Poland at EXPO Milano 2015 fair: delicious and healthy
During the EXPO 2015 fair, which is due to start in Milan on 1 May, Poland wants to show itself as a country of healthy food. The Polish pavilion will be taken over by regional food producers.
Poland’s pavilion at the EXPO Milano 2015 fair has been designed to resemble an apple box hidden in an apple orchard. Being the world’s third biggest apple producer, Poland perfectly fits with this year’s World Exhibition’s core theme that is Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. From 1 May to 31 October 2015, visitors to the capital of Lombardy will have an opportunity to taste not only Polish apples, but also raspberries (of which we are the world’s biggest producer), strawberries, regional cheeses of Podhale and Korycin, St. Martin’s croissants, and Masurian honeys.
“We want the visitors to see Poland the way it really is – as a country with beautiful landscapes, high-quality crops and tasty, healthy food,” Agnieszka Józefowicz-Krakowiak, promotion coordinator from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and member of the organisation team of the Polish pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015, tells Polska.pl.
With its façade that refers to the structure of an apple box, the pavilion designed by Piotr Musiałowski’s 2PM architecture firm is a prominent symbol of Poland as an agricultural country. Real apple trees will be planted into the structure of the building and around it. The intention of the designers was for the pavilion to gradually unveil its attractions to visitors.
“The concept refers to a treasure box. We want to show that even though many foreigners consider Poland grey and boring, our country has a lot to offer,” says Ms. Józefowicz-Krakowiak. “Poland can boast of beautiful landscapes, and the diversity of regions, which include mountains, forests, arable lands, lakes, and the Baltic Sea. We will put a particular emphasis on this aspect during regional weeks. For instance, during the Pomorskie Voivodeship week, a sandy beach will be created around the pavilion to present the region’s key assets.
Visitors to the Polish pavilion will also have a chance to relax and refresh themselves in a restaurant that will show the wealth of Polish cuisine. The menu will combine culinary traditions of Poles and Italians, two nations that love spending time at the table.
“Our idea is to serve Italian food made of Polish iconic products. For example, traditional risotto will be replaced with buckwheatto (PL: kaszotto), its Polish counterpart made of buckwheat. On the occasion of the exhibition, we have prepared a book of recipes for dishes that combine Polish and Italian cuisine, such as minestrone soup with Wrzawy beans, or bryndza cheese ravioli,” says Ms. Józefowicz-Krakowiak.
Regional products covered by the Ministry of Economy’s Promotion Programme of the Food Specialties Industry will also be presented at the fair. These include the oscypek (smoked ewe’s milk cheese), lisiecka sausage, Camelina oil, Silesian kołacz (wheel cake), Kashubian strawberries, and Old Polish meads. These are the ingredients necessary to prepare the dishes described in the Appetite for Poland cookbook, and they will be used during tasting and cooking shows organised in the pavilion’s restaurant. Visitors will have a chance to buy many of these products on the spot.
Polish food production and food safety technologies will also be promoted at the Polish pavilion. A thematic exhibition and a conference addressed to experts from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will serve this purpose.
147 countries, such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Hungary, China, Slovakia, India, and the US, will participate in the EXPO Milan 2015 fair.
ALEKSANDRA STANISŁAWSKA
01.05.2015
Other articles in this section
Food trucks in Poland
The fad for street food has been in full bloom in Poland. Food trucks in particular enjoy massive popularity – these restaurants on wheels serve dishes from all over the world. How did this phenomenon come to be and is it really new? How is the mobile gastronomy developing in Poland? And, first and foremost – where to look for street delicacies?
The magic of Poland’s highland cheeses
Oscypek is the traditional sheep-milk cheese of southern Poland’s mountainous Podhale region. It is the most popular Polish cheese which has long since made its way to cheese-lovers abroad. Equally fascinating is its flavour as well as how it is made. Learn what goes on in the mountain huts where Polish highland shepherds live for several months a year and produce their cheeses when they drive their sheep to graze in mountain pastures.
Old Polish Bigos (Hunter’s Ragoût)
Bigos is not a meatless Christmas Eve dish, but it is often served on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s (Boxing) Day and is widely associated with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It consists of several kinds of meat and sauerkraut. Its preparation stretches over three days. Each day it is cooked about an hour.
Traditonal Kutia
Traditional kutia is cooked wheat with poppyseeds, raisins and almonds. Poppyseeds traditionally symbolise abundance and fertility. It was also considered an unusual ingredient due to its hallucinogenic properties. That is why Polish tradition, there must be at least one dish with poppy seeds on the Christmas table. Why not try kutia?
Pierogi with Sauerkraut & Mushrooms
Pierogi, filled dough pockets are a symbol of Polish cuisine and a “must” at the Wigilia (Christmas Eve) supper. Since traditionally that is a fast day, sauerkraut and mushrooms are one of the most popular fillings. It is also used to fill hand-held paszteciki (pasties) and uszka (ear-shaped soup dumplings).