September 1661, Łańcut. The impressive quadrilateral castle, both an elegant Baroque residence and an unconquered fortress, was getting ready for a wedding. Two mighty aristocratic families were to be joined in union: the Lubomirskis, the castle’s owners, and the Potockis. There were aristocratic guests coming from all around the Commonwealth of Two Nations, either in person or sending their envoys.

Now, imagine that you are responsible for such party catering: the food must be plenty and magnificent both in taste and effect. Scary thought? No worries, we have a very good guide book on how to throw the perfect aristocratic party written by Stanisław Czerniecki, courtier of the Lubomirskis’ and an experienced kitchen and banquet manager.

“Pierogi & Other Stories” is a series of articles and recipes introducing contemporary Polish cuisine to readers who speak English. The whole series can be found in the #cuisine tab on the English website culture.pl and my contribution to this project is a text titled Polish Courtly Cuisine & Stanisław Czerniecki