They say that you are what you eat, but Ukrainian journalist and photographer Hanna Hrabarska says that was not the idea behind her “Political kitchen” project. Showing some 21 photos (taken with an iPhone) of lawmakers’ and other parliamentary employees’ lunches, Hrabarska’s photo project has become very popular online and even made the leap into becoming a full-fledged art exhibition in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
“People would ask me what I mean by it and whether I am trying to say that there is a correlation between the food MPs eat and laws they pass,” Hrabarska said to the Kyiv Post.
“It is not like that at all. I wouldn’t look for a deeper meaning.”
Andriy, who is a deputy’s assistant, opted for borshch, buckwheat, chicken chop, two pickles, cabbage and cucumber salad, two slices of bread, baked cheesecake, and orange juice, which added up to Hr 118 ($4.34). (Hanna Hrabarska)
Lawmaker Svitlana paid Hr 48 ($1.77) for her lunch consisting of baked cheesecake with jam and sour cream and black tea with lemon. (Hanna Hrabarska)
The photographer says she did not plan it, but it turned more into a project aimed at disproving people’s perception of the parliamentary canteen.
“There is a popular belief that the parliamentary canteen offers luxurious food for kopecks, but in reality it is a pretty standard canteen with pretty standard prices.”
This lunch belongs to Yuriy Lutsenko, Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Lutsenko had soup, baked beans in tomato sauce, meat chop, fried egg, potato fries and sparkling water. He paid Hr 65.96 ($2.43). (Hanna Hrabarska)
That is perhaps why the lawmakers so happily obliged and even offered their plates for Hrabarska to photograph. The parliamentarians also disclosed the prices they paid for their meals, which are included in the project.
“After I managed to reassure them that it is not some sort of provocative footage, some lawmakers would even call or message me, saying they are off for a lunch,” she says.
This meal of boiled tongue, grilled pepper, solyanka (spicy and sour soup), eclair and tea would cost Oksana Syroyid, the deputy speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament around Hr 60 ($2.2), but Syroyid told Hrabarska that somebody else paid, so she’s not sure of the exact price. (Hanna Hrabarska)
The idea was born during one of the lunches that Hrabarska had at parliament, where she shoots parliamentary sessions. The legislative meetings add up to two weeks each month, so there was “plenty of time to shoot.”
“I was taking a photograph of my own lunch and a flash activated for some reason, maybe it was too dark in the room. I really liked how the photo turned out. I then took photographs of my friends’ and acquaintances’ lunches, also with a flash. And it just hit off like that.”
Olia, a photographer, ate grilled vegetables, chicken cutlet and tomato juice for lunch. It cost her Hr 78 ($2.87). (Hanna Hrabarska)
An odd choice of two oranges (costing Hr 29 ($1.07)) met the lunch requirements of lawmaker Oleg. (Hanna Hrabarska)
Journalist Yehor had buckwheat, chopped meat, a fried egg, sauerkraut, bread, a curd snack, and a capuccino. He says he paid Hr 67 ($2.46).
In general, Hrabarska thinks lawmakers have a healthy diet. They eat a lot of fruit and tvorog (soft cheese), they also drink kefir (dairy product). Before EuroMaidan, there was alcohol available, but that has stopped now.
“Lawmakers used to order ‘parliamentary tea,’ as they called it, which was basically cognac in a teapot that they would pour into cups and drink.”
The most interesting thing she observed during the execution of the art project was four portions of strawberries that one lawmaker ordered for himself.
“It was the season of strawberries and everybody at the parliament ate them. I thought it was very funny (that one person ordered so many strawberries just for himself).”
Hrabarska says her favorite observation during the project was this lunch that included four portions of strawberries and cream. Its owner, lawmaker Mykhailo, also had baked cheesecake with honey, tvorog with honey and black tea. He paid Hr 150 ($5.52) altogether, which makes it the most expensive lunch amongst the selection that Hrabarska photographed. (Hanna Hrabarska)
Hrabarska shot “Political kitchen” during the middle of last year. She spent a couple of months taking the images.
