Polish cuisine comes to Hanoi

The book is an invitation to journey through Polish culinary paths. It introduces the history of Polish cuisine, recipes, spices and ingredients to cook Polish dishes.

Polish Culinary Paths won prizes at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Magellan Award (Polish Book Award), Prix de la Littérature Gastronomique (from the Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie) and theChinese Xinzhuyi Award. The book has also been printed in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

Bolalek also showed Vietnamese chefs how to cook some popular dishes, such as szarlotka (apple tart) and zrazy wieprzowe (chicken breast rolled in bacon).

Bolalek said this was the first time she had visited Vietnam, although she has visited Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. During a one week stay, she tries the local food everyday.

“Vietnamese dishes go with various kinds of herbs that make them taste different,” she said. “I will come back to discover more.”

Bolałek is an orientalist and author of many award-winning cooking and culinary books. She has written on anthropology, neurogastronomy, food design, food diplomacy and food tourism. 

Her efforts help Europeans understand Asian cultures and cuisines and vice versa.