May, when we romanticise spring

I get the feeling that May is the only month of the year when we all try to make the most of it a little more. We kick off the barbecue season, pick lilacs, and are glad that city life doesn’t come to a halt at 5 pm.

May in Poland is always marked by the ‘Majówka’ holiday, music festivals, Museum Night and student festivals… And I suppose that’s precisely why this year I’ve felt a particularly strong urge to romanticise spring: to appreciate the scents, soak up the sunny days, and take in the blossoming trees and the ubiquitous greenery in its many shades.

A good way to start the day?

Sit in a restaurant’s outdoor seating area, soaking up the first warm rays of sunshine, order breakfast, enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee and, if only for a moment, put your phone on silent.

Recently, at Pierogarnia Stary Młyn, you can start your day with pierogi. And honestly? This is a vision of the world that will appeal to all fans of pierogi ‘anytime, anywhere’ – and not just them.

We’ve added Lepiochy and Leniuchy to the breakfast menu, so from 8.03 am you can sit down at a table and start your morning more peacefully than usual – with pierogi. This is particularly true in Toruń, Gdańsk and Wrocław, where breakfast has already become a ritual for many of our guests.

May at Pierogarnia was also marked by the brand’s anniversary.

But what sort of birthday would it be without attractions and presents? For this birthday, we wanted our guests to feel part of the celebrations, because everyone is important in our story – someone who once came for pierogi with their parents now comes with their own children. It’s amazing how a restaurant can become such a big part of someone’s memories 🙂

There was a guided tour of Toruń with Paweł Bukowski, tracing the history hidden in the locations where our Pierogarnie restaurants are situated. Paweł has a way of telling stories that makes it feel as though he’s uncovering secrets hidden amongst the bricks of the townhouses.

We held a pierogi-making workshop, where we found joy in simple things, spending time together and learning new skills, all under the guidance of Radek, who 19 years ago became the first employee hired at Pierogarnia Stary Toruń and now, as Executive Chef, oversees all the brand’s outlets.

There was also a city scavenger hunt – 10 years ago we created our own game, which isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but requires wit, a keen eye for the historical sites on the map of Toruń’s Old Town, and commitment. The first 10 teams to complete the game received vouchers from us to use at Pierogarnia,

Plus, scratch cards with prizes, the “19th voucher for free” promotion and plenty of conversation at the tables.

It’s great to see how guests come in just to have a bite to eat, but leave with a surprise they weren’t expecting.

May is behind us, and June lies ahead – a month even richer in seasonal fruit and vegetables, which means the best time of year for our taste buds has arrived. 😉

I recently learnt that Poland produces as much as 12,000 tonnes of asparagus a year, putting us in sixth place in Europe. This completely took me by surprise, as asparagus never struck me as ‘Polish’. And yet, the May special at Pierogarnia was full of it – from asparagus cream soup to dumplings with asparagus.

June will be all about strawberries, which, after a long wait, will finally make their way onto our tables. Don’t you agree that in June they smell and taste completely different?

For breakfast out in June, I recommend the Butter Challah with colourful tomatoes, strawberries, burrata, red onion jam and fresh basil.

And for Children’s Day, Silesian noodles mac & cheese-style with a cheese sauce made from Irish Cheddar, fried onions, bacon crumble and chives.

My Grandma used to turn a blind eye to us skipping a day’s toothbrushing and say, ‘All right then, you can have your own Children’s Day’. And there was something in that. Because the older I get, the more I think that Children’s Day shouldn’t have an age limit or a specific date on the calendar at all. Sometimes it’s simply a guilt-free dessert, treating yourself to something for no particular reason, or a dinner you’ve been craving for a few days.

Celebrating life’s little pleasures is also a form of self-care.