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== “Hreczecha is My Name” ==
[[File:Wojski poluje na muchy.jpg|thumb|left|upright
|<poem>"<i>When {{...}} unexpectedly shotFirst first a fly and, soon after, the Tribune's fly-swat.</i>"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book II, verses 697–698</ref><br>{{small|From an illustration by Michał Elwiro Andriolli (1881).</poem>}}]]
Let's start by saying a few words about the Tribune himself, one of the more colourful characters in ''Pan Tadeusz''. We don't know his first name, but we do know that his surname was Hreczecha (pronounced, very roughly: ''gretch-{{small|EH}}-hah''). "Tribune" (Polish "''wojski''", Latin "''tribunus''") was a medieval title, originally used by officials who took care of knights' wives and children while their husbands were away at war; in Hreczecha's case, it was an unofficial honorific awarded by the local gentry out of respect for the old man. A middle-income nobleman, also known as a ''grykosiej'', or "buckwheat-sower" (in fact, Hreczecha's own surname comes from "''hrechka''", the Belarusian word for buckwheat), even though he had his own estate (he could afford to give his younger daughter, Tekla, a village in dowry), he preferred to live, along with Tekla, in the household of Judge Soplica, his more affluent friend, distant relative and might-have-been son-in-law (the Judge, in his youth, had been engaged to Marta, the Tribune's elder daughter, but she died before the wedding could take place and he would never marry anyone else). In Soplicowo, the Tribune had the role of a kind of seneschal, managing the Judge's domestic servants.
Catch alight, bids that butter be poured on the wood
(In a well-to-do house such waste can be forgiven).</i>"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book XI, verses 133–135</ref>
{{small|Etching by Daniel Chodowiecki (1764).}}</poem>]]
{{ Cytat
== “A Dear Souvenir of Righteous Customs” ==
[[File:Wojski.jpg|thumb|upright=.9
|<poem>"<i>What the Tribune's perusal makes known, without failThe the skilled cooks at once carry all out to the letter.</i>"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book XI, verses 126–127</ref>{{small|Sketch by Jacek Malczewski (1871).}}</poem>]]
Where did the Tribune get his ideas for all the dishes to be served at the last Old Polish feast from? Well, he didn't rely on his own memory, nor on any home recipes, but he carefully reached for an old printed cookbook.
A well-wiped pair of glasses he placed on his head,
Drew a book from his bosom, unwrapped it, and read.
The volume was entitled: "The “The Excellent Cook"Cook”,
Every known Polish dish was writ down in this book
In detail; Count of Tęczyn would have it on hand
Drugą ręką przetarte okulary włożył,
Dobył z zanadrza księgę, odwinął, otworzył.
Księga ta miała tytuł: "Kucharz doskonały"„Kucharz doskonały”.
W niej spisane dokładnie wszystkie specyjały
Stołów polskich; podług niej Hrabia na Tęczynie
[[File:Compendium ferculorum.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15
|"''Now a very rare book, published over a hundred years ago by Stanisław Czerniecki.''"<ref name=obj/><br>{{small|A copy of ''Compendium ferculorum'' by Stanisław Czerniecki opened on the author's dedication to Princess Helena Tekla Lubomirska.}}]]
So what was it about Czerniecki? Well, he was indeed an experienced chef, responsible for setting up aristocratic banquets for thousands of guests and also the author of the first cookbook printed in the Polish language. Only that this book – or, rather, a booklet, as it was small enough to fit into a pocket on one's chest, which was where the Tribune held it – had the bilingual, Latin-Polish title: ''Compendium Ferculorum albo Zebranie potraw'' (both parts meaning ''A Collection of Dishes''). And it was – as we shall see in the next post – precisely from this book that the Tribune got the recipes for all the dishes he would serve at the great banquet in Book XII.
{{ Cytat
| Still freshly remembered in German and Italian lands is the peerless and greatly impressive legacy of your dear Father, His Grace, Prince Jerzy Ossoliński of blessed memory, Grand Chancellor of the Crown, to the Holy See and to the Vicar of Christ, Urban VIII, which was greatly admired by all the West, as was the splendor of His Grace's court and table, so that the princes and lords of Rome, led by their curiosity, were coming to wonder at the abundance of the dishes and, having seen more than they had heard of, amazed they left. As they could not get enough of the view of this munificence, which left none unsatisfied, one of the Roman princes proclaimed, "Rome “Rome is fortunate to receive such an envoy today, who has made the Papal States brighter by his presence."”
| oryg = Świeżo pamiętna po dziś dzień w niemieckich i włoskich krajach, nigdy nieporównana i wielkiego podziwienia godna, ś[więtej] pamięci Książęcia J[ego] M[ości] Jerzego na Ossolinie, Wielkiego Kanclerza Koronnego, a najmilszego Rodzica W[aszej] Ks[iążęcej] M[ości], do Stolicy Apostolskiej i Namiestnika Chrystusowego Urbana VIII legacja, która wszystkiemu Zachodniemu Państwu, wielkim będąc podziwieniem, ogłosiła w rozum nieprzebranego Pana, jako i Splendor Dworu, niemniej i aparament [tj. urządzenie] stołu J[ego] M[ości], że książęta i panowie rzymscy uwiedzeni ciekawością na samo tylko obfitych potraw dziwowisko przychodzili, a widząc więcej, niż słyszeli, zdumiawszy się, odchodzili. Szczodrobliwości także nad wszystkimi potrzebnymi do ukontentowania każdego napatrzyć się nie mogli, tak dalece, że jeden z książąt rzymskich rzekł: dziś Rzym szczęśliwy, mając takiego posła, który swoją bytnością wszystko Państwo Rzymskie ozdobił.
| źródło = {{Cyt
[[File:Wjazd Ossolińskiego do Rzymu.jpg|thumb|upright=2
|"''This Roman legation was described and depicted multiple times.''"<ref name=obj/><br>{{small|Etching by Stefano della Bella (1633).}}]]
Of course, Mickiewicz reversed the sequence of events in his poem; if Czerniecki described the Roman banquet as a historical fact in his cookbook, then the same banquet couldn't have been prepared according to the instructions from the same cookbook.
{{ Cytat
| Adam suggested to give a purely Polish-Lithuanian feast, according to ancient recipes from "The “The Perfect Cook"Cook”, a tattered old book which he carries around like some treasure in his travelling library and often reads with great pleasure. Obviously, this idea fell through {{...}}| oryg = Adam radził wyprawić [ucztę] czysto polsko-litewską, i to podług starożytnych przepisów "Doskonałego kucharza"„Doskonałego kucharza”, to jest starej obdartej książki, którą jak co dobrego ma w podróżnej biblioteczce swojej i odczytuje nieraz z wielką przyjemnością. Ma się rozumieć, że ten projekt upadł {{...}}
| źródło = Edward Odyniec, letter of 28 April 1830, quoted in: {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Jarosińska
[[File:Kucharz doskonały.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|left
|<poem>"<i>''The volume was entitled: "''The Excellent Cook"'',Every every known Polish dish was writ down in this book…</i>''"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book XI, verses 117–118</ref><br>{{small|Title page of ''Kucharz doskonały'' (''The Perfect Cook'') by Wojciech Wielądko.</poem>}}]]
Distinguished Mickiewiczologist, Prof. Stanisław Pigoń, once suggested a rather convincing solution to this puzzle: the book that Mickiewicz loved to read when pining for Polish cuisine and dreaming of having an actual Old Polish banquet was indeed ''Compendium ferculorum'', but it was old and tattered, and missing its title page. So Mickiewicz knew very well the contents of the work and the dedication, as well as the author's name, but he was ignorant of the book's title. On the other hand, he probably never read ''The Perfect Cook'', but he might have heard about it; the title could have stuck in his head and he may have later associated it with the mysterious treasure-trove of Old Polish recipes that had somehow found its way into his hands.
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Wandalin_Strzałecki, Wojski.jpg}}|thumb
|<poem>"<i>Among the smoke's coils, like a white mother-dove,The the white cap of the head-chef flashed, gleaming, above.</i>"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book XI, verses 407–408</ref>{{small|Detail of a painting by Wandalin Strzałecki (1884).}}</poem>]]
{{ Cytat
| tom = 3
| strony = 155
}}</ref><br>{{small|Painted by an anonymous 17th-century Italian artist.}}]]
We can also see the issue of ever-drunk kitchen staff in ''Pan Tadeusz''; specifically, at the court of a great lord, Pantler Horeszko:
}}
[[File:Czerniecki do czytelnika.jpg|thumb|"''Among the attributes of human nature there is love for diverse flavours…''"<ref>S. Czerniecki, ''op. cit.'', s. [{{small|VIII}}]</ref><br>{{small|An excerpt of the original (1682) edition of ''Compendium Ferculorum''.}}]]
And what about art? Czerniecki had no doubt that culinary craftsmanship is much more than just a way to satisfy someone's hunger, greed or vanity. It is a full-blown type of art that you won't fully appreciate without proper training and education.
