My most vivid culinary memory from my first trip to Georgia is the lightness of fresh bread in various types and flavours. Crispy, quite thin, with an aromatic crust (which varies depending on the wood used to heat the oven) that can be easily broken with your fingers. Delicious, adding flavour to even the simplest dishes.
(…) Georgian feasting culture is unique. Supra, or feast, is the centre of social life in this country. It is a masterful and mystical ritual spent at a shared, lavishly set table, talking about family, art, politics, religion, life and death… There is no feast without a tamada – the guide of the meeting. His task, apart from giving the floor and keeping order, is primarily to make toasts. And toasts are a completely different story and… an art! Toasts are sometimes anecdotes, poetry, and sometimes parables, stories, fairy tales, memories… Sometimes they are meant to amuse, sometimes to provoke reflection, sometimes to tug at the heartstrings. To God. To the homeland. To those who have died. To our ancestors. To love. To friendship. To life…
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The article appeared in BEDRIFT magazine, Autumn 2012; ISSN 2084-0225
[this article is available only in Polish]
