Once there was a young man who was his parent's only child. His life was happy and full of good times. When his friends came, the table would groan under the weight of food and drink. He met a beautiful girl and decided marry her. His father said to him, "we will invite all your friends". His son agreed. Finally, the wonderful day of the wedding arrived. But no friends came. Not understanding why, the man asked his father what had happened and had the invitations been sent to his friends. His father replied, "I sent invitations to all your friends, but with the wedding announcements I also asked each to help you. And you can see the result." So, let us drink to the friends who always come to help us!
Once a man had an encounter with God. He presented the man with a gift-three cases filled with unknown to the man matter -with a condition that he won't open them until he arrives to the Earth. On his way to the Earth curiosity overwhelmed the man and he opened the first case - and Happiness flew out of there. Half way through on his journey, despite the God's given condition, the man opened another case- and Love flew out of there. When the man finally reached the Earth, left without Happiness and Love, he decided to open the last case, and Hope flew out of there, and from that moment on, he, the man, was left with nothing but a Hope. So, lets drink for lost Love, lost Happiness, but remaining Hope!
The feast proceeds among jokes and is usually accompanied by a dance competition, table songs, music, quotations and aphorisms from the works of poets and writers. When hearing the term "Georgian cuisine", chakhokhbili comes to mind, naturally and automatically. It is a rather tasty dish made of chicken, plentifully seasoned with fried onions, coriander, basil, garlic, red pepper, mint, estragon, and other spices. The main dish on the real Georgian wedding is "the bull on the turnspit". It may seem to be the simplest thing: you just put the bull onto a stake & that's it!
In reality, to make "the bull on the turnspit" is a whole culinary art of its own. Into the whole bull carcass, cut along the center of its belly, the cook-magician carefully puts a calf. Into that calf, he puts a lamb, into that lamb - a turkey, into the turkey - a goose, into the goose - a chicken, and between all these animals, as well as inside them, he puts various herbs & spices. And despite the fact that the outer layer of the bull becomes charred, everything underneath is so juicy & tender.
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