Petersburg Cuisine in the 19th-21st Century Сoronation and Solemn Menus of Lunches and Dinners

Dear friends!

The Petersburg Cuisine Project was launched by the St. Petersburg Government in 2014.  "Petersburg cuisine" is a phenomenon that emerged in the 19th century on the verge of traditional Russian cuisine and French culinary practices. The Project aims to popularize this unique gastronomic phenomenon. The Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg runs the Project.

A valuable resource for studying dishes of Petersburg cuisine is the St. Petersburg Cuisine cookbook published in 1862. Ignatius Radetzky, the author of the book, collected more than 2 thousand recipes of various dishes in it. Today, many of these dishes can be tasted in St. Petersburg restaurants participating in the Project.

The collections of the National Library of Russia also help deepen the knowledge of St. Petersburg cuisine. Archival materials once again confirmed that Petersburg cuisine has a very rich history and was found not only in the capital of the Russian Empire. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the most typical Petersburg dishes were included in the menu of all diplomatic receptions without fail. 

The result of the study of historical menus is the online exhibition "Petersburg Cuisine in the Coronation and Festive Menus of Lunches and Dinners of the 19th-21st Centuries", which documents the existence of this special culinary phenomenon.

Markov Sergey, first vice chairman of
Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg,
project manager "Petersburg Cuisine"