Near Abroad

A love letter to the food of her childhood, acclaimed writer Polina Chesnakova shares 100 vibrant regional recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from Georgia, Polina Chesnakova grew up cooking and eating at the hip of her mother and aunts. Chesnok paints a warm portrait of the Soviet diaspora through food, with dishes that will be nostalgic and familiar for those within the diaspora and enticing to anyone looking to expand their palate and pantry.

From Georgian Tkemali (sour plum sauce), Uzbek and Azeri Plovs, and Armenian Gata (butter pastry) to Ukrainian Varenyky (dumplings), Russian Olivier Salad, and Medovik (honey cake), Chesnok is your invitation to learn the rich history of a people through their most cherished recipes and traditions. Essays, stories, and profiles of the amazing cooks in Polina’s life are peppered amongst recipes as diverse as the communities from which they blossomed and the immigrant experience they were subsequently passed down in.

Polina Chesnakova was born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from the Republic of Georgia. She was raised in a tight-knit Rhode Island community of refugees from all over the former Soviet Union, and has cooked and baked in a handful of professional kitchens. She’s had her blog Chesnok since 2015, and her recipes have been published in Saveur, Epicurious, Salon, and Food 52. She has written two cookbooks: Hot Cheese (Chronicle, 2020) and Everyday Cake (Sasquatch, 2022). She also worked for Book Larder in Seattle and presided over the cooking class program as the Culinary Director from 2020-2024. She lives Rhode Island with her husband, Lee, and 1 year-old son, Anton.