La Durée or Levashkevich?
The very thought of having some Framboise Macarons by La Durée, melting in your mouth after every bite is just heavenly. Unfortunately, Paris is far away from Kursk, and to get a good line of sweet desserts and coffee, we would probably choose “Donut Bar” for their donuts and latte or maybe to munch on the delicious signature carrot cake in “Morkoff Cafe”. Even though I would love to get my hands on some pastry by ‘Levashkevich Pastry Shop’ before going to my classes, but some dreams are too good to be true. While La Durée is well established and famous worldwide, and ‘Donut Bar’, ‘Black Cup’, “Morkoff Cafe” is the current Kursk people’s cafe-to-go whether for a date, to study, or just to have some alone time and relax after a busy day. But I mentioned Levashkevich Pastry Shop. Who, what, and where?
A two-story building with the sign “Confectionery N.P. Levashkevich” was on Moskovskaya Street (now Lenina street) in Kursk. To our disappointment, it existed about a 100 years ago! It would probably be where KFC in TSUM is situated now. Forgive me if I broke your hearts if you intended to try this “new” pastry shop. It was definitely a unique icon of Kursk. Continue to read to find out why.
Nikolai Pavlovich Levashkevich, was a talented pastry chef and the owner of Levashkevich Confectionery. He was ambitious and dedicated to what he did. Nikolai closely followed all the innovations in the confectionery business, and often went to Moscow and St. Petersburg for the latest recipes, products, and equipment so that he could be able to meet the demands of his beloved customers who constantly come back for more.
His bakery was always busy. In the courtyard at the back of his house, confectioners dressed in white, aprons, and hats performed their usual miracles. Levashkevich’s wife, Anastasia Ivanovna, had a very firm character and was distinguished by her “patronizing” attitude towards the workers.
Mikhail A. Lyubimov, the chief of the local magazine “Kursk’s Paper” who worked on Mozhaevskaya street 4, was famous for his sarcastic plays and epigrams referring to the noble people of Kursk, including governors. Yet a rare and kindly written poem was written as to show the quality of work and effort by the Levashkevichs.
Огонь у Габеля в колбасной,
Уже давным давно потух,
И лишь сияет клуб единый
Да Левашкевича окно…(Lights of Gabel’s butchery
has been out for a long time
only a single club still shines,
And there was Levashkevich’s window…)
The wonderful confectionery produced mind-blowing waffles, cookies, gingerbread, cakes, and cupcakes. All these were even packed in elegant boxes. Flour, sugar, molasses, honey, nuts, berries, fruits, butter, milk, eggs, wine, liqueur, coffee, spices, and aromatics was what Levashkevich is all about.
Being strategically located, and serving top-class pastry brought fame to the local pastry chef. They were the main suppliers to the court of His Imperial Majesty, and even served Tsar Nicholas II and his entourage with Grand Dukes and Shah of Persia during their visit to Kursk in 1902. Nikolai was even awarded a large gold medal by the Imperial Russian horticultural society in Saint Petersburg in 1912.
Ever wondered what sort of experience it could offer? So let's go a 100 years back in time to fully immense ourselves in what I would describe as ‘The Levashkevich Experience’.
“Its 5pm in a cold and windy autumn, all suited up like classy mafia bosses or a vintage outfit inspired by Thomas Shelby from Peaky Blinders: ladies all dolled up, looking fresh as spring flowers with good perfume, patiently waiting infront of Voskresensko-Illinskaya Church (Lenina 11) for your date to arrive and take them for a sweet time at the pastry shop. A small room with a cozy hall, where there were round marble tables with chairs, and curbing your sweet tooth to a cup of hot cocoa, delicious cakes and unique flavoured ice creams. A kind of life straight from a classical 1930s movie scene “
Levashkevich’s pastry shop was considered the best in the city. They were open from morning until late night. During the day, it was mainly visited by ladies and servants who wanted to buy fresh cakes and pies for breakfast, while in the evenings, citizens sat in the coffee shop, having leisure conversations over a cup of fragrant coffee.
In the field of modern medicine, a drug known as broad spectrum antibiotics is used to kill harmful bacteria if doctors are unable to identify the specific one. A century ago Levashkevich served broad spectrum ice cream. You name it, he has it. Chocolate and coffee, almond and pistachio, vanilla and tea with toppings of raisins, walnuts, jasmine, and orange. Sorbet was included too! Raspberry, apricot, strawberry, lemon, orange, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, and the list keeps going. Being a fan of ice cream and sorbet, my mouth started drooling just like the drooling emoji that we constantly use on social media.
And now here comes the sad part of our article. In 1915, Nikolai Levashkevich fell seriously ill, and he who had no male heir, was forced to hand over the pastry shop to his master Konstantinov, hoping that he would be able to continue the work. However, after his death, the new owner did not have the proper qualities, and also suffered from alcoholism. Like a block of dominoes, gradually the business fell and collapsed. 1917, marked the end of an era of the ‘Levashkevich Pastry Shop’.
Though I personally could only wish that I had a chance to get a bite of Levashkevich’s magical pastry and sorbet, but I am also curious if it was possible for them to be on par with La Durée. Unfortunately, the answer to that will be a mystery unsolved forever.
REFERENCE:
old-kursk.ru/events/st130916.html
