Tver region with Pozharsky cutlets is among the winners of the "Tastes of Russia"

The Tver region at the national competition of food brands "Tastes of Russia" opened the top three winners in the nomination "Culinary Heritage". The honorable third place was taken by fire cutlets from Torzhok, famous all over the country and even beyond its borders. The results of the competition were announced online by the Ministry of Agriculture of RUSSIA on November 15.

Three winners were chosen in eight nominations each – a total of 24 brands became the best of the best, including Pozharskaya kotlet, a brand from the Tver region. Together with the Torzhok delicacy, the winners in the Culinary Heritage nomination were Alan pies and Kuban borscht - this is the gastronomic neighborhood of the south of Russia and its center. In total, 720 brands from almost all regions of the country were submitted for the competition. 

Surely everyone who took part in the voting for their favorite foods and dishes not only supported something familiar with their votes, but also made many culinary discoveries for themselves. After all, what in one region of Russia will be perceived as an ordinary dish, in another will seem like a real exotic. This is the purpose of the competition - to reveal the potential of gastronomic brands from different parts of Russia, to acquaint the inhabitants of the country with a huge variety of tastes, different cuisines. 

Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev stressed that holding such competitions gives impetus to the development of farms and small businesses, increases the tourism potential of Russian regions, and has a positive effect on EXPORT indicators. 

This year, the Tver region put forward a variety of foods and drinks for the competition: dumplings and cheeses, dryers and marmalade, MEAT chips and gingerbread, lemonade,  MILK and much more. The laurels of the winner went to fire cutlets. This dish has a rich history that attracts more than one culinary researcher. Pozharsky cutlets were invented about two centuries ago in Torzhok, a large trading city. 

it seems that this particular feature of Torzhok has become an ideal condition for the popularization of cutlets: travelers from St. Petersburg to Moscow and back always stopped at Torzhok taverns to rest and refresh themselves. They were received in the tavern of Evdokim Pozharsky, who treated the guests to cutlets. Everyone liked the dish, and the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in poetic form recommended his friend Sobolevsky to dine with Pozharsky. In Pushkin's times, the cutlet was made from veal, in the 1840s they began to cook it from chicken meat. Now the famous delicacy from Torzhok is a chopped chicken cutlet, rolled in bread crumbs. The first recipe was officially published in Gastronomers' Almanac in 1853.

In the 20th century, the popularity of the cutlet diminished, but already in the new century, its former popularity returned to it - in particular, thanks to the festival “At Pozharsky in Torzhok”. And now the brand also has a victory in the Tastes of Russia competition.