Шафран Любимовский или «кидалово» от ассоциации шеф –поваров Украины. Saffron Lyubimovsky or "scam" from the Association of Chefs of Ukraine.

On Sunday, October 21, we decided to take advantage of an advertising invitation from the Saffron Lyubimovsky farm and visit the saffron festival, which will bring together all the eminent chefs of Ukraine who will show us a master class on cooking saffron dishes. We arrived at the place at about 11 o'clock, the people were just starting to gather, the event itself was scheduled for 12 o'clock in the afternoon. Since there was still time, we decided to look around. At first, we went to inspect the saffron plantations, and were somewhat surprised, the whole saffron was a small strip of land, the guide in a nutshell murmured something limply there, and went somewhere. Okay, we think, let's go inspect the whole economy. Following a strip of saffron, there was the same strip of kuchugur from once grown asparagus and a strip of cut lilies. The attraction was the tractor "Memory of Ilyich", near such a relic it was a sin not to take a picture. .jpg" style="height: 600px; width: 338px" />

Saffron (or crocus) is one of the ancient spices that was known 4.000 years ago. The culture, in principle, is not picky, but the process of collecting spices is very laborious, since it is collected by hand. And they use only the stamens of the flower as a spice, of which there are only three. Therefore, the cost of this spice is very high, about 2.5 thousand dollars per 1 kg (about 200 thousand flowers). But the difficulty is that they bloom only 2-3 days, and on the first day of the flower opening, it is necessary to collect all the stigmas of the flower.

This is how saffron grows

Then we went to the so-called photo zones to capture ourselves against the backdrop of the gifts of nature. The photo zones were well presented, they also sold the spice saffron (for 200 hryvnia -1 gram of saffron), as well as asparagus, seeds and tulip bulbs.
  Local craftsmen also presented their crafts by selling boards, magnets, toys and other saffron-themed gadgets.

For the festival, tasting tables were set up, and one cook was apparently preparing pilaf, judging by the ingredients on the table.

The chief masters were not in sight yet. The time came to 12 o'clock, and the people got a little worried, when will the announced master class be? The boy - the cook reassured us, saying that do not boil, everything will be fine. And we asked him what the cost of pilaf is and when it will be ready, to which we received an answer: the owners have not yet formed the cost, they are not there yet, and the pilaf is not yet ready either. And it’s already hotst to bite, so let’s go and ask what they sell from edibles? They sold buns with saffron, well, buns, so buns. It's good that they took a thermos of coffee from the house, because they observed a picture that people, having bought coffee in a tent, poured it on the ground, cursing at the same time that it was a rare muck. The buns, by the way, were delicious, there was even a bitter-spicy aftertaste and an unusual aroma inherent in saffron. /30/58/2305827.jpg" style="height: 450px; width: 800px" />

The smell of Plov Vital is already in the air and in all photocons, the time was almost an hour of the day, and the chef was never. The people had already begun to grumble and queue up for pilaf, but the cook stubbornly said that the zirvak had not yet been slaughtered, and move away from the cauldron. /00/02/30/58/2305847.jpg" style="height: 450px; width: 800px" />
Well, finally, METERS came, with their camera, with a personal photographer, all in white suits with needles, lined up all decorously in a row, picked up a microphone and began to broadcast perky with enthusiasm. All the chefs were called by name, listing the ranks and regalia, their skills and achievements, the people clapped their hands, giving regular applause to the next luminary of Ukrainian cuisine.

At the beginning, probably the most powerful master of Ukrainian gastronomy, Viktor Titov, took the floor. " style="height: 450px; width: 800px" /> Having promoted themselves and all the other members, Viktor and his team, with a sense of accomplishment, took the ladle away from the cook and began to take pictures against the background of a cauldron with pilaf.

The people, realizing that they were trying to deceive them, began to ask questions, but where is the master class on cooking saffron dishes and when will we see this miracle work? How? The chief chef of all Ukraine was indignant, and pilaf? This is the master class! At the same time, the name of the cook was not even named, the boy - the cook remained unknown. But! The master chef said that they insisted water on saffron for two days. How! And in general, he said, the meat galloped over the steppes for a long time, the degree of its readiness is not determined, and ordered to wait. The very same gop - the company settled down at the table and drank wine.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, realizing that we were cruelly deceived, humiliated and insulted, and did not taste the super saffron dishes from the chefs, we decided to change our location and correct the situation. We went to the Chateau of Prince Trubetskoy to correct, and yes! Allah Akbar! It was great there! and the famous company of the same chefs was already walking there!
But, a summary of saffron: it was not a festival, and certainly not a master class, but an ordinary PR campaign. Most likely, the sponsors allocated funds, they had to be worked out, well, I described what came of it. Guys, such actions do not color the association of chefs, if you are already declaring a master class and taking money for entry to this event, then please be kind enough to comply. All the same, saffron is a truly royal spice, and in ancient times it was worth its weight in gold, and even today it has not lost its value. Saffron gives not only taste and aroma, but also a beautiful color to the dish. It is added not only to pilaf, but also to dough, soups, desserts and drinks. It has a number of useful properties. With constant use, it cleanses the liver and blood, strengthens the heart and improves well-being, they say that with its help you can even rejuvenate. merit of the chefs. Well, thanks to the organizers of the exhibition Saffron Lyubimovsky for creating photo zones, having a recreation area and the opportunity to see how this wonderful flower grows.