The food prepared in a monastery kitchen has always been considered the ideal example of simplicity and flavour. These recipes however, were rarely passed beyond monastery walls and were handed down only from cook to cook. Nowadays in order to get inside the kitchen at the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow, one must receive a personal invitation. It is here under these early arches that food is prepared for the convent’s nuns, who have chosen to separate themselves from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and dedicate themselves to a spiritual one. When preparing monastic dishes, the cook must be careful to follow Orthodox canons and rules. RTG host Irina Pudova learned how to prepare the traditional Russian “kulebyaka” pie without using eggs, milk or butter.