There are millions of cookbooks in the world, and we are not aiming at producing yet another one. This website is an invitation to visit the STAL’ kitchen in La Cadiere and to share our experiences of cooking, consuming, drinking-up and discussing food. There is also a hidden purpose – since we keep forgetting our own recipes, the site is a reminder to ourselves as what they are. If you have a similar problem – do join and send us your recipes.
Our kitchen is located in a wonderful place in Provence – the village of La Cadiere d’Azur (if translated from Provencal romantically – the place of a sky-blue dream, and if literally – a blue chair, and in what follows, simply: Cadiere). The kitchen is probably the main part of our beloved house, which offers a unique view of the Mediterranean Sea, coastal villages, valleys and the Sainte-Baume mountain range, where according to a legend, Mary-Magdalene may have lived for six years in a cave.
Usually people buy a house in Provence, having done a thorough preparatory work. For 15 years, our neighbors from Germany rented different houses in various villages, tested local markets and nearby Michelin restaurants before making a purchase. We’ve fallen in love with our house at the first glance. To rationalize such a decisive purchase, we came up with three theories — fate, exact mathematical calculation, and chance. Over time, we have become so used to them that we no longer remember which part was true and which part was imagined, hence here are all three.
According to the first theory, while on vacation in Provence, we decided to get better acquainted with local life and asked a real estate agency to show us a few houses without any desire to buy them. Having arrived at our future home, we simply could not leave it.
According to the mathematical theory, the house is equidistant from our three favorite producers of Bandol wine – Chateau de Pibarnon, Domain Tempier and Domaine Gros Noré. It was impossible not to buy such a house.
According to the third, it was chance that has helped us. We came to Bandol wine region at the very moment the owner of the house decided to show it to potential buyers. We were in line before and after other couples, and our Soviet background must have kicked in – if there is a queue, grab it!
The owner of the house also played a role, she thought we were nice (‘tres sympa’) and would look after her antique kitchen and dining room collection well. So there is an element of succession in the story of our house.
We have no culinary ideology, with an exception of the idea of love – love for each other, for people who are close to us, to the delicious food, regardless of the type, cooking methods, or authorship of recipes. In terms of preferences and tastes, we are, as they say, global people. But the dishes we cook also have local stories. We think they are cute, funny and important for enjoying the food, so we share some of them.
The recipes presented here reflect both our biography and our geography. The dishes came from where we were born and grew up – Siberia, Moscow, Novorossiysk and Maikop. Siberian recipes are close to nature and beautiful in their simplicity – the blackcurrant leaf tea from snowy water, fish soup from a mountain waterfall, a salad from a single cucumber. Novorossiysk recipes breathe sea and sun – fried red mullet, juicy tomatoes with garlic and red basil. Moscow cuisine is as eclectic as the city itself – be it cabbage soup, fish under the marinade, or azhapsandal.
Later on, we had an opportunity to live and work in France, the UK and the USA, and travel to many countries where we encountered our favorite dishes. Stanislav’s hunts have resulted in several recipes of game. The veggie repertoire – salads, mesivo – was particularly influenced by Piero’s garden in Murtoli, Corsica. The sources of inspiration for our collection of recipes are varied, but the main one is La Cadiere d’Azur, with its products, spices, sun and wines of Provence.
We classified recipes according to their origins and purpose – starters, salads; mains, fish, meat, veggie; desserts, etc.
Bon appetit!
STAL’