1

(Dis)Unity in Eating, Brotherhood in Drinking?:

American Travel Writers Perceptions of Yugoslav Socialist Cuisine

A Yugoslav family lunch1 A Yugoslav family lunch

2

In 1979, Roy Andiers de Groot, a columnist of the Chicago Tribune conveys a story to his

readers - in the summer of 1979 Yugoslavia`s president for life, Josip Broz Tito, suddenly arrives

at a small restaurant in a village in the south of France. The restaurants famous chef Michel

Guerard (inventor of cuisine minceur) was just about to prepare dinner for the Yugoslav chief

when cooks from Tito`s entourage entered the kitchen: “Soon there appeared in one of the most

advanced kitchens in France- gleaming with pots and stainless steel - a motley crew.” They

began preparing dinner for the president in methods “unorthodox by the French standards, but

the Yugoslav efficiency in preparing multicourse meals and getting them to the president in time

was extraordinary”. The cooks prepared, as the main course of the said dinner, bosanski lonac

(de Groot calls it “bosnaski lonac”). The author is pretty much obsessed with bosanski lonac-

“the more I thought of that scene in Guerard`s kitchen the more I pictured those earthy Yugoslav

cooks weaving their magic in that elegant French kitchen, that gleaming, refined temple of

modern cuisine - the more I wanted to taste bosnaski lonac!” De Groot then calls up the Cultural

office of Yugoslav embassy in the USA and tries to recreate the recipe. In the continuation of his

story, we are told that chef Guerard finally persuaded Tito to try some of his specials so he sent

1 Edmund Stillman and the editors of Life „Balkans“. New York:Time Incorporated (1964) 2 Carol Green „Yugoslavia- Enchantment of the World“ Chicago: Children press (1984)

2

him foie gras.3 What followed is another perfect example of what Yugoslavia should have

looked like to the outsiders:

“Apparently, Tito liked it. An order came for more. Then, four more orders for four

ministers. Next six orders for the six advisers. An order for the ambassador, the doctor,

the two nurses, the interpreter, the butler and just to prove that Yugoslavia is truly an

egalitarian society, for the two chambermaids and the 30 bodyguards.”

This whole article is a perfect example of a carefully maintained image of Yugoslavia. First we

have the image of Tito as an “autocratic ruler of his country for 35 years, is 87, but the former

guerilla fighter and steel worker with the muscular body of an athlete shows no sign of

weakening appetite or ability to get around”. Second we have the image of “earthy cooks” who

prepare original Yugoslav dishes from ingredients brought from their native land (even live

chickens claims De Groot). Last we have ordering of foie gras for everyone.4 We are presented

with an image of a strong, unique country with unique cuisine and equality in sharing the

benefits from the West.

Creating an egalitarian society was the basis of the “Yugoslav dream”. Milovan Djilas, a high

party official used an interesting comparison, using food as a metaphor, on the Second Plenum of

the CK SKJ in 1953: “In the western countries there are plenty of steaks but while someone is

eating five steaks others are eating just one, while here in Yugoslavia - here we have some

justice”5

Brotherhood and unity, a wartime slogan of partisans relating to the “nations,

nationalities, and the working class” was a rallying cry and a beacon of hope for the people of

Yugoslavia.6 This whole concept was aimed at making the “wrongs” of first Yugoslavia right by

making everyone in Yugoslavia equal. 7

The application of this “constitutive concept”, as Dejan

Jović calls it, to Yugoslavia was not only a weapon against a new civil war and disunity but

functioned as a tool for the creation of a Yugoslav national consciousness.8 At the same time this

concept, and the politics it represented, were one of the key elements of Yugoslavia`s image

3 An expensive dish made from liver of geese

4 RoyAndiers De Groot (1979): Yugoslavias Bosanski Lonac. In: Chicago tribune, 19. november, N_29

5 Dobrivojević, Ivana (2008): Snabdevanje i standard u FNRJ 1945-1955 In: Historijska traganja br.9, Sarajevo p.77

6 Tepavac, Mirko (2000): Tito 1945-1980. In: Udovicki , Jasmina and Ridgeway, James (ed) (2000): Burn This

House: Making and Unmakig of Yugoslavia. Duke University Press, p. 65 7 Jović, Dejan (2003): Jugoslavija. Država koja je odumrla: Uspon, kriza i pad Četvrte Jugoslavije. Zagreb i

Beograd: Prometej, Samizdat B92. pp. 119-134 8 Djilas, Aleksa (1991): The Contested Country. Yugoslav Unity and Communist Revolution. Harvard University

Press, pp. 156-166

3

abroad. 9 This image was closely tied with foreign tourism which was very important to

Yugoslavia.10

When American travel writers and tourists started to tour Yugoslavia in the early

fifties they started to “probe” this representation of “brotherhood and unity” in every aspect.

Although an overall positive image of Yugoslavia was relayed in American travel reportages we

examined, there were serious variations. Cuisine was given an important place in most of these

reportages and in some authors opinions eating and drinking with the locals was the best way to

meet them. I will focus my analyze on the image of a “Yugoslav cuisine”.

It is my hypothesis that Yugoslavs, in the eyes of the American travel writers, were mostly

viewed disunited in their eating habits – in the sense of what, where and with whom they ate, and

perhaps most importantly- how did they call their food. The other part of our hypothesis is that

Yugoslavs were mostly united by their drinking habits. I presume that the first image was used to

underline Yugoslavia the hybrid, while the second image was used to place Yugoslavia firmly in

the "Balkan part" of the American imagination.

The bulk of the sources I analyzed consist of travel reportages from American daily, weekly and

specialized newspapers and magazines. These reportages present a type of source that has a

„highly charged discourse“.11

The advantage of these reportages is that they vary in target

populace as well as in their primary interest. Some of them focus on the purely tourist attractions

of Yugoslavia, while others focus on the day to day lives of ordinary Yugoslavs. In regards to

cuisine, they visit different places in the geography of taste - from tourist to more local

9 Grandits, Hannes and Taylor,Karin (Eds.) (2010): Yugoslavias Sunny Side a History of Tourism in Socialism.

Budapest/New York CEU Press. p. 9 10

For Yugoslavia, tourism in general was very important. In regards to foreign tourism, it helped put Yugoslavia on

the map From the 1960s onward there was a rapid growth in foreign visitors. Yugoslavia was marketed as a holiday

paradise for all. By the end of the 1980s Yugoslavia had 52 million of overnight stays.. Grandits, Hannes and

Taylor,Karin (Eds.) (2010): Yugoslavias Sunny Side a History of Tourism in Socialism. Budapest/New York CEU

Press. pp. 11-20; This success in tourism was praised in the American press by the former US Secretary of the

Interior Stewart B. Udall stating that “Marshal Tito’s liberalization.. and demanding that Yugoslavia’s tourist

industry improve its cuisine and accommodations in order to entice more travelers and more tourist dollars…gained

vital foreign exchange and independence.” Udall, Stewat L(1970): A few Prejudices. In:New York Times, 17.5.1970,

23-24 11

Furich, Elfriede and Kavoori Anaandam P. (2001): Mapping a Critical Framework for the Study of Travel

Journalism U:International Journal of Cultural Studies vol 4, pp.149-169.

4

restaurants, hotels, buses, roadside taverns, markets, streets to even private homes.12

I also

analyzed some tourist guides and propaganda films.

I intend to analyze these sources using general literature on cooking, cuisine, consumption and

its relations to identity and image. Also, using literature concerning imagology I will examine the

image of the "Other" in these sources. This is important being that all of the mentioned sources

are not representatives of a true state of Yugoslavia but represent the image of Yugoslavia in the

USA and therefore are charged with various discourses.

A (dis)unity in eating

Yugoslavs during troubled times 13

An illustration from Fodors 1990 Yugoslavia14

12

The importance of differences in private/public eating habits is underlined by Arjun Appadurai. In: Appadurai,

Arjun (1988): How to make a National Cuisine. Cookbooks in Contemporary India In:: Comparative Studies in

Society and History, 30 (1), p. 10. In this way we hope to determine how “Yugoslav cuisine” was viewed in

environments that weren`t strictly controlled and planned - unlike Tito`s famous journey’s or meetings with foreign

dignitaries which was planned down to what dishes will be served, or the unified elements of different cuisines for

internal purposes but where foreigners had no access (like the Yugoslav People’s Army). Drulović, Anja (2005):

Titov kuvar. Beograd:Laguna; Krstić, Marija (2010):Tito kao turista. In:Etnoantropološki problemi, god 5, sv.2. ;

Jokić, Nedeljko et al. (2011): Recepture za pripremanje jela u JNA, Ljubljana:Ebesede 13

Zausmer, Otto (1955): Yugoslavs Smile Again despite 1.30$ Butter. In: Boston Globe, 1.6.1955. 14

“Fodors Yugoslavia“New York and London: Fodors Travel Publications (1990) 78

5

Food is the repository of traditions and of collective identity. It is therefore an extraordinary

vehicle of self representation and cultural exchange.15

Food and drink are also building blocks in

the construction of all social identities and the connection between food and identity is amplified

by the universality and regularity of eating and drinking.16

Placed in the general Balkans setting Yugoslavia’s special place in the Cold War world shaped

perceptions about her cuisine and food and drink consumption, also.17

If we look at the National

Geographic`s reportages on the Balkans through the 20th century we can see remarkable

similarities in the images of regional cuisines. The Balkan cuisines indeed share some important

features.18

But if we focus on the image of consumption of food and drink in the 1945-1990

period we see some patterns of representation. Looking at Yugoslavia`s neighboroughs - Albania

is shown as a poor country of hunger and desperation.19

Bulgaria had a somewhat better image –

but lines for groceries and “only one kind of meat”, as well as separate stores for party officials

made it look bad. 20

Greece is shown as a land of plenty and more importantly for our subject – a

land of equal plenty.21

It is in Yugoslavia where it gets interesting with a general discourse of a

kaleidoscopic mix of nations, and a mix of eating habits, as well as a mix of Western and Eastern

influences in cuisine and consumption.22

As Wendy Bracewell concludes: “Consumer goods,

including food were one of the most obvious differences between Yugoslavs and their

neighboroughs.“23

However, after the initial separating Yugoslavia from the communist bloc in

the domain of imagination, we see American authors trying to prove the “enormous divide”

15

Monatanari, Massimo (2002): Food is Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 125 16

Wilson, Thomas M. (Ed.) (2008): Food, Drink and Identity in Europe. New York: Berg. pp. 12-15 17

Goldsvorti,Vesna(2005):Izmišljanje Ruritanije-imperijalizam mašte. Beograd:Geopoetika; Todorova, Marija

(2004): Imaginarni Balkan. Beograd:Bibilioteka XX veka. 18

Bradatan, Cristina (2003): Cuisine and cultural identity in the Balkans. In: The Anthropology of East Europe

Review vol. 21, 1. 19

Mahmud Bieber,” Albania, Alone Stands”, National Geographic oktobar 1980 20

Boyd Gibbons, (ph) James L. Stanfield, “The Bulgarians”, National Geographic, jul 1980. 21

Peter T. White, (ph) James P. Blair, “Greece….”, National Geographic, mart 1980; Kenneth Wever, “Athens….”,

National Geographic, decembar 1963. 22

George W.Long, (ph) Volkmar Wentzel,” Yugoslavia between East and West”, National Geographic, februar

1951; Gilbert Grosvenor, “Dalmatian Coast: Yugoslavias Window on the Adriatic”,National Geographic, avgust

1962; Robert Paul Jordan, (ph) James P. Blair ”Yugoslavia: Six Republics in One”, National Geographic, mart

1970; Bryan Hodgeson, (ph) Lynda Bartlett, “Montenegro: Yugoslavias Black Mountain”, National

Geographic,novembar 1977; Kenneth C. Danforth, (ph) Steve McCurry” Yugoslavia: A House Much

Divided”,National Geographic, august 1990 23

Bracewell, Wendy (2012): Eating Up Yugoslavia: Cookbooks and Consumption in Socialist Yugoslavia. U:

Paulina Bren and Mary Neuburger (Eds.), Communism unwrapped: consumption in Cold War Eastern Europe.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 171

6

between the Yugoslav nations and nationalities and they are using , amongst other things, cuisine

to achieve that.

Most of the American travel writers whose work I examined were interested in trying original,

local dishes in Yugoslavia. If we start with the name - „Yugoslav cuisine”- we can only confirm

the conclusions of Wendy Bracewell that it was only an export commodity.24

When it comes to

cooking in Yugoslavia, the name “Yugoslav cuisine” is rarely used without annotations, or

without an explanation that it`s not really a united, true cuisine.25

Without a unified name

Yugoslavia’s cuisine (cuisines) missed a chance to be represented clearly. Foreigners never got

the chance to “taste the nation”26

(of Yugoslavs) in a truly nationalized cuisine. Travel writers

noted that various cuisines in Yugoslavia had some common denominators both in ingredients

used in dishes and ways of preparation as in presentation to tourists and visitors. For example, in

the eyes of Americans it was all too spicy and too sweet. 27

Special complaints, such as food

being too greasy at a time when in the West fear of obesity and a “cult of thinness” triumphs

reveal attitudes and prejudices of authors.28

All of the writers and guides present “Yugoslavian

cuisine” as “straightforward”29

and “homely”.30

Everything offered to the Americans was also at

“bargain prices”. Big menus in restaurants were also a common as were” big portions, but

nothing fancy”.31

American writers noticed and presented their readers with the differences inside Yugoslav

cuisine and in consumption of food quite early. These differences were sometimes used to

signify deep, even essential differences between Yugoslavs. A disunity in eating, as I named it,

existed and is very well summed up in Wendy Bracewell`s work where we can see that the

Yugoslav dream was not equally enjoyed by the population – summed up in a comparison of a

24

Bracewell, Wendy (2012): Eating Up Yugoslavia: Cookbooks and Consumption in Socialist Yugoslavia. U:

Paulina Bren and Mary Neuburger (Eds.), Communism unwrapped: consumption in Cold War Eastern Europe.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 177; 25

Brannon Albright (1966): October in Opatija. In:New York Times, 9.10.1966, 23; Greeberg, Al (1984): Skiing in

Yugoslavia. In:Skiing , February 1984,64 26

Brunnbauer Ulf , and Grandits Hannes , editors. The Ambiguous Nation: Case Studies from Southeastern Europe

in the 20th Century, Munich:Oldenbourg Verlag, 2013..p. 30 27

Olympic Notebook;Chinese Compete to Learn. In:New York Times, 16.2.1984. 28

Monatanari, Massimo (2002): Food is Culture. p. 121 29

In the sense of easy, simple preparation methods/ see more in: CBS, Yugoslavia (1986); “Fodors Yugoslavia“New

York and London: Fodors Travel Publications(1990) 30

Le Jeunesse, Ann (1987): Sea-ing Yugoslavia. In:Orange Coast, October 1987. In the sense of large portions of

simple dishes 31

Handly, John(1974): Yugoslavias 5-10$ Riviera. In:New York Times, 14.4.1974

7

diet of a Slovenian man, a director who lives in the city and a Kosovo women who lives in a

village.32

Geographical, historical and cultural differences in the background of various

Yugoslav regions had been factors in creating various consumption patterns.33

However,

whoever pointed out these disunities had their own agenda –scientific, political or other. The

Yugoslav officials stressed the city-village differences in nutrition.34

Yugoslav experts in the

1970s pointed out regional differences, and a regional “struggle” for the central place in the

representation of Yugoslav cuisine.35

American travel writing about Yugoslavia 1945-1990

stresses two key “disunities” – one subtly – a disunity in class, and another pretty direct – a

disunity where the factors were regions, republics and nations and used this disunities as building

blocks in their own images of Yugoslavia.

Class

In all history food was the first opportunity for the ruling strata to show off their superiority.36

In

the early years of Yugoslavia, exclusive banquets on the one side, and crippling hunger on the

other prompted Tito and others to criticize the new elite.37

American travel writers wrote

extensively about the hunger in the 1950s but didn’t (as they did for other communist countries)

criticize the Yugoslav party elite. This “silence” is probably on the account of American writers,

in view of special relations of Yugoslavia and the West, trying to differentiate between

individual communist systems.38

Soon writers started reporting on the end of hunger with

32

Bracewell, Wendy (2012): Eating Up Yugoslavia: Cookbooks and Consumption in Socialist Yugoslavia. U:

Paulina Bren and Mary Neuburger (Eds.), Communism unwrapped: consumption in Cold War Eastern Europe.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 184. 33

For regional differences in food consumption see: Kromhout, Daan et al., (1989): Food Consumption patterns in

the 1960s Seven Countries In: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;br.49; str. 889-894; On specific regions:

Selinić, Slobodan (2005): Beograd 1960-1970-snabdevanje i ishrana, Beograd: INIS; Duvnjak, Neven (2012):

Analiza sadržaja kuharica posvećenih dalmatinskoj kuhinji: Prilog definiranju načina prehrane u Dalmaciji In:

Narodna umjetnost-Hrvatski časopis za etnologiju I folkloristiku vol. no 2.; Golija, Maja Godina (2010): From

Gibanica to Pizza. Changes in the Slovene Diet in the Twentieth Century. In: Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta vol. 2

pp. 117-130 etc. 34

Savezni Zavod za Statistiku (1986): Jugoslavija 1945-1985.Statistički prikaz. Beograd 1986. 35

Petrović, Milan (1976): Kvalitativne razlike u ishrani stanovništva Jugoslavije u zavisnosti od socio-ekonomske

pripadanosti domaćinstva s posebnim osvrtom na teritorijalne razlike. Beograd: Savezni Zavod za statistiku;

Stojanović, Andrija (1970): Narodna jela u turističkoj primjeni. In: Radovi plenarnog sastanka Ogranka za SR

Hrvatsku Etnološkog društva Jugoslavijie (ed.) Stojanović, Andrija Zagreb, 1970 36 Monatanari, Massimo (2002): Food is Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 114 37 Marković, Predrag (1996): Beograd između istoka i zapada. Beograd:Službeni list SRJ. p. 288 38

For relations between Yugoslavia and USA see: Jakovina, Tvrtko (2002): Socijalizam na američkoj pšenici

(1948-1963). Zagreb:Srednja Evropa; Vučetić, Radina (2012): Koka-kola Socijalizam.Amerikanizacija

jugoslovenske popularne kulture 60-ih godina XX veka. Beograd:Službeni glasnik; Bogetić, Dragan (2012):

Jugoslovensko-američki odnosi : 1961-1971. Beograd:Institut za savremenu istoriju.

8

American help but differences in the ways Yugoslavs ate and a high cost of food remain. For

example, in the period of c. 1955-1965 we can see is that the restaurants and cafes in Yugoslavia

are mostly empty.39

Ordinary Yugoslavs truly couldn’t afford them.40

Who eats well then? Well,

one example we are given concerns former capitalists. A five course dinner is served to the

editor of the National Geographic at Mrasovic family house in Split in 1962. The author

combines this episode with the rest of the article to tell us that in Yugoslavia there are former

capitalists and they still eat well and that Yugoslavs are “practical communists”.41

Apart from this weird remnant of the “old bourgeoisie”, a new “red bourgeoisie” appears in the

early 1970s reportages. Changes in the Yugoslav society prompted American writers to describe

a new class and their eating habits: “most Yugoslavs have materialistic and bourgeois

aspirations”.42

It is especially noticeable that the younger generations wanted “more” and faster.

A factory director explains that the youth is leaving the country because it expects “fried chicken

to fall from the sky.”43

Another author describes a group of students who, annoyed by the lack of

basic foodstuffs proclaims that they will go to Saudi Arabia even.44

Later in the 1960s and 1970s it is noticeable that when it comes to eating out, a lot of authors

noticed the difference between themselves and Yugoslavs. Many writers noted the fact that

ordinary Yugoslavs still couldn’t afford the restaurants for tourists.45

Others noted that when they

could even eat in regular restaurants it was rare: “eating out is a special occasion that often

stretches to three hours”.46

39

George W.Long, (ph) Volkmar Wentzel,” Yugoslavia between East and West”, National Geographic, februar

1951.p.143 40

Savezni Zavod za Statistiku (1986): Jugoslavija 1945-1985.Statistički prikaz. Beograd 1986. p. 135 Only about

3% of income was spent on eating out in 1955 with the rest spent on food in the general sense. 41

Gilbert Grosvenor, “Dalmatian Coast: Yugoslavias Window on the Adriatic”,National Geographic, avgust 1962.

p. 236 42

Siegert, Alice (1974): Yugoslavias Burgois Reds Seek the Good Life. In:Chicago tribune, 4.6.1974. 43

Gilbert Grosvenor, “Dalmatian Coast: Yugoslavias Window on the Adriatic”,National Geographic, avgust 1962.

p. 225 44

Binder, David (1984): Drugs Dulling Golden Youth in Yugoslavia. In:New York Times. 12.1.1984,21 45

Koening, H.P(1971): Wining and Dining in Yugoslaiva. In:Chicago tribune, 23.5.1971,F22;Farquhar, Ronald

(1961): Yugoslav Jazz Still Red Hot. In: Boston Globe, 23.11.1961, B26 46

(1984):American Tastes Faces an Uphill Struggle in Sarajevo. In Los Angeles Times, 2.2.1984, L33-34; In 1984.

Yugoslavs spent an average 13% of their food budget on eating out. Savezni Zavod za Statistiku (1986): Jugoslavija

1945-1985.Statistički prikaz. Beograd 1986.

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Regions, republics and the politics of food

Even ten years after the World War Two there was little thought about how to cook something

and more thought where to buy something. Internal documents spoke that the standard of the

people was lower than before the war. The people started buying food directly from their cousins

in villages and in the days of the extreme lack of food in the 1950s local authorities acted

protectionist and prevented any kind of merchandise, especially food, leaving their county. 47

This image of people and going to the villages for food appeared again 30 years later.48

In between these two extremes the thirty years of Yugoslavia`s best days didn’t present a

monolithic picture of brotherhood and unity in eating. This disunity in eating is best illustrated

by a citation from Helmut Koening, a Chicago Tribune reporter who traveled through

Yugoslavia and the Balkans extensively in the 1960s and the 1970s:

“While it`s true that types of food (just like accents) vary from one part of the country to

the other, somehow these distinctions are more pronounced in Yugoslavia than in some

other parts of Europe.”49

The most obvious of these divides was the “Hinterlands” and “Seaside” divides. The Adriatic

coast was the primary tourist region of Yugoslavia. However while tourism increased incomes in

the tourist sites it also underlined the existing regional differences in Yugoslavia’s society and

identity. 50

This presented a problem and can be illustrated with the descriptions of the

preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Experts from the seaside were brought

to “teach Sarajevo landlords and innkeepers what foreigners like for breakfast”. The author of

this article calls Yugoslav hosts from Sarajevo amateurs and predicts trouble: “This is likely to

mean some novel experiences like slivovitz for breakfast when you wanted fried eggs.”51

According to another author there were comical situations: “When I asked for chicken- I was

brought a whole chicken. When I asked for a doggie-bag- I was brought a hot dog.”52

The most

47

Dobrivojević, Ivana (2008): Snabdevanje i standard u FNRJ 1945-1955 U: Historijska traganja br.9, Sarajevo p.

81 48

Cowell,Alan (1989):Clamour in the East. In:New York Times,25.11.1989. 49

Koening, H.P(1971): Winning, Dining in Yugoslavia. In:Chicago tribune, 23.5.1971, F22 50

Grandits, Hannes and Taylor,Karin (Eds.) (2010): Yugoslavias Sunny Side a History of Tourism in Socialism.

Budapest/New York CEU Press. p. 9 51

Piper, Hal(1983): Winter Olympics couldn’t be Snowed out-could they?. In:Los Angeles Times, 31.8.1983, D3 52

Verdi,Bob(1984): All the Comforts of Home-almost. In:Chicago tribune, 9.2.1984, C1

10

obvious difference was that most restaurants on the seaside are described to serve Dalmatian and

sea food, while in the “hinterlands” other regional food took over.

The less obvious but potentially more dangerous to the representation of Yugoslavia was the

divide by historical/geographical regions. In the Soviet Union, for an example, „all the aspects of

the material culture where created deliberately and ...all the decisions brought with the

consultation of experts ad long discussions“ and “regions contributed to the national cuisine.”53

In Yugoslavia this was not the case, Yugoslavia was not in a process of creating a unified

cuisine. Experts on tourism warned in the early 1950s of a conflicting image of

Yugoslavia:”...propaganda on Yugoslavia produced by the republics would cause havoc and

leave the target group with a fuzzy image of Yugoslavia”.54

Other expert`s warnings, such as

ethnologist Andrija Stojanović in 1970 (in his work „Narodna jela u turističkoj primjeni”) were

particularly concerned with Yugoslavia`s gastronomic representation. He claimed that „people

are stealing ethnologists jobs“ and that „professional chefs and cookbooks gave quasi-national,

traditional and regional names to dishes“.55

He then claimed that „only Dalmatian and Bosnian

specialties "are presented to tourists and there is not a tourist site in Yugoslavia where you can`t

get „ražnjići i ćevapčići”. Stojanovic then proposes that expert comities should be formed not to

create a “Yugoslavian cuisine” but “as in other parts of folklore… that a wide menu is to be

formed with clear regional differences and a proportional share of dishes.”56

Stojanovic`s words went unheeded and soon a more confusing image of a "Yugoslav cuisine"

emerged. And so we have, especially in the 1970s, in the restaurants, which truly became what

Appandurai called arenas of taste, a phenomenon of regionalism.57

Croatian, Bosnian,

Herzegovian, Serbian restaurants are shown to serve Serbian, Croatian, Dalmatian,

Bosnian…specialties.58

American authors needed a "frame" for the food that they tasted and

each had his preference. Some, annoyed by the lack of a unified name for a cuisine, invented

53

Gronow, Juka(2010):First Class restaurants and Luxury Food Stores:The emergence of the Soviet Culture of

Consumption. In: Atkins, Peter J. (2007): Food and City in Europe since 1800. London: Ashgate. 54

Tchoukarine, Igor (2010):The Yugoslav road to International Tourism. Opening, decentralization and propaganda

in the earlz 1950s. In: Grandits, Hannes and Taylor,Karin (Eds.) (2010): Yugoslavias Sunny Side a History of

Tourism in Socialism. p.130 55

Stojanović, Andrija (1970): Narodna jela u turističkoj primjeni. In: Radovi plenarnog sastanka Ogranka za SR

Hrvatsku Etnološkog društva Jugoslavijie (ed.) Stojanović, Andrija Zagreb, 1970, pp. 54-55 56

Stojanović, Andrija (1970): Narodna jela u turističkoj primjeni, p. 56 57

Appadurai, Arjun (1988): How to make a National Cuisine. Cookbooks in Contemporary India U: Comparative

Studies in Society and History, 30 (1) p. 9 58

More on Mostar (1973), In:Boston Globe, 25.2.1973, B27; Backer, Carol and Jack( 1973): Belgrade is Far From

Dullsville. In:Boston Globe 8.4.1973, B37:

11

their own- such as Serbo-Croatian cuisine.59

In these "culinary battles", in the American

imagination, Serbia seems to have won most space. Serbian cooking is presented as

“unquestionably the richest in regional dishes” and presented as the basis of Yugoslav cooking in

Fodor’s 1990 guide to Yugoslavia:” Yugoslavia’s classic cuisine is that of the rich heartland-

Serbia.”.60

Indubitably, Serbia`s location and the fact that the capitol of Yugoslavia was in Serbia

prompted authors to put serbian cooking in the first place. Dishes that were served in most

regional restaurants often overlapped (ćevepčići, raznjići etc). When describing cuisine,

American authors were often influenced by the general atmosphere of restaurants and based on

this folklore - names of restaurants, costumes of staff, music.. they named the cuisine. Some

experts underline just these things - the name of the object, location and the general arrangement

of the object- and stress recognisability as a key factor.61

Areas of Skadarlija - in Belgrade and

Baš-Čaršija - in Sarajevo were arranged in such a way – old Serbian and old Bosnian style that

American authors named dishes Serbian/Bosnian.62

These restaurants might have had authentic

products of the regional cuisine, such as "Zlatiborski pršut" in Skadarlija restaurants.63

But

unlike these products, definitely authentic, certain dishes were prepared and named by Yugoslav

chefs and cookbook writers without any established method for naming them. So we have for

example Serbian salad, Serbian beans, Serbian cuisine etc. in Serbian restaurants in Skadarlija.

When we examine what the authors represented as Serbian food we can see dishes as “srpska

salata” but also “ćevapčići i raznjici and Serbian specialty sarma, roasted pigs and lambs-

everything Serbia is known for.”64

In other reportages, these dishes might be called differently

and placed within Croatian or other cuisine. It was the author’s choice in crediting certain dishes

(especially čevapčići, ražnjići, sarma and roasted lamb) to certain cuisines. This all created a

massive confusion, and was probably very confusing for the American authors themselves.

There is another front on which a disunity appeared. Croatian cuisine and Zagreb restaurants

were confronted with Serbian cuisine and Belgrade restaurants. In this confrontation Zagreb is

59

Stein,M.L(1981): Skadarlija- Belgrades Surprise. In:Boston Globe, 5.7.1981,A29 60

“Fodors Yugoslavia“(1990) New York and London: Fodors Travel Publications p. 75 61

Stiles, Kaelyn; Ozlem, Altiok; Bell, Michael M. (2011): The Ghosts of Identity:Food and the Cultural Politics of

Authenticity. In: Agriculture and Human Values. Vol 28, Issue 2, p. 222-236. 62

Buchala, Carl(1970): The Rush to Belgrade. In: New York Times, 1.3.1970Anderson, Raymond N

(1973):Correspondents choice. In:New York Times,25.2.1973 ;Andellman, David(1978): Whats Doing in Belgrade.

In: New York Times, 23.4 1978. 25 63

Tomić, Snežana (2010): Brendiranje tradicionalnih suhomesnatih proizvoda In: Etnoantropološke sveske br. 14,

p.139 64

Koening, H.P(1971):Wining and dining in Yugoslavia. In:Chicago tribune, 23.5.1971, F22

12

presented as a winner - it served better, and more modern food with westernized appearance.

Belgrade is shown to be the seat of serbian food and many ties to the Ottoman past, with less

glamorous restaurants. 65

Regional cuisines and their borders were in most extreme cases equalized with republican and

provincial borders although we know that cuisines most often don’t follow political

boundaries.66

And so, the most “dangerous” moments to Yugoslav image came when the authors

used “cuisine” (or better lack of a unified cuisine) to essentialise67

and compare nations and

nationalities inside Yugoslavia. It is interesting that two of the reportages that are most critical of

disunity in food deal with Slovenia and Serbia, and Slovenia and Kosovo – three entities that are

to play the most prominent roles in the final days of Yugoslavia.

In the first of these articles, in 1967, an author of the New York Times Richard Eder compares

Slovenia and Serbia. He takes two approaches – first he compares Serbs and Slovenians by

saying that in Belgrade they read "Politika" (meaning politics) an in Ljubljana they read "Delo"

(meaning work). Then he points out that in Belgrade they pack meat loosely in "ćevapčići" and

that Slovenians „corset their meat in shiny skins“. In the end, writing from Ljubljana, he

describes that a Slovenian transferring to Belgrade is “like a Victorian going to the colonies.”68

And so we have confronted in the imagination a Westerner who works, and carefully organizes

his meat and a Easterner with his endless discussion and chaotic, oriental meat.

In 1984. a Los Angeles Times writer wants to explain to his readers the “deep routed differences

in Yugoslavia”. First he is in Ljubljana which he describes if it had a color it would be royal

blue. He than talks about local vines who rival those of Alsace and about wiener snitzel that

equals anything in Austria. Then he continues:

“At Ljubljana`s numerous and comfortable cafes, coffee is served the Viennese way- au lait- and

the cakes and pastries are just as mouth watering. At lunch time Slovenians nibble french fries

from paper cones and they browse through well-stocked, pedestrian only shopping zones….

If Slovenia is to be colored royal blue than color southern Yugoslavia peasant brown. On a street

outside a butcher shop in Pec, one of Kosovo`s principal cities animal entrails are for sale as

sausage casings. In old sections of Pec and Pristina, elderly Muslims in turbans or skullcaps sit

65

Andelman, David (1978): Whats Doing in Belgrade?. In:New York Times, 23.4.1978,29;Andelman, David

(1979):Whats Doing in Zagreb. In:New York Times , 18.11.1979, 30 66

Mintz, Sidny W. (1996): Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom. Excursions into Eating, Food and the Past. Boston:

Beacon Press.p. 112 67

Said, Edvard (2000):Orijentalizam. Beograd 68

Eder, Richard (1967): Slovenian Republic Gets its Spurs in Yugoslavia. In: New Yor Times, 22.11.1967, 23

13

on the floor of squat adobe shops, sewing national costumes or repairing shoes as they smoke and

gossip around coal stoves”.

In the end, writing from Ljubljana, he lets a Slovenian journalist say that when he goes to Pec, he

feels that he is in Cairo, and that when he talks with Albanians, they say the same words but

mean different things. 69

These "essential differences" and a "return to tradition" of Slovenian

cuisine will have more and more public space in the 1980s following political struggles.70

In both of these descriptions, as in many more subtle ones, we can recognize a northeast-

southwest line that is nesting orientalism.71

We see that cultures and nations that are more east

and south are presented as backward, chaotic, lazy and that eating habits are used as an

illustration for this. Serbs and Albanians supposedly sit around all day gossiping and discussing

petty politics while they eat oriental, raw food. Slovenians are shown working and shopping and

eating westernized food. Both of these articles come in a time of crisis and they are both the

highpoint of texts who are used to underline the "essential differences" via cuisine and present

disunity and skepticism on Yugoslavia`s future.

69

Fisher, Dan(1984):Yugoslavia:Deep rooted differences. In: Los Angeles Times, 17.3.1984, B1 70

Cooking in Socialist Slovenia. In: Lutar, Brenda and Pušnik, Maruša (Ed.) (2010): Remembering utopia. The

Culture of Everyday life in Socialist Yugoslavia. Washington:New Academia Publishing. p.397 71

Bakić-Hayden, Milica (2006): Varijacije na temu Balkan. Beograd:Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju.

14

A Brotherhood in Drinking?

Girl with turkish coffee 72

Although drinking in Yugoslavia - what, how, where and with whom Yugoslavs drank - mostly

presented Yugoslavs united, there are a few instances when the discourse surrounding drinking

rituals hinted at deeper problems. In 1981 a Belgrade journalist said to an American journalist in

a “pause of his analysis of the recent sectarian violence”:

“You know, here in Serbia we use soda water; in Croatia, they put mineral water in their

wine. For this- he said a little bitterly- for this we go to war.”73

This is an exception. All drinking of alcohol, of soft drinks and of coffee mostly presented a

unified image to the American travel writers. Beer was reportedly served too warm, wine was

praised for its cheapness and quality. Surprisingly, Coca Cola is rarely mentioned, although it is

shown to be widely accepted when we hear of it.74

72

Kenneth C. Danforth, (ph) Steve McCurry” Yugoslavia: A House Much Divided”,National Geographic, august

1990 73

Erianger, Steven (1981): Many Divisions of the Yugoslav State. In:Boston Globe, 6.6.1981, 3 74

R.Jordan,” Yugoslavia…”, National Geographic, mart 1970; Anderson, Dave (1984): Sports of the Times.

Snowflakes and Shoeprints. In: New York Times, 5. 2.1984, 23; May, Clifford (1988): On and of the slopes of

Sarajevo. In:New York Times, 27.11.1988.

15

Most often in these articles Yugoslavs drank black, “turkish” coffee and a kind of a plum-

brandy- slivovitz. These two drinks are shown to be drank, often combined, by the rich, poor,

male, female, Serbian, Slovenian, Albanian etc. as an everyday ritual and a symbol of “Yugoslav

Socialist Cuisine”.

“Sloboda, president Tito, slivovica”

Looking at how alcohol was consumed and understood provides an interesting window to the

past.75

Experts also state the importance of alcohol in the creation of national identity and

capturing or staying in power.76

Alcohol is important because it has a social-integrative function

and clears a way for intimacy and communication. It is also a mediator with the imagination and

desire: ”Drinks such as whiskey, wine, cognac are mediators with the personal imagination but

also a connection with the world of books, movies and commercials – a bridge with the desired,

fictive world.”77

Yugoslavs are shown singing and dancing while drinking and Americans are

warned that they should not drink too much or they would not dance at all.78

Consuming alcohol

is shown to be an essential part of enjoyment in Yugoslavia and the togetherness, the

brotherhood amongst the people is underlined: “Music is playing. Gypsies are signing. People

are signing together and breaking glasses.”79

Thomas Wilson especially notes the importance of

alcohol in celebrating matters, and relation of alcohol to group and personal identity.80

Slivovitz stands tall amongst Yugoslav alcoholic beverages in American imagination. According

to Americans the favorite “omnipresent” drink was slivovitz: “buy a bottle of plum brandy- the

national drink.” 81

Slivovitz is a kind of a brandy. In the Balkans, homemade spirits from fruits

are called rakija. Rakija came with the Ottoman Turks and the special brand of rakija- slivovitz

75

Holt, Mack P. (2006): Alcohol, Social and Cultural History. Oxford: Berg. p. 3 76

Holt, Mack P. (2006): Alcohol, Social and Cultural History. Oxford: Berg. p. 7-10;See especially Charles

Cameron Ludingtons “To the King Over the Water: Scotland and claret c.1660-1763” in: Holt, Mack P. (2006):

Alcohol, Social and Cultural History. Oxford: Berg. 77

Radojičić, Dragana (2012): Dijalozi za trpezom. Antropološka monografija o kulturi ishrane. Beograd:

Etnografski institut SANU i Službeni glasnik. pp. 60-65 78

Marsh, Doris (1969): Even behind the Iron Curtain. In:Boston Globe, 29.6.1969,A95 79

Koening, H.P(1971):Wining and dining in Yugoslavia. In:Chicago tribune, 23.5.1971, F22; Pan Am, Wings to

Yugoslavia, TFA Network (1964) 80

Wilson, Thomas M. (Ed.) (2008): Food, Drink and Identity in Europe. New York: Berg. p.15 81

Stein, M.L.(1981): Skadarlija-Belgrades Surprise. In: Boston Globe, 5.7.1981. A29; Brower, Monty(1984):

Sarajevo is Ready. In:People Magazine, 16.1.1984; Higgs, Josephine(1969):From Modern Art to Stone Age. In:

Boston Globe, 17.8.1969.A33-34

16

began to be manufactured in home distilleries in the 17. an 18. century throughout the Balkans.82

"It is notorious for its strength” notes one writer but it was accepted by the American travel

writers as an integral part of Yugoslavia.83

Slivovitz was a part of the bigger picture of an imagined Yugoslavia: “The soul stirring strings of

romantic Gypsy violins drift on the October evening and the aromas of the Adriatic sea air and

suckling pig flood my nostrils. A reunion of gray-mustached, World War Two partisans toast to

one another with slivovitz…”84

It was an inseparable part of Yugoslav experience- at home but

also abroad.85

Moreover, American travelers were expected to drink it by the travel writers: “Still

shaky form too much slivovica the night before?” asked one writer.86

Slivovitz was widely used by Americans in anecdotes and jokes: “The first time you see a road

sign you will think you had too much slivovitz before breakfast.”87

Generally, Yugoslavs are

described as heavy drinkers: “A driver in Yugoslavia taught me how to drink large quantities of

slivovitz and still walk.”88

And there were some instances where Yugoslav hosts insisted that

Americans put slivovitz even in their tea.89

It was used to describe the Yugoslav national

basketball team: “Beefy bruisers from the land of snow and slivovitz.”90

After “sipping the slivovitz” both Americans and Yugoslavs talked more openly about each

other, sharing deep thoughts and theories.91

General politics were discussed. Here is what

Patricia Herliny writes about the role of drinking in politics - “politics had to seek a forum- pleas

for action were shared and solidarity was cemented.”92

Yugoslavs often used their

“companionate drinking”93

with the travel writers to discuss politics: “Sloboda, president Tito,

slivovitz- these are the few things we can agree on.” said one Yugoslav to a writer.94

Another

82

Radojičić, Dragana (2012): Dijalozi za trpezom. Antropološka monografija o kulturi ishrane. Beograd:

Etnografski institut SANU i Službeni glasnik. p.49 83

Orvis, Pat (1967): Letter From Yugoslavia- Slovenia, slivovitz, skiing, sausages- all at bargain price. In:Skiing,

november 1967 84

Thompson, Bette (1978): The Blossoming of Port of Roses. In:Los Angeles Times, 19.2.1978, F15 85

Dwain, Lois (1969): Roundabout:The Adriatic Restaurant. In:Los Angeles Times, 9.3.1969, S48 86

(1984): American Tastes face an UphillStruggle in Sarajevo. In:Los Angels Times, 2.2.1984, L33-34 87

De Suze, Carl (1955):yugoslavians on the Bus Ride are Generous. In: Boston Globe, 25.9.1955, A38 88

William, Davis A(1990): Taxi Drivers:They Rant and Rove. In: Boston Globe, 28.1.1990. 89

Ulman, Elain B(1981): Island Hoping in Yugoslavias Adriatic Coast. In: New York Times, 1.2.1981 90

Viser, Lesley (1984): The XIIIrd Olympiad- Lets Get Physical. In: Boston Globe, 30.7.1984. 91

Thompson, Bette (1978): The Blossoming of Port of Roses. In:Los Angeles Times, 19.2.1978, F15 92

Herliny, Patricia:”Revenue and Reverly on Tap:The Russian Tavern. In: Holt, Mack P. (2006): Alcohol, Social

and Cultural History. Oxford: Berg. p.203 93

Ibid. 203 94

Robert Paul Jordan, (ph) James P. Blair ”Yugoslavia: Six Republics in One”, National Geographic, mart 1970.

589

17

one was asked while drinking: “Tito is 75 years old…When you ask who will come after him

Yugoslavs assure you that a new national leader will emerge…They are more convincing after a

couple of glasses of slivovitz.”95

A Yugoslav school principle tells an author in a kafana over

their drinks:”We live like brother. We have no problem.”96

Slivovitz was also used to describe

the early Yugoslav system: “Dance to the strains of communally owned music, drink the national

drink of slivovitz, distilled by communal effort from communally grown plums”97

Slivovitz was also used as a “fuel” to criticize the state. As in the Soviet Union in the 1920s so in

Yugoslavia drinking and criticizing the government moves to more private places.98

It is in this

way we hear a story about a party in a Zagreb apartment with “the drapes shut”. A young

surgeon and his friends comment on Yugoslavia are described: “political and economical

conditions of the state seemed merely to present a subject for jokes made funnier perhaps by a

quantity of slivovitz”99

More serious talks are held in the private company of slivovitz - more

democratization is wanted by another Yugoslav in 1983.100

It is also represented that slivovitz held an important part in Yugoslav identity. In an article in

1967. Richard Eder commented on the “infighting” in the Yugoslav Party and a rumor that the

CIA wants to westernize Yugoslavs by lowering the price of whiskey, and therefore substitute

the chief drink of Yugoslavia101

“Defensive” qualities of the slivovitz were observed by a visitor

of Sarajevo, perhaps subconsciously connecting them to the classic Yugoslav war films: “In

another window, Yugoslavia’s national liqueur, slivovitz, shone silver in liter-size bottles. If

thrown one bottle would blow up a tank.”102

Unlike the problem of “excessive eating” alcoholism is noted and presented to the US public

relatively late. Alcoholism was a serious problem in Yugoslavia from around 1970s.103

Around

the time of the Olympic Games in Sarajevo we have one article that acknowledges a drinking

problem saying “It is said that Yugoslavia has a serious drinking problem... No wonder, being

95

Taylor, John (1967): Yugoslavia Where Iron Curtain is Barely a Screen. In: Boston Globe, 285.1967,A2 96

Siegert, Alice (1974): Yugoslavis Burgeois Reds Seek the Good Life. In:Chicago tribune, 4.6.1974, A10 97

(1962):Dubrovnik- City Set in the Middle Ages. In:Boston Globe, 2.12.1962,B28 98

Herliny, Patricia:”Revenue and Reverly on Tap:The Russian Tavern. In: Holt, Mack P. (2006): Alcohol, Social

and Cultural History. Oxford: Berg. p. 195 99

Gruen, Micheal S(1961):Notes From a Yugoslavian Journey. In:Harvard Crimson,16.10.1961. 100

Binder, David (1983):A Return To Yugoslavia. In:New York Times, 25.12.1983. 101

Eder, Richard(1967): Yugoslav Party Infighting Focuses on the CIA. In: New York Times, 1.11.1967 102

Anderson, Dave (1984): Sports of the Times. Snowflakes and Shoeprints. In: New York Times, 5.2.1984, 23 103

Jovanović, Radul (2008): Alkoholizam u seoskoj sredini In: Socijalna misao, vol. 15, br. 3,pp. 59-69. Berend,

Ivan (2001): Centralna i Istočna Evropa 1945-1993. Iz periferije zaobilaznim putem nazad u periferiju. Podgorica:

CID. p.326

18

that beer is 13% alcohol and slivovitz is better for a Zippo than for you.”104

Truly, Yugoslavs, for

the most part are shown as typical highlanders, almost immune to slivovitz, and this is another

quality they shared in American eyes, a quality closely connected to stereotypes about the

Balkans.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee holds a prominent place in the Balkans. Turkish coffee held a central place in the

Ottoman culture of drinking, changing the public and private space. In the middle 17. century

coffee drinking and the public space for it – kafana became a part of the Balkan everyday life.105

Kafana was also a place where classes mixed.106

Coffee drinking rituals brought together

Muslims and Christians.107

In many cultures it was synonymous with chatting.108

Kafana

became the center of public life, of the male world and it stayed that way even after the

Ottomans left.109

The name of the drink, in the American travel reportages, stayed “turkish

coffee” regardless of the name given to the general “Yugoslav cuisine”. It was shown as a

symbol of the shared past, but also fast becoming a symbol of backwardness rather than past.

"Authentic turkish coffee. They drink it everywhere and at any time" was a comment in a Pan

Am promotional film about Yugoslavia.110

American writers joined in this Balkan and Yugoslav

ritual – “you can sit and drink sweet turkish coffee and hear all the languages of Europe”.111

It

connected all Yugoslavs and was reported being drunk the same way from Kosovo to Slovenia

and from workers and peasants to intellectuals and party officials.112

Whether its peasants in

Montenegro mountains or scientists in Belgrade it was synonymous with conversation. 113

It was

a recommendation for visiting certain locals.114

Turkish coffee related souvenirs were also

popular amongst Americans.115

And Americans got to know the locals through "companionate

104

Verdi, Bob (1984): All the Comfort of Home-almost. In: Chicago tribune, 9.2.1984.C1 105

Fotić, Aleksandar (2003): (Ne)sporno uživanje-pojava kafe i duvana u: Privatni život u srpskim zemljama u osvit

modernog doba Beograd:Clio p.265 106

Ibid. p.279 107

Ibid. p.295 108

Radojičić, Dragana (2012): Dijalozi za trpezom. Antropološka monografija o kulturi ishrane. Beograd:

Etnografski institut SANU i Službeni glasnik. pp.66-70 109

Ibid.p.271 110

Pan Am, Wings to Yugoslavia, TFA Network (1964)

111 Kelso, Dorothy (1970): A Friendly Welcome Awaits Yugoslavias Ancient Dubrovnik. In:Boston Globe, 8 march,

A_17 112

See: Christman, Henry (1976): The Past and Present meet in Slovenia. In:Boston Globe, 31.10.1976, 62 113

Wedin, Charlote (1980): In Yugoslavia, Bright Birds in a Dark Sky. In: Los Angeles Times, 14. may, E7 114

Stein, M.L. (1981): Skadarlija- Belgrades Surprise. In: Boston Globe, 5 july, A29; 115

Handly, John(1974):Yugoslavias 5-10$ riviera. In:Chicago tribune, 14.4.1974, C1

19

drinking" of this drink. Sometimes coffee and the assorted snacks helped the language barrier.116

Coffee was important for all ages and a lack of coffee in general sale prompted an interesting

exchange between the Yugoslav youth : “There is not even coffee here… said a student adding

she wants to go to New York.- Whats so important about coffee?- asked another and accused

them of being materialistic.”117

However American writers were becoming more and more wary of this drink. In the article

where he recommends the turkish coffee set, author John Handley says that the turkish coffee is

like a “cup of hot mud”118

Americans were increasingly health concerned. Explaining that

Yugoslavs will offer you a second cup author warns ”Don’t drink the second cup of coffee!” and

explains “turkish coffee is caffeine loaded”119

The "brotherhood in drinking" was failing. Turkish

coffee started to increasingly serve the purpose of exoticising inner Yugoslavia- old men

drinking turkish coffee become a common image.120

So one author noted that after visiting the

wonderful seaside, the hinterlands are full of “oriental bazaars and villages where old men spend

hours in cafes with black coffee in brass mugs.”121

Changes in the way coffee was drank in Yugoslavia came from the West. Some changes in

coffee drinking rituals came with the tourists in the seaside.122

American travel writers were

quick to replace turkish coffee with any alternative- “beware of the coffee however - it looks like

its poured out of a crankcase (bring your own instant coffee or wash it down with slivovitz).” 123

By 1990. we are told that turkish coffee is totally replaced with café au lait in Croatia and

Slovenia.124

On the other hand, in Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia it was still turkish

coffee exclusively. The connection between coffee and identity in the Balkans cannot be

understated.125

The Yugoslav ritual of a "couple of glasses of slivovitz and a turkish coffee"

116

(1956): A Boston Student in Yugoslavia. In: Boston Globe, 28. 10.1956, A7; Rosen, Myra (1975): For Six Weeks

I Was a Yugoslav. In: New York Times, 17.8.1975. 117

Binder, David (1984): Drugs Dulling Golden Youth in Yugoslavia. In: New York Times, 12.1.1984 118

Handly, John(1974):Yugoslavias 5-10$ riviera. In:Chicago tribune, 14.4.1974, C1 119

(1984) : American Tastes Face an Uphill Struggle in Sarajevo. In: Los Angeles Times, 2.2.1984 L33/34 120

R.Jordan,” Yugoslavia…”, National Geographic, mart 1970, 121

Koening, Helmut(1979):Yugoslavias Diversity Means Six Countries for the price of One. In:Chicago

tribune,12.8.1979, H1; 122

Taylor, Karin:Fishing for Tourists. In: Grandits, Hannes and Taylor,Karin (Eds.) (2010): Yugoslavias Sunny Side

a History of Tourism in Socialism. Budapest/New York CEU Press. p.176 123

Nieuwsma, Milton (1986): Sarajevo out of the Fog, into Future. In: Chicago tribune, 13.4.1986.C22 124

Caplan, Robert (1990): The Fine Facades of a Yugoslav City. In:New York Times, 1.4.1990 125

Radojičić, Dragana (2012): Dijalozi za trpezom. Antropološka monografija o kulturi ishrane. p.54; Živković,

Marko :Bečka kafa je odraz mentaliteta In: Danas 12.5.2013.

20

quickly dissolved under the weight of a new age of consumption. Judging from the warnings

from Fodor`s 1990 Yugoslavia guide the East of Yugoslavia could not keep up in this

modernization of drinking habits - their coffee au lait was not very good- and this created another

opportunity to divide Yugoslavia .126

Conclusion

The inexistence of a national cuisine in Yugoslavia led to a confusion. Warnings of Yugoslav

experts of not emitting a unified, monolithic image of Yugoslavia, or one with clear and

acknowledged inner borders in regards to cuisine, went unheeded especially in the tourist and

service industry. This then left American authors to rely on their own concepts of cuisine, and

their own prejudices. Authors were rarely well informed of the cultural background of their

Yugoslav subject and tended to generalize. It is especially noticeable that the authors who were

not primarily interested in travel or cuisine, but politics, used superficial differences to signify

supposed hidden and dangerous conflicts.

Cuisine proved to be a very important part of these reportages, even more important than I

initially presumed. Together with local customs, architecture, landscapes and such it served to

present an imagined Yugoslav "Other". Whether the Yugoslav cuisine was presented as united,

fused and a melting pot or disunited it was mostly used as a window into the "soul" of the

Yugoslavs. On multiple occasions, authors stated that the closest they came to knowing the

Yugoslavs was when they ate and

The whole of the image of Socialist Yugoslavia was framed firmly within discourses used for

centuries - Orientalism, and younger ones such as Balkanism and the Cold War Discourse . A

descent into a "brightly colored East" is noticeable in these reportages and the supposed exotism

of the country of Yugoslavia was reflected in its cuisine. When it was needed, in the classic style

of Balkanism, tribal cuisines were created. Tribal, in the sense that they firmly refused and even

confronted Not only were American authors keen on exoticising the Yugoslav "Other" through

the cuisine, they were increasingly ethnocentristic. Travel writers expected that Yugoslavia

should follow these changes in the Western world. When Yugoslavs, especially those living in

<http://www.danas.rs/danasrs/feljton/becka_kafa_je_odraz_mentaliteta.24.html?news_id=260586> Last opened

:1.11.2014. 126 “Fodors Yugoslavia“New York and London: Fodors Travel Publications(1990) p.80

21

the south and east of Yugoslavia, failed to follow these changes they were then deemed

backward.

The generalizations authors made often led them to equalize borders of Yugoslav republics and

provinces with cuisines. This then created an imagined group of warring cuisines, closed to the

influence of each other and quite often "members" of these cuisines expressed their disbelief of

any influence from neighboring cuisines. It is important to note that if in regular times,

differences in cuisine were just confusing to authors, it is in highly charged political struggles

that the author chose to present them as essential, unchangeable attributes of nations and

nationalities instead like highly fluid, especially in the 20th century, patterns of consumption.It

seems that the states reluctance to, even minimally in the tourist industry, adjust its various

cuisines was key to a fragmented presentation of Yugoslavia. American authors craved for even

a facade of a Yugoslav cuisine. Instead they had difficulties to present it, fragmented and

disunited. Some parts of the cuisine managed to quite successfully become a Yugoslav brand,

although not an exclusive drink to Yugoslavia, such as slivovitz and to a lesser extent turkish

coffee. Why slivovitz succeeded and the others failed to become an undisputed part of a national

cuisine? This is a difficult question I cannot answer at this time. But it was beneficial to the

Yugoslav image and the image of "Yugoslav cuisine".

The aftermath of slivovitz can provide some insight on why a clear, united representation of the

whole cuisine was needed. In 2007. there appeared news of a conflict between Serbia, Slovenia,

Croatia and the Czech Republic in the EU . The conflict was about slivovitz. The EU, it is stated

in the article, cannot concern itself about this too much. In the end it was decided that the

slivovitz form Serbia will be called "serbian slivovitz", and the czhech will be called "czhech

slivovitz" while the other "slivovitzs" were to wait for an approval. In the comments of these

news, readers argue about the origin of slivovitz and one reader "Dusan NS" warns his

colleagues - "the Czechs are not a problem, the problem will be Croatians and especially

Slovenians".127

And so, finally, slivovitz has joined the rest of the Yugoslav cuisine, dividing

rather than spreading brotherhood, presenting to the world a picture of bickering, "Balkan"

neighbors.

127

"Problemi oko izvoza šljivovice" 1.10.2007. <http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2007&mm=10&dd=01&nav_id=265855> Last viewed: 12.9.2014.

22

Sources:

Newspapers and magazines:

Boston Globe

Cruise

Chicago Tribune

Christian Science Monitor

Harvard Crimson

Los Angeles Times

Life

Orange Coast

Philadelphia Inquirer

Skiing

Time

New York Times

New York Magazine

National Geographic

National Geographic Traveler

Yachting

Tourist guides:

Barbara and Joel Halpern, „Yugoslavia“, American Geographic Society (1956)

Edmund Stillman and the editors of Life „Balkans“. New York:Time Incorporated (1964)

Carol Green „Yugoslavia- Enchantment of the World“ Chicago: Children press (1984)

“Fodors Yugoslavia“New York and London: Fodors Travel Publications(1990)

Promotional films:

Pan Am, Wings to Yugoslavia, TFA Network (1964)

CBS, Yugoslavia (1986)

23

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