Peter the Great's Culinary Preferences: What Delicacies Did the Reformer Tsar Prefer?

It's well known that Tsar Peter the Great was not picky about food and discouraged gluttony among his ranks. He famously said, "What good can a body do for the Fatherland when it consists only of a belly?" But modesty in Peter the Great's time and today are very different concepts. Therefore, the monarch's culinary preferences may surprise modern readers.

In pre-Petrine Rus', lavish feasts were an integral part of court life. These traditions, inherited from Byzantium, were renowned for their grandeur. In particular, the feast menu was astonishingly abundant: "Sugar cakes weighing two poods, a baked swan, duck, pigeon, and sugar parrot. A multitude of marzipans and 40 dishes of candy"—that's what the table looked like at the celebration of Peter the Great's birth, hosted by his father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Interestingly, the first Russian emperor retained a lifelong passion for candy.

Regarding Peter the Great's basic diet, numerous historical sources describe his meals in detail, both in everyday life and at banquets. It's noteworthy that Peter Alexeevich preferred simple food and didn't strive for gourmet dishes, unlike his predecessors.

This is how his close friend, the turner and mechanic Andrei Nartov, described the Tsar's dinners. Peter didn't begin his day with a cup of coffee, which, incidentally, he loved. Before breakfast, on an empty stomach, the Tsar drank a glass of vodka. It was also served to him before each meal. During meals, the monarch preferred bread kvass.

Peter the Great's contemporaries noted that he ate not like a tsar or an aristocrat, but rather like a wealthy village peasant. His favorite dish, in particular, was barley porridge made with cow's milk, and during Lent, with almond milk. It was thanks to the tsar's tastes that barley porridge was introduced to soldiers. Even today, centuries later, barley porridge remains an important part of the army's diet.

Peter the Great was a great fan of black bread, radishes, and all dishes made with them—from the savory to the sweetest. Pine nuts and almonds were always on his table. As for fruit, the tsar preferred apples, pears, oranges, and grapes, which he washed down only with water. Interestingly, he also enjoyed watermelons, both fresh and pickled. At first, they were imported from afar, but soon, by order of Peter, greenhouses for growing melons were built in St. Petersburg.

Peter had a prodigious appetite, especially when it came to fruit. In a single sitting, for example, he could easily consume up to six pounds of cherries (approximately 3 kg) or four pounds of figs (about 2 kg). Borscht, veal, roast chicken and game, jellied meat, sturgeon, asparagus, pies, Guryev porridge, and ice cream were common dishes on his table. For dessert, the tsar never refused ice cream.

The Tsar also enjoyed foreign delicacies. He was especially fond of Dutch Limburg cheese. Courtiers and ambassadors often brought it as gifts, knowing the Tsar's fondness for it. Peter I's hospitality was legendary, and not always positive. The monarch loved to entertain his guests and became furious when his "Demyanov fish soup" was rejected.

During long feasts that could last for days, the tsar's table always featured vinegar, olive oil, and imported Danish herring—considered a great delicacy. This fish was more expensive than the caviar of the pressed Volga and Caspian sturgeons. But not everyone enjoyed such delicacies, unfamiliar to the Russian palate.

One day, at a banquet, the nobleman Fyodor Golovin refused a salad dressed with vinegar. He couldn't even stand the smell of the condiment. The Tsar was furious at his drinking companion's behavior. He ordered vinegar poured down Golovin's throat until he came to his senses. The torture continued until the unfortunate man bled.

No event was complete without alcohol. Historian Elena Mayorova described the royal drinking bouts as follows:

Peter I was never known for his polite manners. As a child and youth, for example, he preferred to eat with his hands, remembering to use a spoon only when serving soup. He never used forks or knives. As an adult, the tsar acquired a special set of cutlery: a wooden spoon decorated with ivory, a knife, and a fork with green bone handles. This set always accompanied him, and his orderly was responsible for setting the royal place at table.

During the first years of Peter I's reign, meals were cooked for him in simple ceramic pots. Russian stoves were used in the royal kitchen, and Dutch stoves were later added. Over time, however, Peter decided to furnish the kitchen according to European standards: pots, pans, baking sheets, and skimmers were introduced. In 1724, the Grebenshchikov factory opened, supplying earthenware and porcelain tableware to the royal court. Thus, wooden and pewter cutlery was replaced with gold and silver.

The Emperor disliked eating in silence, so music was always playing in the dining room. Peter was served a "musical menu," from which he personally selected the tunes. Table service was provided by specially selected waiters, distinguished by their agility and height. Particular attention was paid to appearance—men with handsome features were preferred. Sometimes even this position was hereditary.

Vases of fresh flowers always stood between the plates on the table. These were grown for Peter in greenhouses or purchased from foreign merchants. The choice of flowers depended on the season or the emperor's special wishes. One contemporary wrote that the wife of the English ambassador was astonished by the royal table, decorated with hundreds of cornflowers.

During feasts, an important rule was observed: "Be silent when entering and silent when leaving." This was commemorated by a bas-relief of a lion's head with an apple in its mouth, mounted above the doors of the dining hall. This symbolized that the first and last word at the table always belonged to the king, and all discussions and conversations were to be confined to the dining company.

It could be said that one of Peter the Great's reforms was also culinary. Under his rule, new dishes, spices, tableware, and table traditions appeared in Rus'. As for the sovereigns, the Romanov cuisine, even after Peter, continued to be distinguished by its simplicity. This, incidentally, is easily discernible in the food preferred by his descendants.