EGastroArt and Cărturești.ro announce the start of the pre-order campaign for one of the most anticipated Romanian culinary books, the book ZĂMURI - soups, soups and năcreli (Transylvanian recipes from the elderly) signed by master Mircea Groza. It is the first volume in an author's series dedicated to the researcher from Saláje, the publishing house announcing that they are already working on the second anthology of recipes dedicated to topales and tocanelosr. The volume contains 182 richly illustrated soup/soup recipes, collected over 40 years by Mircea Groza from the elders in the villages of Salăje. The recipes are written in the regional language, a phonetic transliteration, through which the author tries to preserve both the culinary heritage and the specifics of the area. The volume also benefits from a glossary with hundreds of explained terms.
Mircea Groza is one of the most famous collectors of old recipes from us, a culinary archaeologist and a mentor for many chefs. His work has been noted by local and central authorities, national and international chef associations and NGOs and he has been awarded dozens of excellence awards for his work.
"It is very important for us that readers pre-order the book to be able to calibrate the final print run. Given that in recent years both the cost of paper and services have tripled their price, a prior estimate of the number of potential buyers leads to cost efficiency and a commensurate remuneration for the author even if we consider that the research done in almost half a century it is invaluable" - Cosmin Dragomir, GastroArt publishing house.
The book can be pre-ordered here (click on photo or link)
The preface of the book is signed by Cătălin Ștefănescu followed by a letter from Grigore Leșe. The afterword belongs to Cosmin Dragomir and, on cover IV, Oana Coantă, Adi Hădean and Radu Dumitrescu recommend this volume. The photos and the concept of the covers belong to Răzvan A. Voiculescu.
"I try, through these writings, to reproduce the local specificity in terms of local gastronomy, I would say more precisely, popular food. What is representative from this point of view is the happy combination of the recipes of at least four ethnicities - Romanians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Jews - and the habit of using certain ingredients, specific to some, habits taken over by all the others. There are many examples, the potatoes used especially by the Slovaks, the onions from the Crasna valley, especially in the neighboring villages of Pericei commune, forest mushrooms, the extensive orchards and vineyards whose fruits are increasingly used in the kitchen. For several years I have been publishing in various forms old recipes from my area. I offer them with love to those interested, I am contacted quite often for details but also to be told that many of my recipes are tried and become part of the menu of some families. There are also restaurants in the country that use my recipes, actually the old recipes of socacits. It seems that there is a real trend of returning to culinary traditions. More and more, a parallel is drawn between healthy food and traditional recipes. I notice with joy that in many competitions and gastronomic festivals, even in some television shows, there are more and more references to traditional cuisine. I firmly believe that Romania has a traditional cuisine", says Mircea Groza in the foreword.
"Mircea Groza is my first mentor in the full sense of the word. We met in 2008 at a food fair, and since then we have had many wonderful food experiences together. His deep knowledge about traditional Romanian food, especially about Transylvanian food, comes from a study to which he has devoted himself completely in the last decades. It would be good if we all take advantage of this dedication and carry the story forward." Adrian Hadean
"There should be a Mircea Groza in every region of the country and, in this way, Romanian gastronomy would be brought to light in its entirety. Some of his recipes ended up in the bistro, the role of the chefs being the successors of the keepers of the recipes. Mr. Mircea Groza gives us the brush and the colors, our mission is to show the world further how rich we are gastronomically", Oana Coanta
"Mircea Groza is a character who is looking for food, who lives for food. I really like it because I learned that dubious language, he writes his recipes in such a way that you don't understand anything, but you're dying for it. I don't know anyone from Romania who writes like this. As for this book, let's not be ashamed, we are a people of scumbags. Romanian cuisine begins with a soup. Special respect and I hope that the god of gastronomy keeps him alive as long as possible because we all learned from Mircea and we have more to learn". Radu Dumitrescu
"You have in front of you a document book that illustrates the richness of our gastronomic heritage. Imagine that we have selected only 182 recipes from the approximately 400 collected by Mircea Groza trying to avoid dishes that are quite similar. The volume is the result of over 40 researches, and a life dedicated to preserving traditions cannot be quantified in lei. Mircea Groza's collection of recipes completes a meager profile bibliography and speaks about the Romanian culinary identity. It remains only to wonder why most of our restaurants stubbornly sell only five to ten standard recipes", Cosmin Dragomir
You can browse the volume
The author and editor thank those who supported the appearance of this volume: Caii de la Letea, Tenaris Silcotub, Silvania Gourmet, FT Shop, La Fântâna, Bistro de L'arte, Restaurant Zama, Carmangeria Moldovan, Mecanica CD, Association for Intercommunity Development Șara Silvaniei.
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