Food Yard

The Food Yard was part of a complex of household buildings (along with the ice cellar and the Bread Little Yard). This place was always a hive of activity: the royal family and the inner circle had to be provided with everything necessary.

Meat and fish dishes were prepared at the Food Yard. The main products were brought from the Tsar’s numerous feudatories, fresh fish was regularly supplied from the nearest waters.

The household buildings were dismantled in 1815 due to disrepair. The wooden floors were destroyed, and the remaining bricks were used to build a wall adjacent to the Savior Gate. Only the foundation of the Food Yard discovered during archaeological excavations in 1999-2003 has survived to our time.

Did you know that…

• Products for the royal court were stored in an ice cellar - a deep cellar, which was filled with blocks from the Moskva River in early spring. For the preparation of the royal "refrigerator” there was even a special profession — an ice collector.
• For a long time, herbs were not used in the preparation of dishes (they were thought to be suitable only for cattle). Fragrant herbs, which were grown in large amounts on the residence territory, had a different purpose: the fact is that an unpleasant smell spreaded around the household buildings, and it had to be masked in some way.