The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

In The Kitchen Boy, food represents the Romanovs’ relationship with their country. Tsar Nikolai himself explains this connection in Chapter 4, when he condemns fancy foreign dishes and insists “There’s nothing better than honest Russian food—so wholesome. […] Give me good, solid Russian food any day!” (39). This quote suggests the tsar’s continued loyalty to Russia, while his playful tone reflects his optimism over his family’s survival. The Romanovs’ potential rescue is always delivered via food, the “White Army” letters being stored in milk. The Romanovs quite literally place their hope for salvation in food.

One can also track the Romanovs’ waning influence and power through their food. While the royal family begins their stay at Ipatiev House with rich, plentiful meals, as the year goes on, the meals’ quantity and quality begin to decline. Flour, sugar, fruit, and meat become valuable treasures as the Bolsheviks become more constricting, and the Romanovs’ chances of survival decrease. In the family’s final days, they go from eating full course meals to simple macaroni dishes. Not only do their meals become simpler—mimicking the types of dishes typical of working Russians—the Romanovs are drawn into food preparation themselves. In Chapter 5, Anastasiya shocks her parents by telling them that the house cook, Kharitonov, is teaching her and her sisters how to bake bread. It is unprecedented for a royal family to prepare their own food, this scene suggesting their loss of privileges. In the days prior to the family’s execution, Tsaritsa Aleksandra stops eating. At this point in the novel, the “White Army” letters have stopped; Aleksandra’s decision to reject food symbolizes her loss of hope, a final severing of her ties to her country and supposed rescuers.