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In retrospect, I wonder if the mound of "shkvarky" (deliciously cholesterol-laden bits of diced bacon and onion fried crisp in oil) piled next to the kyshka had much to do with changing my mind about the long hated dish. Official Ukrainian dinners, with few exceptions, follow a set pattern and there is much to be said for this comforting display of consistency. In contrast, I have yet to have the same meal twice when a social function is being hosted by the US. Whether at the White House, the State Department or the Pentagon, menus are limited to salad, soup, main course and dessert. The main priority of the hostess planning these events is to showcase the creativity of her chef, to introduce the visiting delegation to a new flavor or a new influence in American cuisine, be it Tex- Mex, Asian-Pacific or Creole. At a dinner hosted by US Secretary of Defense William Cohen in honor of the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksander Kuzmuk and Lyudmyla Kuzmuk when they visited the United States in 1997, Mrs. Cohen decided to showcase fresh local fish from the Chesapeake Bay waters. A White House luncheon for President Leonid Kuchma during the first historic session of the Gore- Kuchma Commission in May of 1996 featured a fantastic creation of the White House pastry chef: a lemon glace with wild berry coulis, chocolate gingersnap tuiles and spring berries. Try translating that into Ukrainian! I did, but not without first deciding to adopt a rather "creative" approach to the translation which eventually came out as лемонне суфле з ягодним люпеч шоколядно імбір- ним печивом та вишневими ягодами. But not all of the memorable meals that I barely ate happened in Kyiv or Washington during official occasions in banquet halls or even seated at a table. One that I will never forget was the most informal of repasts in a rustic wooden hut high in the mountains. It took place in the spring of 1997 when I was interpreting for a US military delegation and it was our turn to visit Ukraine. Our Ukrainian host, General Volodymyr Sobkov, who is the deputy minister of defense and the commander of the ground forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, invited us to stay at the military sports complex located outside the town of Stryy in the Carpathian Mountains. It was an especially beloved region for General Sobkov because he had studied there as a young man and took great pride in showing us where he had gone hunting, where he had taken girls on dates, where he had gotten into youthful scrapes with his friends. One afternoon, the general decided that we needed a break from the endless military briefings and reports and piled us into old buses for a ride high up the mountains to the top of a giant slalom run. The mountain air was dry and pure, the sky was blue and cloudless as only a Carpathian sky can be. And there, on a perfect, brisk spring day, we were treated to grilled shashlyk, roughly cut tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, thick, chewy black bread and local Ukrainian beer and vodka. We ate our fill, totally disregarding any diplomatic norms of protocol. Everyone from the lowest second lieutenant to the three star generals was making toasts and passing around plates of pickles and bottles of Lviv beer, admiring the breathtaking view of our Karpaty. And in all sincerity, I would gladly trade jumbo shrimp prawns and filet mignon served on fine bone china for a chance to eat grilled shashlyk with my fingers on a Hutzul mountaintop any day. A totally different memorable meal took place on the island of Oahu in Hawaii while I was, again, interpreting for a military delegation. It was in the fall of 1995 that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US, General John Shalikashvilli (now retired), invited his Ukrainian counterpart, General Anatoly Lopata and his wife, for an official visit. On the last day of the visit General Shali (as he is affectionately known) hosted a dinner in honor of the Ukrainian visitors in the best restaurant of the best hotel of the best resort in Honolulu. A very gracious and entertaining host, the general is also a lover of gastronomy and we were told to expect a wonderful meal. It was a magical experience. The evening had a Hawaiian motif, right down to the beautifully scented leis in which the members of the two delegations dined. The table was decorated with exotic flower arrangements, each of which carried its own symbolism in the Hawaiian royal culture. Every course featured the best of the Pacific island cuisine and was served in its own unique container. The appetizer was grilled eggplant napoleon with rataouille flavored coulis and arrived in palm bowls especially hand- woven for the occasion; the dessert was strawberries romanoff and was served in individual ice sculptured creations; the sorbet, called "lilikol" (a divine mango- guava confection) arrived with a garnish of what we thought was a small, decorative leaf. The maitre d' informed us that this little leaf, plated in 14 carat gold, was presented as a gift from the hotel management to the ladies at the table to be worn on a gold chain as a reminder of the evening. As if I needed something tangible to remember it! When our official Ukrainian delegations come to Washington, D.C., their US hosts sometimes arrange for lunch or dinner in local restaurants. I always look forward to these meals since the restaurants are not your garden variety diners or cafeterias. They are usually the finest, most exclusive, and yes, most expensive places in town. I must admit that I always get a kick out of being served a fantastic meal and then just walking out of the restaurant without ever looking at the bill, although in the end, I do realize that this is an example of our (your and my) tax dollars at work! For those who are familiar with the capital city, the list of such restaurants has included such venerable old establishments as Maison Blanc, 1789 and Aquarelle at the Watergate Hotel as well as the "hottest" restaurants at any given time, like "Red Sage", the last word in Tex-Mex cuisine these days. Ukrainian visitors of the US govern ment are, from time to time, also given a taste (literally) of
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