A Sumptuous Feast

In celebration of Tsar Alexander III’s coronation in May 1883, the renowned artist Viktor Vasnetsov designed menus for a series of festive dinners. One of the most beautiful commemorates a meal held in the Kremlin’s Faceted Chamber in honor of the tsar and his wife, Maria Fyodorovna. Vasnetsov’s design is notable for the deep sense of Russianness it conveys. Unlike most courtly menus of the time, it is presented in Russian, not French, to underscore the event’s nationalist nature. The lettering, executed in the stylized form of Old Church Slavonic manuscripts, with ornate capitals and illuminations, emphasizes centuries of Russian tradition. The initial letters S (the Slavonic C) and G in the words “Glory” and “Lord” spill down the page in a riot of organic forms. Prominently placed amid this song of praise is an image of khleb-sol – the presentation of bread and salt, the great symbol of Russian hospitality. This was no fanciful image on Vasnetsov’s part. As part of the coronation festivities, delegates paid tribute to the tsar for two days, bringing him exquisitely crafted bread plates and saltcellars. The saltcellar depicted here is actually in the form of a small throne whose seat opens up to reveal precious salt inside.

At the top center of the menu’s first page we see a double monogram of Alexander III and Maria Fyodorovna, under which an arch frames the coronation procession, simultaneously depicting interior and exterior views. The elaborate ornamentation is typical of the Slavic Revival, or Neo-nationalist, style developed at the artists’ colony of Abramtsevo outside of Moscow. This style hearkened back to the distinctive aesthetic of medieval Muscovy. The menu depicts boyars and the rynda (bodyguards to the grand princes) in beautiful ermine and brocades. The folk are depicted, too, in the presentation of bread and salt, creating a multilayered slice of Russian society.

The menu’s brilliant saturation of color was made possible by advancements in printing technology that allowed reproduction through chromolithography. The deep red accents of the shield, the stair runner, the boyarina’s caftan, the gusli player’s boots, and the lettering itself bespeak a Russian aesthetic in which red equals beautiful, while the deep gold tones lend a shimmer and richness to the pages. Vasnetsov’s depiction of banners with angels and saints, along with the cupolas of the Kremlin churches in the background, underscore the sacred nature of the coronation. Folk elements are also present in the richly embroidered tea towel underneath the bread and salt and in the ornament of the mythical Sirin – half bird, half female – in the lower right, who portends harmony and joy. Vasnetsov’s incorporation of so many symbolic values in this menu is striking.

Although this symbolism serves a larger idea than the menu’s practical purpose, the dishes are nonetheless notable for their primarily Russian character.

Clear beet soup and vegetable broth
Little pies
Steamed sterlet
Veal
Aspic
Roast chicken and game
Asparagus
Guriev Kasha
Ice cream

The menu consists of seven courses: soup with accompaniment, a fish course, a prepared hot meat dish, a cold dish, several roasts, a vegetable course, and two desserts. Borshchok is a clear beet soup, the elegant cousin to heartier borshch, while pokhlebka is a light yet flavorful soup usually made from a single type of vegetable cooked slowly to extract its essence. In classic Russian style, the soups are served with pirozhki, little pies filled with either meat or finely chopped vegetables. After the mandatory first course of soup come various preludes to the roasts. First, steamed sterlet, a small member of the sturgeon family much prized for its delicate flavor, and then a serving of veal, most likely a “made dish” like the veal au gratin recommended in contemporaneous cookbooks. Next comes aspic – a cold dish of veal, beef or pork that has been simmered on the bone, then sliced. The broth is clarified, poured over the meat, and allowed to jell into a shimmering mass. Two roasts, the highlight of the meal, are offered. Asparagus also takes pride of place in this mid-May menu, when the first stalks would have come into season. The rich semolina and brandied fruit dessert known as Guriev Kasha signals the end of the meal, followed by a refreshing taste of ice cream. Guriev Kasha was said to be one of Alexander III’s favorite desserts: in 1888, when his private train derailed en route to St. Petersburg, he miraculously survived, apparently because he was in the dining car about to take a bite of Guriev Kasha.