Chicken Kiev

• 1. French Culinary Roots

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  Russian chefs adopted French haute cuisine techniques during the 18th century. This adoption was furthered by famous French chefs like Marie-Antoine Carême and Urbain Dubois who were hired by Russian gentry. The use of high quality meat cuts became widespread in the 19th century. Various cutlets, steaks, escalopes and suprêmes appeared in Russian cookbooks at that time. A number of original dishes involving such components were developed in Russia then. The term de volaille means of poultry and denotes almost exclusively chicken dishes in French cookbooks. The name côtelette de volaille means simply chicken cutlet. Despite the original French name, the Russian recipe is unknown in French cuisine.

• 2. Evolution Of The Cutlet

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  The main difference between old time côtelette de volaille and modern chicken Kiev is butter stuffing. Elaborate stuffings of the former are replaced by butter in the latter dish. The use of butter for chicken cutlets has been known in Russian cuisine since the invention of the Pozharsky cutlet. This invention occurred in the first half of the 19th century. Pozharsky cutlets are breaded ground chicken patties for which butter is added to minced meat. This results in an especially juicy and tender consistency. The dish was a widely appraised invention of 19th-century Russian cuisine. It was also adopted by French haute cuisine and subsequently by international cuisine. An early reference of Kiev cutlets from chicken or veal appears in Cookery Digest published in 1915. These were minced meat cutlets similar to Pozharsky cutlets but shaped like a croquette with cold butter placed in the middle.

• 3. Disputed Origins And Inventors

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  Russian Tea Room Cookbook notes that chicken Kiev was most likely a creation of great French chef Carême at Court of Alexander I. Marie-Antoine Carême spent just several months of year 1818 in St. Petersburg. He made profound impact on Russian cuisine during this short time. Reforms carried out by his followers introduced various meat cuts into Russian cookery. Recipe of Russian côtelette de volaille is not present in Carême major work mentioned above. Some Russian sources attribute creation of this dish to Nicolas Appert, French confectioner and chef. Appert is best known as inventor of airtight food preservation. Common biographic sources for Appert do not mention this dish. Origin of these claims remains unclear. William Pokhlyobkin claimed chicken Kiev was invented in 1912 as Novo-Mikhailovskaya kotleta in St. Petersburg Merchants Club near Mikhailovsky palace. Claims collide with primary sources regarding recipe details.

• 4. Soviet Standardization And Naming

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  Chicken cutlets Kiev-style were listed in Apportionments for dinners published in 1928. This book served as standard reference for Soviet catering establishments. The book demanded renaming many traditional restaurant dishes to replace bourgeois names with simple proletarian forms. Cutlet Kiev-style had to be renamed into chicken cutlet stuffed with butter. Program was not realized immediately at least not completely. Successor Directory of Apportionments for Catering published in 1940 still included traditional names. In post-World War II publications such as Cookery from 1955, Kiev-style name was retained. Terms de volaille and à la Maréchale disappeared from menus of Soviet restaurants. Old-style name cutlet de volaille Kiev-style was occasionally mentioned in some post-World War II Soviet fiction books. Short story This Is Not Written In A Cookbook by Yevgeny Vorobyov appeared in 1947. It mentions that cutlets de volaille are made for two tastes including Kiev-style and jardiniere versions.

• 5. Global Commercial Expansion

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  Mentions of chicken Kiev appear in US newspapers starting from 1937. Reports describe Russian-style restaurant Yar in Chicago serving this dish. Restaurant existed until 1951 and was run by Vladimir Yaschenko former colonel of imperial Russian army. It was styled after famous eponymous Moscow restaurant and frequented by celebrities of that time. After World War II US newspapers mentioned chicken Kiev served in New York restaurants. Recipes for chicken cutlet à la Kiev were published in The New York Times in 1946. Gourmet magazine published similar recipes in 1948. Since end of 1940s or beginning of 1950s chicken Kiev became standard fare in Soviet high class restaurants. Intourist hotel chain served foreign tourists with this dish. Tourist booklets warned diners of danger it presented to their clothing. Popularity grew in the United States during same period. Darra Goldstein states chicken Kiev became symbol of Russian haute cuisine. Introduced in Britain during 1979, chicken Kiev was Marks & Spencer company first ready-made meal. It remains popular in UK being readily available in supermarkets and served in some restaurant chains.

• 6. Cultural Symbolism And Politics

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  Chicken Kiev speech is derisive name coined by William Safire for then-U.S. President George H. W. Bush speech in Kiev on the 1st of August 1991. Speech opposed independence for Ukraine cautioning Ukrainians against suicidal nationalism. Bush did what he could diplomatically to keep Soviet Union together. On the 24th of August Ukraine declared independence. On the 1st of December Ukrainians voted for it in national referendum leading to USSR dissolution by the 26th of December. In 2018 bronze miniature sculpture of chicken Kiev placed on Horodecki street in Kyiv near restaurant Chicken Kyiv. Sculpture became first of set such mini-sculptures depicting famous symbols of Kyiv placed throughout city as part of art project. Wide popularity of chicken Kiev as pre-packaged meal led to term Kiev applied to various stuffed chicken dishes. Examples include leek-and-bacon Kiev and cheese-and-ham Kiev which same dish as chicken cordon bleu. Vegetarian Kiev made from beans also exists today.