At the turn of summer and autumn, the Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotels – Krynica Zdrój 12+ and Wzgórza Dylewskie – host an extraordinary cyclical event that, for seven years, has allowed guests to sample exquisite dishes made from traditional products from various regions. This year, the leitmotif of Tasty Stories once again celebrates local culture and art, highlighting artists and craftsmen who reference cultural heritage in their creativity or passion, aiming to recreate and preserve old traditions for future generations.

To save from being forgotten

What we can do to care for our cultural heritage is to allow those who cherish it to tell their stories. That is why, during Tasty Stories, we give voice to artists and creators who cultivate local traditions. Representing the Beskid Niski and Beskid Sądecki regions were Piotr Trochanowski, an outstanding Lemko poet and one of the pioneers of the cultural and ethnic revival of the Lemko community; Katarzyna Orszulak, who creates krywulki, a type of necklace worn over a snow-white shirt; and Stanisław Kolbuch, a master weaver. During our journey through Warmia and Mazury, we met Krystyna Tarnacka-Jurgielewicz, who makes Warmia bonnets, which were added to the UNESCO national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2023, and Natalia Tejs, who uses her own technique to capture landscapes and architectural elements on boards from a barn in Warmia that is over 100 years old. We also met Piotr Szatkowski, a scientist and enthusiast of the Masurian language, who is dedicated to its preservation through publications such as “Elementarz mowy mazurskiej” [Masurian Language Primer]. He also popularises the language during lectures and on social media.

Opening to the new
These heroes and their work served as the backdrop for an exclusive dinner featuring a tasting menu prepared under the leadership
of chefs from Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotels: Janusz Myjak (Krynica-Zdrój), Agnieszka Wilbrandt and Sławomir Kwaśniewski (Wzgórza Dylewskie). This year, the invitation to participate in Dr Irena Eris Tasty Stories was accepted by Mateusz Suliga from the Artesse restaurant (recommended in the Michelin Guide), Łukasz Budzik from the Między Mostami restaurant, Bartosz Szymczak from the Rozbrat 20 restaurant (which has a Michelin star), and Ewa Szyc-Juchnowicz from the Malika restaurant. Different cooking styles, experience, temperaments, and taste preferences mean that the same products are used to create different dishes each year, surprising in their composition and taste. For the guests attending the dinners, the tasting menu is a surprise every time; above all, it serves as a pretext for conversations – both about food and life. Sometimes, during such meetings, friendships are formed between guests, and often resolutions are made to meet again the next year!

The organisers would like to thank the partners: Ostróda Municipality, Wineonline, Rent Design, and the media – magazines: “Zwierciadło”, “Sens”, “Weranda”, “Stylish Paper”, “Made in Warmia & Mazury”, and “Sense of Beauty”.

DrIrenaErisTastyStories.com

Stanisław Kolbuch
A Master of Tradition, member of the Association of Folk Artists. He learned the art of weaving objects from straw as a child from his mother, Władysława Stelmach, a recipient of numerous awards. For 20 years, he has lived and managed a farm in Iwla, in the Beskid Niski region. In his free time, he develops his craft, reviving this now-forgotten art form. He creates Christmas decorations, ornaments, kitchen accessories, toys, jewellery, baskets, and hats. In 2016, he was one of the few individuals from Podkarpacie to participate in the International Straw Art Festival “Jak złoto”, organised by the Folk College in Wola Sękowa. Weaving in Poland was inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritage by a decision made on 10 July 2018.

Katarzyna Orszulak
She is a graduate of the College of Cultural Managers. She creates regional jewellery, primarily Lemko and Boyko pieces, which include krywulki and sylianki made from small glass beads – women’s necklaces and men’s gerdany. In the past, these were worn during holidays, family gatherings, and religious celebrations. The individual patterns held symbolic meanings and were believed to bring happiness and success. The most ornate and elaborate krywulka can consist of up to five thousand beads strung by hand. The art of making krywulki has been inscribed on the UNESCO list since 2024.

Ewa Sowińska
She describes herself as a highlander by choice. She first visited the Piwniczna-Zdrój area over 20 years ago. After meeting Michał Nakielski, one of the last inhabitants of the region who wove coachman’s gloves, she resolved to save this craft from being forgotten and revive the tradition of their manufacture. Alongside a group of enthusiasts, she participated in a workshop on spatial weaving of Black Highlanders led by Nakielski. With the acquisition of skills came the desire to popularise coachman’s gloves among local residents and tourists visiting the Piwniczna-Zdrój area. The group’s energy and commitment ultimately led to the inclusion of the weaving of coachman’s gloves by the Black Highlanders on the national list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2022. 

Krystyna Tarnacka-Jurgielewicz
An artist and craftswoman specialising in Warmia costumes and bonnets, which were formerly festive headgear for married Warmia women. She also paints on glass and ceramics. Her specialties include Venetian needle lace and embroidery. Additionally, she creates products from rushes and straw, as well as watercolours and oil paintings. As a hobby, she transfers patterns from Warmia bonnets to Christmas baubles. She resides in Lidzbark Warmiński, where she ran the Artistic Handicraft Workshop “Dol-Art” for many years, collecting objects related to traditional Warmian applied art. Thanks to her efforts, with support from Izabela Treutle, the skill of making bonnets was inscribed on the national list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2021.

Ania Broda
Singer, cymbalom player, composer, author of the album “A ja nie chcę spać”, and a musician of the group Kapela Brodów. She reconstructs traditional Polish secular and religious music and writes songs for herself, as well as lullabies and other musical miniatures for children. Additionally, she composes pieces based on old Warmian texts and performs them on the cymbalom.

Did you know that...?
The cymbalom is the most characteristic instrument in the folk music of southeastern Poland. Playing this instrument was entered on the national list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2023. Stanisław Kondrat from Gietrzwałd, a figure featured in previous Tasty Stories, can also showcase his skills performing pieces on the cymbalom.

Beata Rząca
Together with her mother, Monika Madej, they form a female tandem; they are both smiling as they discuss lace – the famous lace from the town of Bobowa, a tradition that has persisted for over 100 years. Traditionally, lace was used to decorate tables, underwear, bedding, liturgical vestments, and altars, and this continues to be the case today. Their lacework has inspired Tomasz Ossoliński, regarded as one of the best Polish tailors and fashion designers, specialising in wedding dresses and suits. He commissioned the women from Bobowa to create lace for a historical dress featured in the Netflix series “1670”. The art of making bobbin lace was included on the UNESCO list in 2023.

National treasures

These works encompass art, literature, musical pieces, and architectural structures, as well as skills often passed down through generations, which are or were characteristic of a given region. The national list of intangible cultural heritage was created to protect these treasures and to cultivate their memory. According to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), countries that have agreed to ratify this agreement are obliged to take an inventory of the manifestations of heritage located within their territories, following the recommendations and standards of the Convention. Poland is among the countries that have ratified this agreement; since 2014, a register of elements of intangible cultural heritage has been maintained under the name of the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is of an informational nature and currently contains 103 documented entries. The list is maintained by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in cooperation with the National Heritage Institute.

All groups associated with the practice of traditions and customs, performing traditional crafts and handicrafts, cultivating historical memory, preserving traditional knowledge and beliefs, and engaging in musical, spectacular, and linguistic traditions, as well as all other manifestations of human activity sanctioned by tradition, can apply for inscription.