We invite you to follow the results of the joint work of Polish and Ukrainian partners within the PBU Programme, made possible thanks to co-funding from the European Union.

The project “Cultural heritage of the kitchen — promotion of culinary traditions through the professionalization of the gastronomic offer of Lublin and Rivne” combines cross-border cooperation between Lublin and Rivne in activities promoting local culture and history.

Nowadays, where all sorts of fast food and quick, ready-made dishes are gaining popularity, traditional dishes that few people know about and which can rarely be found on tables are forgotten. One such dish is Matsyk, which is meat dried for several months in the stomach or bladder of a pig — a Rivne dish that does not exist in other regions of Ukraine or Poland.

The aim of the project was to promote local culture and history, develop tourism in both cities, and strengthen partnership, cooperation and intercultural dialogue between Rivne and Lublin.

A general description of the Matsyk project, implemented by the Department of Strategic Development and Investment Executive Committee of Rivne City Council (UA), the Agency for Sustainable Development of the Rivne City (UA) and the City of Lublin (PL) can be found here.

RECIPES
"Taste of Rivne — authentic dishes and drinks”

While visiting villages, the project team discovered traditional dishes that housewives still cook in their homes. It looked for various legends and rituals accompanying the gastronomic heritage of the Rivne region. In cooperation with local restaurants, it recreated the recipes and gave them a touch of modernity. In this way, more than 100 recipes of various authentic dishes and drinks from the entire Rivne region were collected. They have been written down in Ukrainian, Polish, English and Braille so that anyone can cook an authentic dish from the Rivne region at home.

What does a Braille recipe book look like?

Matsyk recipe

RESEARCH FINDINGS

The Ukrainian beneficiary carried out research into the traditional culinary heritage of Rivne Territory, on the basis of which a presentation entitled “Essay on the history of the culinary traditions of Rivne Territory” was produced.

STRATEGIES

The project developed a document entitled Strategy of cooperation and marketing communication in promoting traditional culinary heritage for Lublin and Rivne. The partners jointly developed ideas for cultural and professional exchanges at various levels, joint festivals. All these ideas are included in the strategy, which was first presented at the international conference “Gastro Heritage of the Regions“, held as part of the MATSYK festival of authentic cuisine.

PRESENTATION

A Ukrainian beneficiary carried out research on the traditional culinary heritage of Rivne Territory on the basis of which a presentation entitled “Essay on the history of culinary traditions of Rivne Territory“ was created

The promotional campaign focused mainly on the use of online resources — websites, social media. The promotion of the project on both sides of the border involved well-known personalities and bloggers who showcased the project, authentic cuisine and culinary heritage of Rivne and Lublin in the media.

PL

UA

A project identity was developed for the promotion, which includes the project logo

PROMOTIONAL MOVIE

The project produced a short film about the delicacy, telling its history, origins and preparation methods. The film attracted attention to the regional cuisine at local events and was broadcast on social media.

INTERNATIONAL GASTRONOMIC CONFERENCE
“Cultural heritage from the kitchen in Lublin”

It was held at the Center of the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin on 29^th June 2021.

The conference discussed important issues concerning competitiveness in the tourism industry, origin of the brand, building a strong brand in the gastronomic market, promotion. The main topic was also the strategy for the promotion of culinary heritage, presentation, and dissemination of culinary brands and trends of Lublin and Rivne.

An agreement was signed on cooperation between the cities on joint promotion of culinary heritage and culinary tourism brands in Lublin and Rivne. Workshops organised by the city of Rivne were also held during the conference. At the end, there was a culinary demonstration of Ukrainian cuisine.

GASTRONOMIC FESTIVAL

In May, the MATSYK Gastronomic Festival of Authentic Cuisine took place in Rivne. Visitors to the festival could see the process of cooking traditional dishes from Rivne and Lublin and taste them. Cooks from Lublin demonstrated how to prepare, among other things, “forszmak lubelski”, “cebularz” with smoked fish paste and green peas. The festival included workshops, games, children's games with animators and an exhibition of drawings. Participants could listen to music played by folk bands from Polesie and Rivne. Representatives of the partner countries told the townspeople about their culture.