WHERE SIX COOKS #1: WOMEN TO THE PEN! Łukasz Modelski and the herstory of Polish cuisine

Über die Veranstaltung

We are opening a series of meetings where we explore and taste the herstory of Polish cuisine. In five open lectures and intimate culinary workshops, ŁUKASZ MODELSKI, a renowned culinary historian, journalist, author of books, TV and radio programs, takes us on a journey through centuries, trends, and charismatic figures who shaped our food culture. A series of five Sunday afternoon meetings created for those who want to deeply and better understand how cooking was done in the past, the roots of contemporary culinary phenomena, and above all, the women to whom we owe Polish cookbooks, culinary trends, and the evolution of professions like cook and culinary influencer. After the lectures, during intimate workshops, we prepare herstorical dishes based on recipes from the past. At each workshop, we prepare one vegetarian dish and one meat dish. 📅 Meeting #1: WOMEN TO THE PEN! - Sunday, September 21, 2025 - Open lecture: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Attend in person or watch on Facebook! - Free admission Culinary workshop: Herstory on the plate - 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Limited spots, free participation. Sign up! - [email protected] Each participant can register one additional person. Separate registration is required for each workshop. WOMEN – TO THE PEN! After the November Uprising, women's aspirations change. The first cookbooks and cooking manuals are created. Karolina Nakwaska writes "The Polish Manor," Anna Ciundziewicka creates the manual "The Lithuanian Housewife," and Wincenta Zawadzka writes "The Lithuanian Cook." Maria Marciszewska "invents" Polish Easter, while Bronisława Leśniewska and Teresa Twarowska teach the economics of cooking. On the pages of these books, a new profession is born: the cook. An authorial lecture by the curator of the series – ŁUKASZ MODELSKI, followed by a workshop on herstorical cuisine. Partner of the series: Museum of Polish History 📅 Upcoming meetings in the series: - MEETING #2: The First Celebrities (October 5, 2025) About how the second half of the 19th century is practically modernity, how the status of culinary book authors radically changes, and how the first celebrities were not actresses but cooks: Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa, Maria Gruszecka (Kazimiera Krumłowska), Florentyna Niewiarowska. - MEETING #3: New Times, New Challenges (October 26, 2025) About how women had to take over household management, how servants disappeared, how they had to manage the home themselves, and how they had to learn to do so. And besides that – cook something out of nothing. Authors write, and readers learn from them about frugality and acquire new skills. We explore the works of authors on cooking and household management, including: Jadwiga Izdebska, Karolina Biełozierska, Małgorzata Bogacka, Marta Norkowska, Róża Makarewicz, Maria Ochorowicz-Monatowa, Helena Pedenkowska, Alina Gniewkowska, Elżbieta Kiewnarska. - MEETING #4: Abundant, Global, Contemporary (November 9, 2025) The 1930s finally bring abundant cuisine in publications, with a clear global and exclusive twist. From Anglomania to Polish substitutes for exotic ingredients. The Titanic ball of the late 1930s. Menus from the decks of "Batory" and "Piłsudski," spas, and hotels, which directly translated into the content of cookbooks. Written and inspired by: Danuta Wyrybkowska, Fania Lewando, Maria Disslowa, Antonina Piętkowa. - MEETING #5: Shaping and Shaped. Finale (November 16, 2025) Three contemporary authors of cookbooks from the 1990s and 2000s talk about their mentors or the books that shaped them. Together with the protagonists, we examine the most important cookbooks of the PRL era and how their books shape the face of Polish cuisine today. Among the discussed authors: Helena Kulzowa-Hawliczkowa, Irena Gumowska, Zofia Zawistowska, Nela Rubinstein, Hanna Szymanderska. On stage, experts and trendsetters of contemporary cuisine. Thus, a lecture with discussion and workshops in subgroups. THE ORGANIZER OF THE SERIES IS THE "KULTURA NIE BOLI" FOUNDATION. ALL LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS TAKE PLACE AT THE BIG BOOK CAFE MDM LITERARY CENTER (Koszykowa 34/50).