A bonus chapter from Cooking History  //  Bonusová kapitola z Ako sa varia dejiny (Orig.)

A portrait of different military cooks from all over Europe who served in various armies and have witnessed the European wars of the 20th century. Their recollections tap into a subjective view of historical events and one that diverges in some respects from conventional history. They take us behind the scenes of dates, facts, declarations of war, battles, and peace agreements. Cooking History shows the little secrets of these people, opens up a dimension of history one won't find in textbooks or archives. The directness of the anecdotes and destinies of the people in this film conveys a sense of life and death in the war apparatus, a sense of hope, longing, and survival strategies in the midst of destruction and despair.

The Pljeskavica Chapter
In Leskovica, Serbia, the best hamburger in the world, called pljeskavica, is produced and a “Pljeskavica Festival” is held each year. Mr Stankovic, nicknamed Saponya (Paw) made the biggest plieskavica at one of the festivals. When the Kosovo war broke out, he volunteered for the army. There he died. There are several versions of his death. According to one of them, he was hit by an American bullet bound to heat. Since Serbians did not use tanks for this reason nor did they shoot, the hottest place was the field kitchen. The second version has it that he rejected hiding in the woods, for he wanted to feed his comrades-in-arms in spite of the approaching American helicopters which finally hit him. His son got apprenticed as a cook; a year after his father’s death, he decided to break his father’s record. He baked a pljeskavica which was even bigger than that of his father Saponya…

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