Did you know that the fair tradition has been going on for 763 years? St. Dominic's Fair , known as the Dominican Fair, is one of the oldest merchant events in Poland. The history is closely related to the Dominican Order, and its course began in 1260 when Pope Alexander IV granted the Gdańsk Dominicans the privilege of indulgence related to August 5, i.e. St. Dominica.
How did the inhabitants of Gdańsk eat then? The menu was not very extensive. There was certainly a big contrast between the diet of chessmen and peasants and merchants. In the more affluent houses, the noblest kinds of meat were placed on the tables, very often venison, domestic fowl, and most often fish. Therefore, salmon and eel were served, but also sturgeon and carp, which were bred by the Dominicans in nearby ponds. The poorer group of autochthons ate mainly flour dishes, dairy products, and very rarely meat. Festively on St. Marcin, roasted goose with apples was served, and all this was supplemented with a huge amount of caloric beer.
It was only from the 16th century that colonial goods began to reach Gdańsk, dominated by all kinds of spices, such as cinnamon, clove, anise, saffron, nutmeg, etc.
In the next century, exotic fruits such as lemons, oranges and figs arrive. Chestnuts and almonds are becoming more and more popular. All this has a tremendous impact on changing the eating habits of the inhabitants of Gdańsk, who turn out to be specialists in creating perfect combinations of flavors and creating hitherto unknown dishes.
The drinks that were very popular were, of course, golden beer, Goldwasser golden vodka and today completely forgotten "Lillen Komfallgenem" - a liqueur produced on the basis of lily of the valley. There were wines. Spanish, Italian, French and Rhine reigned. Drinking coffee and tea is becoming more and more fashionable.
What does Gdańsk cuisine look like today? At the fair of St. Dominik, you will certainly meet a slice of bread with lard as well as baked potatoes, but for a better experience, we invite you to our kitchen at Pomelo Bistro Bar. You will eat with us like the nobility and treat yourself to merchant flavors from high-quality products. As for traditional dishes, we can recommend a cold cold soup for hot weather, then cod in beer batter or cottage cheese dumplings.
As for drinks, we have both caloric beer and a board of Gdańsk shots!! Of course, we were not able to recreate all the liqueurs mentioned in our story, but you will surely find Goldwasser golden vodka, the famous Machandel, Kurfursten and our homemade liqueur in various flavors.
Visit us during Dominican walks, rest before further shopping, and we will fill your senses with the abundance of Gdańsk flavors.
Pomelo Team 💚
Ps. Thank you for lending and feeding us the story to Jerzy Samp from Bedeker Gdański.
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