Buckwheat, gossip and dessert: a new cooking show starts on RTVI

What do Russians eat in America? Is buckwheat sold in Brooklyn? And for dessert - the latest gossip from Brighton Beach. The RTVI TV channel launched a unique culinary show “I ate it like that.” The hosts are the chef of the famous New York restaurant Galina Bovtun and the popular blogger Ekaterina Ryumina. How they decided on this project and what came of it is in our interview.

Photo courtesy of RTVI

Catherine Ryumin. Arrived in the US in 1996 year. Dental hygienist. Blogger Socialite Brighton.

I am the information bureau of Russian Brooklyn. Every day they call me, write, ask me 50 questions - where to go, where to eat, where to take my grandmother, where to bury my grandfather, where to cut off my mustache, where, on the contrary, to grow it. Some people use Google, others find it easier to write to me. I’m connected all the time - it’s like a drug addiction for me.

By profession I am a tooth fairy. I get my teeth cleaned and periodontal disease checked at the dentist's office. The funny thing is, I’m a private person at work. If any of my patients visited my Facebook page, they would be very surprised that I have 15 and a half thousand subscribers. Americans are unlikely to appreciate my talkativeness. New York grandmothers wearing diamonds come to my office in Manhattan, Chanel and with dogs under his arm. They ask me - do you miss Russia? And I lived in America most of my life, and I have nothing to answer them.

About the new culinary project I learned by chance. I was recommended by a reader on my Facebook. They were looking for the kind of chatty Jewish woman in the body - that's exactly what everyone associates with Brighton Beach. For the sake of the project, I had to gain weight in order to “meet the requirements.” And then, when I saw myself on the screen, I was very surprised at what a portly Motherland I turned out to be.

Photo courtesy of RTVI

By the end of the trial shooting, the producers said: you are not suitable for us. They wanted presenters who were conflicted. Galya and I, of course, are complete opposites: I am such an eccentric beauty, I love only myself and my husband and don’t know how to cook, and Galya is such a correct woman who believes that the way to a man’s heart is only through his stomach. But Galya Bovtun is so nice, and I am so sociable, that we became friends. As a result, behind the scenes we kissed and hugged, and on camera we pretended that we didn’t like each other.

Our program helps to overcome culinary complexes. There are a lot of cooking programs in the world where they say - take this, stir that, add it there, and it will be beautiful. I always looked and envied. It seemed to me that everyone around me was an ideal housewife: she baked meat, made borscht, and the children were clean and ruddy. I felt complex - what’s wrong with me? And Galya and I teach how to cook very simple, delicious dishes, seasoned with delicious stories.

We didn’t choose the recipes; rather, we chose the occasions. What to treat your mother-in-law, what dishes to prepare for a bachelorette party, how to deliciously feed your sick husband. You know that I have a real Jewish husband, although he does not wear sidelocks or a kippah. My Monya is the personification of all the current jokes and stereotypes about Jews. I even joke: every evening, when we go to bed - where normal people start having sex - we measure our blood pressure. In general, he is not sick and sings divinely. He even has a nickname - “ruby tonsils of Brooklyn.” And he is also very caring. If I’m delayed for five minutes, he calls and asks if I’ve been hit by a car, and any runny nose is a reason to go to intensive care. It’s strange that he was in favor of my participation in the project. He said: “Whatever the child enjoys, as long as it doesn’t interfere with me measuring blood pressure.”

All issues are recorded from almost one take.. We only exchanged greetings and farewells. I think that I gave it my all - on the set I told everything that happened to me in my life. Moreover, all the stories are true! I can't lie. And Galya was simply “knocked out of the socket” by my stories. She was shocked and did not believe that this could happen. For Russians, Russian speakers from Brighton are like aliens. And her stories drove me crazy. In one of the programs we talked about bachelorette parties. Here we are in America discussing gossip, new bags, and he and his girlfriends in Russia get together and sing.

Russians in America are a little strange for the Americans themselves. The very first thing that worries us is getting a higher education. Our children go to clubs for dance, chess, and mathematics. Moreover, all the clubs are organized by Russians. We also love to eat. At the same time, there is a popular saying: “What can I eat to lose weight?” If you want to come to Brighton and open a profitable business, then the best thing to do is open a cafe where you can eat and then lose weight.

We got a unique transmission - both “cooking” and conversations - just like in real life. The kitchen is the perfect place for a good conversation. And everything ingenious is simple - like mincemeat.

Information: The program “Should I Eat So” airs on the RTVI TV channel in America every Sunday at 9.30 am New York time.

Presenters: chef of the Marivanna restaurant chain Galina Bovtun and blogger Ekaterina Ryumina.

What to cook: dishes of Russian, European and American cuisine.

What is discussed: relatives, health, politics, gossip!

Photo courtesy of RTVI

Galina Bovtun, chef of the Marivanna restaurant chain, lives in the USA from 2013 year

I immediately agreed to participate in the project. It was very unexpected. Before that, I participated in culinary programs in Moscow, but not on such a scale - and this is the first time in the conversational genre in my practice. I was very interested. At first, Katya and I looked closely at each other, like mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but then we became friends.

I have been in America for five years - not a long time compared to Katin. She and I have different tastes, different interests and views, understanding of life - but this makes it no less interesting. Katya is such a revolutionary - she is not afraid of anything and goes ahead. For example, she said that she had experienced everything herself - from Botox to plastic surgery, and even sat in freezers. I ask her: “Aren’t you scared? This is your body! And she answered: “Why be afraid? I’m only doing better for myself.” I really like this about her. They are all a little different - those who live here in the USA. We are in a hurry to get somewhere, more active. But they are calm and know what they want.

Photo courtesy of RTVI

Americans love to buy ready-made food. But knowing how to cook is important. Soul must be put into food. When they gather around the same table, bake pies and cook borscht - all this strengthens the family. These are such correct traditions. And a woman should be able to do everything.

The most important thing in the kitchen - don’t get confused and feed your family from any products that are in the refrigerator. Even buckwheat can be prepared in a special way. It all depends on the hostess’s desire to surprise and please her loved ones. Nowadays it is fashionable to invite people to restaurants because it is difficult to cook and then it is difficult to wash the dishes. But I believe that at least sometimes you need to create such coziness in the house - bake pancakes and invite friends, brew a delicious hour and sit at a common table. It's worth your time.

But our program is not only and not even so much about cooking - it’s about two womenwho meet in the kitchen and talk. About their children, husbands, problems. I wanted to teach Katya and the audience everything I know. Those who want to learn how to cook will learn, and for those who lack someone to talk to - here we are, please!

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