The mysterious story of how the ballerina Anna Pavlova turned into a cake

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

Russian ballet shortly before the revolution became famous throughout the world. The audience on several continents applauded Vaclav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova and other talented ballet dancers. The fashion for the Russian, thanks to their popularity, manifested itself in many respects: European bohemians could dress in stylized Russian costumes for any events, foreign dancers took Russian pseudonyms for themselves, and even … they named a cake after Pavlova. When and where this first happened is still debated.

World Tour

Anna Pavlova was a native of St. Petersburg, received a good education at the Imperial Theater School and for several years was in the troupe of the prestigious Mariinsky Theater. The talented ballerina, of course, could not confine herself to Petersburg life - at that time Russian ballet was making its way in Europe.

In 1908, Pavlova toured several European cities. And the next year brought her participation in the debut season of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet. Sergei Diaghilev, the organizer (or, as we would now say, the producer) of the Russian Seasons in Paris, strove to put together his own ballet troupe and brought together the best of the best. The first Parisian season of Diaghilev's ballet was remembered by many viewers thanks to Pavlova - it was she who was portrayed on the poster of the seasons.

Overseas agents also pulled themselves up to the promising dancer: in Paris, Pavlova signed a month-long contract with a representative of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and in 1910 she was followed by Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Now, performances in Russia with Pavlova were perceived as her "Russian seasons" - much more often she conquered stages around the world, contributing to the promotion of our culture.

After the outbreak of the First World War, the ballerina finally settled in Great Britain. 1920s - again a large-scale world tour. Japan, China, Egypt, South America, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand … Somewhere during this period, culinary craftsmen invented the Pavlova cake. But, however, even before him, the eponymous strawberry dessert appeared.

Strawberry Pavlova

Foreign viewers and critics have repeatedly said that Pavlova does not dance - she seems to be flying, hovering over the stage. The creators of the Pavlova strawberry dessert, which they treated in 1911 in New York, a few months after the ballerina's American tour, tried to convey the feeling of lightness. From there, the dessert made its way to other English-speaking countries, including New Zealand.

The dessert was reminiscent of the familiar iced ice, garnished with fresh berries. A fairly popular summer dessert was known until the middle of the 20th century, and then for some reason disappeared. It looked something like this:

War between New Zealand and Australia

New Zealanders claim that the Pavlova cake was first baked by a chef at a hotel in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, during the ballerina's tour of the country. It was in 1926. Whether the strawberry dessert influenced this or not is unknown.

But the Australians are sure that the championship is theirs. True, the date is called later, 1935. And again, the legend mentions the hotel chef, who invented it, remembering the long visit of Anna Pavlova - by this time she was no longer alive.

Perhaps both stories are true, and the recipes were invented by chefs independently of each other. Basically, they were simple: a light meringue cake topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. Over the decades, many variations of Pavlova have been invented. In Australia, for example, you can often find a crispier meringue in the base of the cake, and in New Zealand they like to add kiwi to the berries. Culinary historians find prototypes of "Pavlova" in the 19th century in the cuisine of both countries, and therefore the discussion between them is nothing more than a funny dispute.

Lemon cookies, vegetable cake and more

The word "Pavlova" has become synonymous with lightness in cooking and has become a real brand. The cake is still known most of all in the world, but not only it can be found on the menu of restaurants. This is what Pavlova lemon cookies look like (meringue is present in the composition):

"Pavlova" in liquid form - cocktail "Pina Colada Pavlova":

In European bars, you can find the Anna Pavlova cocktail made from vodka, cherry and vanilla syrup and indispensable meringue:

If desired, radish can be added to the Pavlova cake instead of berries and fruits:

Well, in New Zealand, where the Pavlova cake is considered to be their invention, in 1999 in the State National Museum they baked the largest Pavlova 45 meters long, calling it Pavzilla (Pavlova plus Godzilla). And in 2005, in one of the universities of the same country, the record was surpassed: the new “Pavlova” at 64 meters was compared with King Kong and named “Pavkong”.

Especially for ballet fans a story about 6 ballerinas of the past, about whom a scandalous film could be made.