Menu for a dictator: What were the culinary addictions of 8 of the most authoritarian leaders from different countries

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

A person's culinary preferences are an indicator not only of his taste, but also a reflection of some personality traits. It is not surprising that the composition of the menu of famous authoritarian rulers is of certain interest to both professional chefs and the most ordinary people. What dishes did the leaders of the countries prefer and what precautions did some of them take for fear of poisoning?

Joseph Stalin

The leader of all nations can hardly be called a gourmet in full measure. In ordinary life, he ate rather modestly, preferring simple and nutritious dishes like boiled potatoes or frozen cabbage soup. He also loved Georgian cuisine, often arranging receptions with barbecue and national snacks. But at the same time, for example, at diplomatic receptions he was limited to a couple of sandwiches with fish or caviar. At the same time, making sure that the rest of the participants in the executive lunch or dinner eat a lot and drink no less.

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Fidel Castro

The Cuban leader was a real gourmet, highly appreciated the culinary arts, loved to eat well, and at the same time he cooked well in his youth. At the same time, he also loved variety. In various sources, you can find references to his favorite dishes: turtle soup, spaghetti with various sauces and additives, arros con camarones (a dish made of rice, lobster and crab meat), and also good cheese and even an American hot dog. And all his life the legendary Comandante was a coffee addict. Every 15 minutes he drank a cup of the strongest coffee, which tasted more like hot strong liquor. He had a special secret for making an invigorating drink: 8 spoons of good instant coffee and the same amount of sugar were poured into a coffee cup, pouring the mixture with brewed Cuban coffee.

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Saddam Hussein

The Iraqi leader was also known as a great gourmet, but he categorically did not accept most Western dishes. Even an ordinary steak was called Saddam steak by his staff cooks in order to please the ruler's ears. Due to health problems, Saddam Hussein was prescribed a diet, so he usually ate chicken dishes, soup, cucumbers and tomatoes. He had a particular weakness for camel milk, which was brought to him from Bedouin villages. Hussein loved to taste the fried fish, which he caught with his own hands at dawn. In a good mood, he even came to the kitchen and cooked himself, but a few months before the start of the American operation, this practice stopped. Abroad, he always ate only what his personal chefs prepared for fear of being poisoned.

Broz Tito

The Yugoslav ruler loved good drinks and delicious food. He never refused food during receptions, but at the same time he had a special addiction to simple lard. Even after the most plentiful feasts, Broz Tito invariably indulged himself with a piece of delicious bacon on his return home.

Mao Zedong

The great helmsman Mao Zedong was completely unassuming in food. From a young age, he carefully prepared himself for future struggles and possible hardships and ate cold and sometimes sour rice. As the leader of China, the ruler remained unpretentious. He could eat only once a day, preferring fatty meats and vegetables. If Mao Zedong thought his brain needed nourishment, he would ask him to stew the meat with soy sauce. The main product for him has always been red unbroken rice, which was supplemented with additional beans, sweet potatoes or something else at the request of the ruler. He really loved only hot peppers, which he consumed slightly dried over the fire and ate whole heads. Mao Zedong needed food not for pleasure, but for recuperation.

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Antonio Salazar

The Portuguese dictator, ideologist and leader of the "New State" became famous not only as a man who was able to bring his country out of the crisis, albeit with rather harsh methods, but also as a real ascetic and teetotaler. He did not drink alcohol, he hardly always noticed what was served to him at the table. But at the same time, with great pleasure he consumed sardines, which were often the only food available during his poor childhood.

Muammar Gaddafi

The brotherly leader preferred his native Libyan cuisine to all the most exquisite dishes, especially camel meat with couscous. Despite the fact that doctors do not recommend consuming camel milk in large quantities due to its high fat content, Muammar Gaddafi could never deny himself this pleasure. At the same time, he also respected Italian cuisine, devouring pasta in various forms with appetite during dinners with Silvio Berlusconi, with whom the Libyan leader had friendly relations.

Nicolae Ceausescu

The Romanian ruler, apparently, was very wary of the food served to him during his visits to other countries. That is why he carried everything he needed with him. But at receptions he could be content with only a glass of vegetable juice prepared right there. In his usual environment, he enjoyed eating vegetarian lasagna, for which he prepared a special sauce made of eggs and sour cream. Nicolae Ceausescu was very fond of roast chicken, he never gave up jellied carp or steak with fresh vegetable salad with feta. Moreover, all dishes before serving had to be carefully checked for the presence of poisons.

It is no secret that the heads of state can afford to taste any culinary delights. For some, these are truffles and foie gras, while others like more eccentric foods. Braised cobra, hallucinogenic bark, "sugar pork" - these shocking dishes were preferred by the most cruel dictators of the twentieth century.