREPARING: 1. Separate the head, tail and fins from the fish. Cut the fillet into portions.
2. Fill the tail, head and fins with cold water and cook the broth. Don't forget to remove the foam.
3. Add carrots and onions to the broth. Cook until vegetables are ready.
4. Strain the finished broth and put it back on the stove (discard the boiled onion, fins, head and tail). When it boils, add the chopped potatoes and salt.
5. 5 - 7 minutes before the potatoes are ready, put the remaining fish in the ear.
6. When the fish is cooked, break the raw eggs into a saucepan and mix them in the broth.
7. Turn off the heat, put bay leaf, finely chopped greens and orange sliced ​​into thin slices (along with the skin) into the prepared ear.
8. Cover the saucepan with a lid and let the ear brew for about 20 minutes.

Recipe N2: Shish kebab for the first person of the state

This story was unearthed by journalists from Express Gazette. It was in the village of Dagomys: there, freshmen of the Sochi culinary school number 76 were trained in an ordinary resort cafe. The "men in black" came and said that the cafe was closing for special services. Students were forbidden to go outside and look out of windows; 50 pieces of trout, 7 kg of beef, 10 - lamb, 30 - pork and vegetables: tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants were brought to the kitchen. People ransacked all the rooms, even sniffed the water in the river; two police cars blocked the road ... Seven hours later, President Putin arrived.

Students roasted over the fire: first vegetables, then pork kebabs, then beef and lamb; and finally - from trout. The "hero" of the story, student Artur Malkhasyan, said that Putin tried everything, but half a portion. Said: "It was delicious!" Students' practice was rated as "excellent".

NECESSARY: lamb - 1 kg, 1 liter of kefir and water, 1 kg of chopped onions, salt and pepper to taste.
PREPARING: 1. Cut the lamb along the fibers into small pieces and place in the marinade: a mixture of water, kefir, salt, pepper and onion.
2. The meat marinated in this way is sent to the refrigerator for two days.
3. Before frying, the kebab is soaked in cold water from kefir for an hour. Fry for 30 minutes.

Recipe N3: Salmon "Baltic Star"

(published with the permission of Vlad Atlas - in 2003 - 2004, the chef of the Baltic Star Hotel at the Sea Residence of the President of the Russian Federation, now the chef of the catering company and restaurant Udachny Shot, St. Petersburg)

NECESSARY: any amount of salmon, mayonnaise, paprika, rosemary and lemon juice - to taste.

PREPARING: 1. Peel the salmon of bones, cut into portions (pieces about 1 centimeter thick).
2. Cut the skin along the entire perimeter of the fish steak, except for the edges.
3. Roll the pieces of fish into rolls and put them in a marinade made from a mixture of rosemary, paprika, lemon juice and mayonnaise.
4. Pieces of fish are additionally coated with marinade and spread on a baking sheet, greased with vegetable oil.
5. Bake in the oven until tender, about 10 minutes. The dish can be eaten both hot and cold. For a side dish, you can serve baked shrimp and mussels, as well as rice with mushrooms.

A culinary misunderstanding: a dish called "Putin"

Russians do not know, and foreigners - especially Canadians - were very surprised when they first heard the name of the Russian leader: Putin. Their "Putin" is a fast food dish: fried potatoes (fries) covered with melted cheese and sauce.

It doesn't look very appetizing ("putin" in French-Canadian means "disorder"), appeared due to a misunderstanding (a hurrying client asked to pack potatoes and curd cheese "to go" in one package), but ... enjoys some fantastic popular love : songs and poems are dedicated to him, festivals and holidays are organized in his honor, cartoons are shot about him. "Putin" is served in all cafes and restaurants without exception - and you can order "Putin" with truffles, and "Putin" with foie gras ...

There is a homely truth that the president does not devote too much to outsiders in the affairs of his stomach. As soon as Putin eats in public, these people immediately start doing business on Putin.

I went to the St. Petersburg restaurant "Podvorie" (hearty heavy Russian cuisine: homemade sausages, dumplings, pickles and pies) - there they pasted a page on the menu: "The President's Menu". He got down at the intermediate station of the cable car in Krasnaya Polyana and ate a pancake - the owners of the cafe erected a memorial plaque the next day: "The President of Russia dined with us."

President Yushchenko is indifferent to culinary delights

The first lady of Ukraine, Ekaterina Chumachenko, loves to cook very much. Looks for exotic recipes and never repeats them. And her husband, President Viktor Yushchenko (oh, gnashing of teeth: how many women are familiar with this problem!), Is indifferent to delights and "rags". In an interview with the Ukrainian press, Ekaterina told the offensive: “I remember, I cooked a very good dinner: pate, meat, aspic ... this, criticized everything and sent the driver for cucumbers, tomatoes, sausage and bread. This is what they ate. I was horrified! "

News agencies write that another "fad" of the Ukrainian president is pies with dried apricots. But Yushchenko's press service categorically refused to confirm this and give us a recipe for baking.

Recipe N4: Jacket Potatoes

NECESSARY: potatoes and Danube herring.
PREPARING: we cook potatoes in their uniforms, and serve salted Danube herring, such a fat one, to it.
It seems to be frivolous to print this, but President Yushchenko called this dish his favorite in an interview with Russian television.

Georgian President loves the cuisine of the "orange" revolutions

When, after Georgia, the revolution happened in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, with joy, announced to the world that one of his favorite dishes was Kiev cutlets. But, of course, the wife Sandra Roelofs, who, being a citizen of the Netherlands, hastily mastered Georgian cuisine, can testify to her husband's addictions best of all.

Shortly before she became the first lady, Sandra Roelofs learned how to cook khachapuri, ajapsandal and more. According to her, she knows that her husband loves, and tries to cook these particular dishes. "He is very fond of Megrelian cuisine, for example, elarji ...", - said the first lady of Georgia.

Recipe N5: Elarji

The recipe was received from the press service of President Saakashvili's administration. NECESSARY: 1 kg of corn grits, 100 g of corn flour, 250 g of grated suluguni.
PREPARING: 1. Cook corn grits until cooked - always without salt.
2. When the hominy becomes soft, add corn flour and suluguni to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes. We eat warm.

President Lukashenko prefers folk Belarusian cuisine

Father's tastes are folk, like the songs of the "Syabry" ensemble. Kefir, sour cream, cottage cheese and what can be made from them - milk soup, pancakes, cheese cakes; fried fish, pancakes - traditional Belarusian cuisine. “I prefer fish to meat,” Lukashenka reports, “black bread - to white, the menu must include fruits, juices ... I really like baked and ice cream. But with the last delicacies it’s difficult: I have to limit myself. 3-4 kilometers on roller skates or skis ".

Before the last elections, Old Man recommended to Belarusians "from now on, to reduce their diet by 25 percent." First by 25 percent, and then by half. "Here's a recipe for (beauty. - Ed.) From the president - eat less and run more. Try it, and then tell me if I'm right or not. And if I run for the presidency, then don't vote for me, if I find myself not right".

Recipe N6: Draniki

NECESSARY: 4 - 5 potatoes, 1 medium onion, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. l. flour, salt and pepper to taste.

PREPARING: 1. Rub the potatoes and onion on a fine grater.
2. Add the egg, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Fry in vegetable oil. Serve with sour cream or garlic sauce.

FOR SAUCE: grind a teaspoon of salt and a head of garlic in a mortar, dilute the resulting mass with water.

What they fed Putin in different parts of the world

October 20, 2003- During a visit to Thailand for the APEC summit, Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin were fed with healing shrimp soup at a candlelit dinner at the Institute of the country's Royal Navy. Sour-spicy soup "tom yam kun", famous in East Asia, is a dish with shrimps, spices, etc. "Lemongrass" from habit may seem too spicy, however, as Thai doctors assure, it has special healing properties.

Exotic appetizers were offered before the soup - golden fried tong tong shrimp, steamed pampushki with chicken, herbs and peanuts, smoked duck in curry sauce. This was followed by fried lobsters from the area of ​​Phuket in the Andaman Sea, crispy fried noodles, steak in wine sauce with hot chili seasoning, shrimp and tropical fish dishes with cucumber sauce.

Dessert included coconut ice cream, pumpkin pudding, tropical fruits, and traditional Thai egg yolk sweets.

October 3, 2003- Vladimir Putin had lunch with machine operators in the open air in the village of Risoupny (Krasnodar Territory). The farm managers and machine operators offered the president to taste the Kuban borscht and especially recommended the local bacon and tomatoes, but what exactly the president preferred then remained a mystery.

July 1, 2003- During a two-day visit to Kaliningrad and the Baltic Fleet, Vladimir Putin preferred the fish cuisine of the little-known (until that time) tavern "By the Road" located on the Curonian Spit to the culinary delights of his personal chefs. Vladimir Putin, presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Valentina Matviyenko and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov ordered a classic dinner for the establishment: Tsarskaya fish soup, pies with red caviar, smoked eel, eel shashlik and pancakes with strawberries. According to the manager of the inn, the dinner cost just over 1,000 rubles per person.

June 24, 2003- during the visit of President Vladimir Putin to the UK, guests of Queen Elizabeth II were offered a menu at a banquet in Buckingham Palace in honor of the President of Russia, the main course of which was chicken in champagne garnished with fried zucchini, green peas and potatoes. In addition, the royal chef has prepared a salmon medallion with whipped cream sauce, a Loire veloute truffle, and a cherry soufflé.

The wine list also looked very attractive to connoisseurs: along with the brilliant white Burgundy Chassagne-Montrachet, the guests were offered selected red Bordeaux wines - one of the best Bordeaux wines Chateau Leoville in 1996 and aged Saint Julien 1985. The 1990 Louis Raederer vintage champagne was an excellent addition to the menu.

This champagne house is known for having the longest ties with Russia - since the 19th century - and, moreover, even has a two-headed Russian eagle on its label.

see also

In her book, Lyudmila Putina mentioned that, although Vladimir Vladimirovich does not have special preferences in food, he is extremely demanding: he can refuse lunch if at least something he does not like on the plate. He does not have the habit of praising cooked dishes, he eats in silence. Therefore, at first it was difficult for her to understand: what her husband likes and what he is indifferent to. In addition, the ex-first lady noted that her husband is very fond of the ear. In the evening, he always drinks kefir. While serving in Germany, he fell in love with beer.

Vladimir Putin on the diet

Although the president himself does not talk about his gastronomic preferences, he sometimes answers journalists' questions about his favorite dishes. This allows you to get a rough idea of ​​his diet. He himself does not consider himself a picky gourmet, he says: I eat what they give. But he tries to adhere to a separate diet. Emphasizes that he does not have much time for food. The working day is so busy that sometimes he does not have time to dine. In this case, it is limited to kefir and fruit.

Loves fresh vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs. Fish takes the leading place in his diet: fish soup from pike perch and pike, dishes from salmon, trout, salmon, fish pies. From meat products, she gives priority to lamb and veal. He tries to exclude fatty foods. As an appetizer, respects pickled or salted mushrooms and vegetables.

Vladimir Vladimirovich is indifferent to sweets, only he cannot deny himself a portion of ice cream. Knowing this weakness of the president, Kremlin chefs must include him in desserts.

As an Orthodox person, Putin tries to observe fasts: at this time, there are many cereals, vegetables, lean fish, legumes and nuts on the menu.

What Vladimir Putin eats for breakfast

In the morning, the president prefers simple meals to energize the day ahead. A must-have breakfast element is a variety of cereals. Favorite porridge - rice, also respects buckwheat and millet, but does not like oatmeal. In addition, the morning menu includes fresh quail eggs, cottage cheese and honey. From drinks - juices or tea. Vladimir Vladimirovich does not drink coffee at all, and prefers green or herbal infusions to black tea.

In addition to the usual products familiar to Russians, in the morning the president drinks a cocktail prepared according to his own recipe. According to him, this drink gives strength, energizes better than any energy drink. It is known that the cocktail contains beets and horseradish.

Meals on trips

During his working trips across Russia, the President tries to taste the national dishes of the region in which he is located. In Tatarstan, he noted echpochmmak (meat pies), belyashi, chak-chak. He mentioned that he liked Karelian gates (small pies made of rye dough), Ossetian pies.

In the Krasnodar Territory, during a visit to the village of Risouperny, he did not refuse to have lunch with the machine operators. He was recommended to try Kuban borsch, local tomatoes and bacon. But what the president gave preference to is unknown.

During his visit to the Taman brigade near Moscow, Vladimir Vladimirovich visited the barracks and dined at the local canteen. The dinner did not differ from the soldier's: pasta with beef, pie, juice.

During the meeting with the farmers of the Tver region, the table was laid in the open air. The President was offered local pastries, juices, fermented baked milk, locally produced yoghurts, and fruits. When hospitable Russians treat Putin, he can taste pickles or pickled mushrooms. At the same time, his guards are very nervous!

In foreign trips, the head of state is mainly engaged in negotiations. There is almost no time left for tasting local dishes. Still, in Thailand I tried a healing shrimp soup, delicious seafood (lobsters and lobsters), exotic ice cream made from coconut milk, tropical fruits.

In England, at a reception hosted by Elizabeth II, the menu was royally exquisite: chicken in champagne, salmon medallion with cream, truffle veloute, cherry soufflé. But gala receptions are exceptional cases, and the president's daily menu is not ostentatious.

What do the heads of state eat? What do they like to eat and who cooks for them? Favorite food of Putin, Merkel, Macron, Trump, Lukashenko, Poroshenko and Trudeau in one article.

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1. Vladimir Putin
“There are no special preferences. I love vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, salad. In the morning - porridge, cottage cheese, honey. If there is a choice between meat and fish, I will prefer fish, from meat I like lamb. In general, he is indifferent to sweets, not counting ice cream. When I come somewhere, I enjoy trying the local cuisine. I got used to green tea for a long time. " Also, the President of the Russian Federation told about his favorite beer and that the Chief Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, periodically sends him several bottles of his favorite Radeberger beer.

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2. Alexander Lukashenko
“Three eggs in the morning, meat at lunch, fish in the evening, as much as you want. Rigid diet, protein. " Lukashenka leads an active life and, according to him, goes in for sports every day for about 2 hours. And where there is sport, there is squirrel. He eats the most common foods: "I eat what you eat, only in very small quantities."

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3.Angela Merkel
The German Chancellor loves traditional German cuisine with all sorts of sausages and cabbage. Her menu includes: thick soups, schnitzels, pork sausage with cabbage, roast. Also, Merkel is very fond of cheese. At the same time, according to those close to her, the chancellor herself cooks very well. She does her best with potato salad, schnitzel, seafood dishes and roast goose.

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4. Donald Trump
The President of the United States is not a supporter of healthy eating and does not limit himself in food: "I love steaks, and hamburgers, and pasta, and pizza, and fries - everything that we should not eat." Trump's favorites include breaded fish fillets, well-done steak, scrambled eggs and bacon, vanilla cherry ice cream, and Mexican tacos. People close to Trump celebrate his habit of skipping breakfast.

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5. Petro Poroshenko
Petro Poroshenko said in an interview that he loves to eat what his wife prepares. The favorite dish of the President of Ukraine is buckwheat porridge with homemade cutlets and pickled cucumber, as well as fried potatoes with bacon.

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6. Emmanuel Macron
According to the chef of the Elysee Palace Guillaume Gomez, Brigitte Macron asks not to serve her husband the so-called "junk food" (this is not only fast food, but also all kinds of sausages and other processed food). However, Emmanuel Macron has one weakness - he loves the cordon blue. For those who are not in the know, Cordon Bleu is a veal schnitzel (less often chicken or turkey) stuffed with cheese and ham in breadcrumbs.

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7. Justin Trudeau
Handsome and at the same time the Prime Minister of Canada, he loves beer, Asian food and does not drink coffee. Why? “I just could never get used to coffee,” the prime minister admits. And he remembers his university days, when he tried to drink coffee in the hope of studying late - but in the end he fell asleep anyway. But fastfoot is not on the stop list: he eats both fried chicken and burgers.

As you can see from the article, the heads of state are ordinary people with common culinary addictions and weaknesses.

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03.03.2020 00:29

How Presidents are fed

Our cooperation began in 1999, when the first President of Russia Boris Yeltsin invited US President Bill Clinton to the Cafe Pushkin restaurant. After him, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev were frequent visitors to our restaurants. Dmitry Anatolyevich and his wife Svetlana Vladimirovna liked our cuisine and service. After that, the protocol service of the President of the Russian Federation approached us with a proposal for cooperation. We had a chance to work in the halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace - Alexandrovsky, Andreevsky, Georgievsky and Vladimirsky.

- What was your first reception in the Kremlin?

Organization of celebrations on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which we held on May 9, 2010 in the Grand Kremlin Palace. We have served 950 guests from all over the world, including war veterans. After that, we did many official receptions for 2 years. The menus for these events were developed by our chefs Andrey Makhov from the Cafe Pushkin restaurant and Michele Brogioni from Casta Diva.

- Apparently, Dmitry Anatolyevich remembered your kitchen?

Admittedly, he knows food. He prefers seafood and fish, knows a lot about good wines.

- Which of the techniques and what do you remember the most?

Most memorable was the July 2009 reception in honor of Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States, and his wife, Ms. Michelle Obama. Our chefs were supervised not only by employees of the special services of the President of Russia, but also by employees of the American Secret Service, who carefully watched how the dishes were prepared, especially those that went to the table of the first persons. And, of course, they sampled all the products.

- What did you feed Barack Obama?

We gave preference to Russian cuisine. So, for starters, they served a salad with Kamchatka crab meat, Russian borscht, which the President of the United States really liked, and beef stroganoff on mashed potatoes with black truffle. An interesting reception was held in honor of the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh and his wife, Mrs. Gursharan Kaur. As you know, many Indians follow a vegetarian menu, so for breakfast we offered artichoke terrine, barley porridge surrounded by mini-grilled vegetables and Chilean sea bass in honey sauce.

- Besides the Kremlin, did you have to travel somewhere else?

Yes, we held a very unusual event at the Zavidovo residence, where Dmitry Medvedev received the brother of the Cuban leader, Raul Castro. The last time before that, Raul and Fidel Castro were in Zavidovo more than 30 years ago. Then they were received by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. And the Cuban leaders remembered how, after the hunt, a wild boar was roasted for them on an open fire. This time Dmitry Anatolyevich also invited Mr. Raul Castro to hunt. We roasted a wild boar's leg, a variety of game, and, which Mr. Castro especially liked, lard, on an open fire.

- Do the first persons ask you for the recipes of the dishes they liked?

No. Although the wife of Dmitry Medvedev, Svetlana Vladimirovna, is often interested in various nuances. She has a special relationship with tea ceremonies, she is well versed in teas, experiments with various varieties, which include not only Chinese, but also some Krasnodar ones.

By the way, the bigwigs of Russian business, when they order events for you, ask you to cook "like Putin's" or "like Medvedev's"?

Sometimes it happens. Although each of our clients has their own preferences. For example, some people like Russian cuisine, while others prefer the Mediterranean.

- Do top officials show interest in your menu, try to correct them?

The top officials themselves do not interfere. If they have any comments, they pass them through the protocol service. In any case, we always start from one or another preference of the leaders of states. In principle, we prepare several menus for each event, so if some president or prime minister does not eat a particular dish, we always have something to replace it with. One of our advantages is the ability to quickly change the recipe on the spot.

- Where do you get your groceries?

We have our own reliable suppliers, time-tested, we usually take products from them. Unfortunately, good fish and meat have to be imported - the same steaks from America or Argentina or New Zealand lamb.

The traditional style of reception in Russia is a seated banquet. As far as I know, you prefer other formats.

We work in different formats, it can be a banquet, buffet table, cocktail, coffee break. But now events in the cocktail format are more in demand, which is the most common in the West and which Russia is gradually getting used to. It offers canapes, mini hot and cold appetizers, a variety of mini desserts, which are offered for snacks. People can move from one company to another, have a casual conversation with each other, the emphasis is on communication, rather than on the absorption of food. We closely follow the European trends in catering, where most events are held in a format that is usually called "discreet luxury".

- What about taste preferences - fish or meat, vodka or wine?

Recently, there has been a tendency to opt for seafood and wine. Most of our guests prefer vodka and meat in winter and order at New Year's banquets.

- Kremlin cuisine has always been famous for its pastries. What can you offer?

We have a pastry laboratory, we have a great pastry chef Emmanuelle Rion, he is a very famous French pastry chef. Monsieur Rion has the right to wear the French tricolor on all his suits - this is a sign of the highest professionalism, in the confectionery world as the Order of the Legion of Honor. Desserts for the confectionery "Cafe Pushkin" were developed under his leadership

- Do you consult with your foreign colleagues serving the top officials of the states?

We communicate, but this communication is informal. I will not hide the fact that there is some jealousy on their part. We are watching their work, they are ours. We are interested in what their leaders eat, what trends are emerging abroad, what changes in the serving and decoration of dishes, and then we urge our chefs to take all this into account.

“It’s important not only how to start a meal, but also how to end it. What secrets are there?

As a rule, all formal lunches or dinners last one hour. In our business, a lot depends on how well-coordinated the team of cooks, waiters and managers is. When the logistics are built correctly, each person is in his place, there are no problems. Then: if in our restaurants one table is served by one waiter, at receptions there are already three or four waiters, this reduces the time for serving dishes.

There are guests who have specific preferences. I just remembered how Muammar Gaddafi came to Moscow, who was allowed to pitch his tent in the Kremlin ...

Yes, there was a case. With him came a personal chef with his nomadic cuisine. When Gaddafi was in the tent, he fed him. But a special reception was in the Kremlin in the Alexander Hall, we had already organized it, and there we took into account the wishes of the Libyan leader.

Well, yes, he was a Muslim, and they do not drink alcohol. With Christians, probably, not everything is so simple either, especially when there is a fast. You seem to have worked with the Moscow Patriarchate as well?

We adapt to any guest of any religion. We work closely with protocol services, which explain what this or that leader eats, at what time, in what proportions. Based on this, we are preparing a menu. As for the Russian Orthodox Church, we had a chance to arrange a tea party in the Patriarchal chambers in the Grand Kremlin Palace on the day of the Ascension of the Lord. Then this great holiday coincided with the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture, which is always celebrated in the State Kremlin Palace with a solemn concert.

Finally, I cannot help but ask this question. Still, the restaurants of the house of Andrei Dellos are traditionally considered elite establishments, as they say, not for everyone. How, then, can you expand your audience?

Elite, I agree. However, the same breakfasts at the Cafe Pushkin restaurant are quite affordable in terms of prices, just many people are embarrassed to come to us, thinking that they cannot afford it. We would like to dispel this formed self-image. The secret of Dellos Catering's success is that we are able to organize any event anywhere in the world, using only our own resources. We even have enough of our own waiters, and we do not invite from outside. This is important not only from a service point of view, but also from a safety point of view. That is why no one from the service staff at our receptions secretly photographs guests on a mobile phone, so that they can then be posted on the network.

Interviewed by Stanislav STREMIDLOVSKY

OUR PARTNERS

Political leaders' menus are rarely made public. They try not to spread too much about everything related to the private life of the country's leader. What do presidents, heads of government and kings eat? This can only be judged by their own confessions, and by what they eat at dinner parties. Lenta.Ru has compiled a guide to the culinary preferences of the heads of state.

Juche diet

At the end of last week it became known that the leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un because of the Emmental cheese. The head of the DPRK was so carried away by his favorite cheese that his health was shaken.

Former chef of the Kim family, Kenji Fujimoto, revealed that Kim Jong-un is also very fond of shark fin dishes. It was shark steaks that the head of the DPRK treated the former chef during his visit to the country in 2012.

Kenji Fujimoto, who fled North Korea to Japan back in 2001, noted that even at the age of 14, Kim Jong-un drank vodka and could drink a whole bottle. At their last meeting, the DPRK leader drank sake.

American fast food

US President Barack Obama, as a true democrat, prefers simple food - fast food. In 2010, in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, Obama regaled Dmitry Medvedev at the Ray's Hell Burger. The then American president was a burger with cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. , one for two.

Obama doesn't mind drinking beer. In 2012, he is at the White House mini-brewery, where he brews his own beer called White House Honey Ale. In addition, the wife of President Michelle Obama, after moving to the White House, set up a vegetable garden on the lawn of the residence. Later it was reported that she managed to collect about 700 kilograms of vegetables. Michelle grows especially well with broccoli, spinach, cabbage, lettuce and other greens.

In 2008, when Obama was still a Senator from Illinois, The New York Times published a list of his favorite and least favorite foods. It turned out that Obama is crazy about fried almonds, pistachios, MET-Rx protein bars with peanuts, milk chocolate and vegetables. And he doesn't take mayonnaise, chips, asparagus in his mouth. Obama does not drink lemonades and other soft drinks - he prefers to drink food with plain water or tea.

Local specificity

Little is known about Vladimir Putin's taste preferences. The president himself once shared that he is not picky about food. “If there is a choice between meat and fish, I will prefer fish, from meat I love lamb. In general, he is indifferent to sweets, not counting ice cream. When I come somewhere, I enjoy trying the local cuisine. I got used to green tea for a long time, ”Putin said.

In 2012, the Russian leader had breakfast with NTV journalists. It turned out that the Russian president had eaten porridge and cottage cheese with honey in the morning, washed down with raw quail eggs. In addition, Putin drinks a cocktail made according to his own recipe. Among the ingredients are beets and horseradish.

On his business trips, the president likes to try local dishes, dines in public catering establishments. In 2003 he ordered fish soup, pies with red caviar, smoked eel and pancakes with strawberries in the Kaliningrad cafe "By the Road".

In 2008, during a visit to Tatarstan, he ordered salad, chicken noodle soup, beef with rice and a pie in the dining room of the special economic zone "Alabuga". The food cost the president 37 rubles 60 kopecks.

In 2013, Putin, along with the Kuban combine operators, dined on borscht. It is not known what else the head of state was treated to at that time - the president asked the journalists to leave, explaining that it was "difficult to eat with appetite in front of the camera."

In Petrozavodsk in April of this year, Putin said that he likes Karelian gates (small pies made of rye dough). He also noted the taste of Ossetian pies, chak-chak and Tatar belyasha.

The former wife of the president, Lyudmila Putina, on the other hand, argued that the president was picky enough in food and might refuse to dine if he didn't like the dish at least a little. At the same time, Lyudmila Putina complained that the head of state never praises food, even if he liked it.

In 2010, the Kremlin chef Anatoly Galkin said that Vladimir Putin prefers wine or beer from alcohol. In addition, Galkin shared a recipe for a signature cocktail that the first persons drink at official receptions: a lot of ice, a drop of lemon juice, mint, syrup and 50 grams of champagne. According to the chef, this drink "quenches thirst extraordinarily."

The first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, did not hide his culinary preferences. He was very fond of meat, especially game, wild boars and venison. Anatoly Galkin recalled that the presidential family really liked dumplings with black caviar. Also Boris Nikolaevich highly appreciated veal sausage with pistachios. But Yeltsin refused exotic dishes that were treated to the head of state at receptions abroad.

The ex-president preferred to drink strong drinks, mainly vodka or high-quality cognac.

Draniki's mother-in-law

Another lover of simple national cuisine is President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. “I prefer fish to meat, black bread to white, the menu always includes fruits, juices ... I really love pastries and ice cream. But with the latest delicacies it is difficult: you have to limit yourself. I ate a cake - be so kind as to plow 3-4 kilometers on roller-skates or skis, ”Lukashenka shares his recipe for longevity.

The president's mother-in-law, Elena Zhelnerovich, said that during her visits she fed her son-in-law with pancakes, scrambled eggs, milk soups and potato pancakes. According to her, over the years, Lukashenka's food preferences have not changed at all.

Oatmeal, madam

At the end of July 2014, the annual ClubdesChefs meeting was held in London, which brings together chefs preparing for heads of state. As a result of the meeting, it became known about the culinary preferences of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. It turned out that she doesn't like shrimp and other seafood. But it does well with the traditional British dish - oatmeal, with which you start your day. Previously, former royal chef Mark Flanagan said that Elizabeth II is very fond of potatoes.

It happens that before going to bed, the queen drinks a glass of Dubonnet (a wine drink used as an aperitif). He prefers gin among spirits.

Not paddling pools

Rumor has it that the current French President Francois Hollande, unlike Nicolas Sarkozy, does not like artichokes. The previous president of the fifth republic, on the contrary, called his favorite dish pasta with artichokes, black truffles and foie gras. Sarkozy preferred to wash down his food with wine. During his reign, Sarkozy dined at a restaurant at the Le Bristol Hotel, located near the Elysee Palace. The price for a portion of his favorite dish at that time was 82 euros. At the same time, Sarkozy, unlike Kim Jong-un, hates cheese.

The most "refined" tastes among French presidents were possessed by François Mitterrand, one of whose favorite dishes was fried oatmeal. Small birds are considered a delicacy in France. For oatmeal to gain weight, they are locked in dark boxes of millet, where the birds are continuously consuming their food. After that, they are drowned in Armagnac and fried. It is supposed to eat oatmeal without the help of cutlery, while you need to cover your head with a cloth, and take the bird with a napkin. It is believed that this is done in order to fully experience the aroma of the dish. In 1999, the use of garden oatmeal in food was banned almost throughout the European Union, but in mid-September this year it became known that several eminent French chefs had been banned from the ban.

Frau Merkel's Christmas dinner

Angela Merkel is perhaps one of the few heads of state who talks in detail about her favorite dishes. The Chancellor of Germany also cooks with pleasure when she has free time. Merkel is especially successful with potato soup, schnitzels and fish dishes. For Christmas, she prepares the traditional potato salad and goose roast.

The Bundeskanzler calls his favorite dish pork sausage with cabbage. Merkel also likes pasta bolognese and soups. Merkel's personal chef claims she is crazy about cheese. Among alcoholic beverages, Merkel, like many politicians, prefers wine, but sometimes she cannot deny herself a glass of beer.