HOW THE FUTURE KING OF ENGLAND ATE PEACOCK IN VILNIUS

The book “How the Future King of England Ate Peacock in Vilnius: the Shared Cultural, Political and Culinary History of Britain and Lithuania” introduces the reader to a relationship between two different cultural milieus – that of an exchange of ideas and knowledge, of influences made by certain personalities, and portrayals formed by tales and experiences. The main storyline giving the name to this book reminds us of one of the earliest contacts between Lithuania and the United Kingdom. It was the time when the future King of England Henry Bolingbroke brought his archery squad to Vilnius and took part in the Lithuanian rulers Vytautas and Jogaila’s struggle for the throne. Following the successful onslaught on the Crooked castle, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order sent the future King some gifts: a bull, four rams and as many as two peacocks, which, it is thought, Henry’s cook prepared according to a popular at that time recipe. The 26 stories of the book overview various aspects of the Lithuanian-UK relations. Every story is followed by a relevant recipe and a photographic image of the dish.

The design of the book has received the main prize in the category Design Solutions of the ADrenalinas Advertising Festival as well as the Gold medal by “Balticbest”.