EPISODE 11

In this episode viewers will be taken on a tour of the Holy Cross region, exploring its capital city of Kielce before venturing off deep into its countryside to learn about its old folk traditions and the delicious tastes that developed out of that old way of life.

This is a part of Poland with a history that reaches as far back as the 11th century. Viewers will be taken on a tour of some of the area’s most prominent sites and monuments – the Chęciny Castle, Palace of the Cracow Bishops, the historic Sienkiewicz Street in downtown Kielce, historic cathedrals and the Kielce Market Square. The walk through this region of Poland will continue with a visit to what is undoubtedly its most beautiful area – its vast and picturesque countryside. Viewers will learn about the history and folk traditions that were born out of this landscape as they are taken on a tour of the Kielce Region Countryside Museum, a 65-hectare park that houses a collection of 80 of the most valuable monuments of wooden construction transferred from various locations around the region. Walking through the ethnographic museum viewers will witness rural homesteads and cottages, manor houses, water and air mills, historic wooden churches and many more objects that were once an integral part of life in the Holy Cross region’s countryside. Following the tour host, Aleksandra August, will uncover how this old culture and its traditions influenced the local cuisine, both past and present. She’ll sit down with a local expert and sample some of the region’s favorite foods - recipes that tie back to its folkloric past still remembered by the locals and preserved in their menu today.

Before leaving the region, viewers will also venture over to the small village of Kurozwęki to the beautiful Popiel Estate and learn about how and why American Bison have found their way to Poland!

The adventure will end back in Aleksandra’s kitchen where she’ll recreate the essence of the Holy Cross countryside with a recipe for two of its local dishes – a unique kohlrabi soufflé as well as the region’s iconic potato-based Kugel.

Viewers can explore the history, tastes and culture of Poland’s Holy Cross region in the 10th episode of the Flavor of Poland series.