High-class food was very meaty and heavy. The landed gentry ate meat dishes dripping with fat and drank alcohol with everything. Not too much, but enough to get drunk.

Change only came with an appreciation of the diet of king Stanisław August, which  combined the traditions of French and Polish food. Gradually and with reluctance, the landed gentry abandoned gluttony and took more notice of healthy food.

Every Thursday, the excellent chef Paweł Tremo oversaw a royal feast. He learned his art traveling through Europe. Reportedly, Stanisław August paid Tremo about 10 thousand zlotys per year, making him the highest paid cook in the kingdom.

When Stanisław August abdicated and moved to Petersburg, he was accompanied by Tremo. After the king's death, Tremo came back to Poland and lived in a manor house which the king had left him in Grzybowo near Warsaw.

One of the dishes which was served on the royal table was onion soup. Today we don't know if Paweł Tremo found the recipe in a French kitchen and took it to Poland, or if it was the other way round. Maybe one of the king's French guests was delighted by this simple and exquisite soup, copied the recipe and promulgated it in France. Now onion soup is considered a French dish.

Ingredients:

1 kg of onions

beef stock

100ml of dry white wine

1 tablespoon of butter

8 tablespoons of mature grated cheese (e.g. Gruyère)

salt and pepper

Slice the onion and fry it lightly in the butter in a frying pan. Be careful not to burn the onion or the soup will be bitter. Pour the wine in, stir, and wait a minute until the alcohol evaporates and then pour in the beef stock. The amount of beef stock you use depends on how thick you want the soup. Boil the soup for 20 minutes. Spice it up with salt and pepper. Put it into heatproof bowls, dust with cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese is slightly brown. Serve with croutons or brown toast.

Enjoy your meal!