When NATO leaders gather in Madrid for a summit in the shadow of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the focus has been on a ubiquitous staple found in Spanish bars and restaurants: l ‘Russian salad.
International officials and journalists were baffled to find the salad, a combination of potatoes, mayonnaise and vegetables known as Russian salad, which was sold as a “Russian-style potato salad” at the summit site.
“Russian salad at a NATO summit? I’m a little surprised by this choice of dish,” journalist Iñaki López told the Spanish media La Sexta.
Russian salad on the menu of the restaurant in the middle of the NATO summit. Photography: Sabine Siebold / Reuters
Although the name did little to diminish its popularity (the dish sold out in hours), in one day it had changed its name, with the menu now indicating it as a “traditional salad.”
Spanish chef José Andrés went a step further, adding tomato balls and calling the dish a Ukrainian salad in a show of solidarity at the dinner he coordinated for visiting and foreign ministers on Tuesday.
It was an extension of a brand change that began last month when Andres announced he would change the name of the dish to all his restaurants, joining a wave of bars and restaurants that had done so in recent months. .
And from tomorrow I officially announce that the emblematic Spanish tapa: Russian Salad… .. will change its name to Kiev Salad or Ukrainian Salad…. In all my restaurants !!! https://t.co/NSb8HKcUaY
– José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) May 14, 2022
Among the first was Mesón Martín, a three-decade-old restaurant in the northern city of Zaragoza. “Friends, we’ve decided to change the name of the famous salad,” the restaurant announced on social media in late February. “Starting today, you will find the Kyiv salad on our menu, in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”
This is not the first time that Spanish staple food – credited by many to Italian-British chef Charles Elmé Francatelli – has been taken into politics. During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, bars and restaurants often changed their name to national salad, or national salad, to avoid being associated with the distribution of pro-communist propaganda.
Nor is it the first time food has ended up as a diplomatic pawn. In 2003, Republicans outraged by France’s opposition to the invasion of Iraq were renamed “Freedom French Fries” and “Freedom Toasts” in U.S. Congress cafes.
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