A typical Georgian supra, (in English, a feast table), might look something like this: in one corner, steaming bowls of chakapuli, a stew brimming with lamb chops, tarragon leaves, cherry plums, herbs and spices. Across the other side, plates piled high with khinkali – Georgian dumplings – and perhaps some satsivi, a dish of chicken or turkey cooked in a walnut sauce. To wash it all down, look no further than the bottles (likely more than a few) of . Captained by the tamada or toastmaster, whose role it is to ensure everyone’s well sated and enjoying themselves, a traditional supra can last for hours, rendering everyone involved well beyond the ‘full’ stage.
Sounds fun, right?
All around the world, the idea of supra is catching on. Washington DC has just welcomed Supra, a Georgian restaurant from Jonathan and Laura Nelms. London has enough Georgian restaurants to warrant a , while in New York City is .
And then there’s Sydney, where diners are still coming around to the idea of Eastern European cuisine as a whole. Georgian food entering the mainstream seems a fair way off.
Yulia Zevin and Yana are two passionate, professional cooks from the former Soviet Union working hard to turn this around. Together they run , a catering company offering nutritious Eastern European food for anyone looking to expand their palates, or those of their party guests.
“We both grew up in families that loved to cook and try the different types of cuisines,” Zevin tells SBS. “The Soviet Union included 15 different countries, not only different in their spoken languages and cultures, but also in the variety of foods available.”
Much like other Eastern European countries, Georgian cuisine is the product of an intense melting pot of influences, in which Middle Eastern, former Soviet Union and even East Asian flavours play integral roles. For those unfamiliar with these kinds of flavours, The Magic Tablecloth is like a gateway, fuelled in part by a distinct lack of Georgian restaurants in Sydney.
“The Magic Tablecloth was born about a year ago and started to develop in a dynamic way,” Zevin says. “We specialise mostly in the food from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.”
“My husband is Georgian, so I was introduced to Georgian cuisine through him. I learned how to cook some Georgian dishes and even have an old Georgian cookbook that my husband’s auntie gave to me. My husband was always complaining about the lack of Georgian restaurants, and it’s true – if you’re doing Google research, you can hardly find one.”
Zevin is right: a quick Google (Georgian restaurants + Sydney) reveals few options for the city’s Georgian diaspora to get a taste of home (the 2011 census just 152 houses in Australia speaking Georgian full time) or for people who’ve never tried a plate of khinkali to do so for the first time. Apart from the now-closed in Leichhardt, there’s in Erskineville, but that’s the extent of it.
My husband was always complaining about the lack of Georgian restaurants, and it’s true – if you’re doing Google research, you can hardly find one.
The Magic Tablecloth has recently teamed up with Four Brave Women, an initiative from designed to empower refugees and immigrants to manage their own food-related small business. Yulia and Yana are making stews, sweets and shredded flat breads in the Four Brave Women kitchen for an eight-week period – plenty of time to try all those Georgian dishes you’ve been hearing so much about.
“We always thought that the time to introduce Georgian food to Sydney would come, so when Four Brave Women came to us with an idea to start a buffet in their kitchen, both of us had no doubt – it was time for Georgian food. The food reminds a bit Persian, Turkish, Armenian or Greek due to the spices, but Georgian food is completely unique.”
The Magic Tablecloth at Four Brave Women consists of Friday and Saturday lunch and dinner; fill up on ajapsandali, a tomato-based stew with eggplant, potato, onion and herbs; mchadi, traditional Georgian cornbread; or chahohbili, chicken drumsticks with crushed tomato, saffron, coriander seeds and herbs. Many of the options are vegan, and almost all are gluten free.
If the steady increase in tourism rates in Georgia is anything to go by, The Magic Tablecloth’s stint at Four Brave Women could be the beginning of a long and happy relationship between Sydney and Georgian food. Georgia saw international traveler trips in 2017, a figure that’s up 18% from previous years.
According to Zevin, this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship between Sydney and Georgian food.
“Just look at Georgian tourism – it’s become a popular spot in the last few years, and those tourists will tell you Georgian food is one of the best foods ever,” she says.
Yana and Yulia will be at Four Brave Women until the end of August. Follow on Instagram and keep up to date with Four Brave Women via .
