Tava: Eastern European Baking from Romania with Irina Georgescu

Cookery Demo, Talk and Tastings.

Tava is the second book from the author of Carpathia: Food from the Heart of Romania - a stunning collection cake, bake and dessert recipes celebrating centuries of diversity and overlapping cultures that form today’s cuisine in Romania. In this show-stopping culinary exploration, Irina Georgescu shares the stories of dishes that have come to represent the identity of different cultural communities across the country.

You will find Armenian pakhlava, glorious Saxon plum pies, Swabian poppyseed crescents, Jewish fritters, and moreish Hungarian langoși alongside plăcinte pies, alivenci corn cake, strudels and fruit dumplings. Rice or pearl barley puddings, doughnuts and gingerbread biscuits come with their own stories, while chocolate mousses, meringues in custard sauce and coffee ice cream introduce you to the glamour of famous Romanian and Eastern European pastry shops.

Join us for tastes and storytelling from this rich culinary heritage. Tava means tray in Romanian, a metaphor for how a whole culinary landscape is presented to the reader.

‘Many people have heard of Romania but very little is known about our country. Tava tells in more details the story I started in my debut book, about the culinary identity of this European country which is still not fully explored from this point of view. It is my commitment to dispel misconceptions and focus on those dishes that have a cultural and historical meaning for us, while still bringing the joy of baking into the readers’ homes. The recipes are easy to follow and will tempt you to embrace the unfamiliar as much as the familiar, and to enjoy their comforting and homely feel.’ Irina Georgescu.