Food for a Georgian wake: the traditional table and the fasting menu

A table that serves memory

Kelekhi is neither a feast nor an ordinary lunch. It is laid so that the people who came to the funeral can remember the departed together, rest after a long day and let the family feel their support. Hence the main feature of memorial dishes: they are simple, filling and familiar to everyone. Nobody at such a table is looking for unusual flavours or striking presentation. On the contrary, familiar food comforts the guests and lets them concentrate on conversation and memories.

Core set of traditional dishes

• Hot soup: most often kharcho, a thick soup with walnuts and spices; in some families another rich, hearty soup.
• Pkhali: a starter of spinach, beetroot or cabbage pounded with walnuts.
• Lobio: boiled beans dressed with spices, served hot or cold.
• Meat: boiled beef or lamb, in some places roasted or fried.
• Aubergines with walnuts: a cold dish found on almost every table.
• Shilaplavi: rice cooked with meat, regarded in many places as the emblem of a wake.
• Something sweet: halva, pelamushi or another local sweet dish.

Bread, fresh herbs, pickles and wine complete the table. The list is not compulsory: one family will drop a dish, another will add one of its own, for instance the departed person's favourite food.

Hot soup: kharcho and alternatives

At a kelekhi, soup is often the first warm dish, which is especially welcome when guests return from the cemetery in cold weather. Kharcho with walnuts and spices is the most common choice, but some families make a different soup, say chicken or vegetable. On a fasting day the meat soup leaves the table and a vegetable or bean soup takes its place. Soup must be served hot, so it is ladled out once the guests have sat down, not in advance.

Pkhali and lobio: simple and meat-free

Pkhali and lobio form the backbone of the memorial table, for two reasons. First, both are fasting dishes, which means they stay on the table unchanged during a fast. Second, they can be made in advance and in large quantities, which matters when a family has to receive hundreds of guests. Pkhali is made from spinach, beetroot, beet greens or cabbage, with walnuts and garlic. Some people eat lobio hot, straight from a clay pot, others cold, seasoned with onion and coriander.

Meat: boiled or roasted

On an ordinary day the memorial table includes meat, usually boiled beef or lamb with herbs and garlic. Boiled meat belongs to a long tradition, and it is also convenient to cook in large amounts. Some families and some regions prefer roasted meat or chicken. What you rarely see at a kelekhi is a varied meat platter or dishes in the style of a celebratory supra, which are associated more with merrymaking. On a fasting day meat is removed from the table entirely.

Aubergines with walnuts

Aubergine rolls with a walnut filling are a much-loved cold starter at any Georgian table, and they appear at almost every wake. The dish contains no animal products, is made ahead and keeps well, which is a great relief for the women of the family and the neighbours who often cook through the night before. In winter, when fresh aubergines are hard to find, they are sometimes replaced with another cold starter, such as mushrooms or vegetables with walnuts. At a kelekhi the aubergines are usually laid out plainly, without the pomegranate seeds that decorate them on festive occasions.

Shilaplavi

Shilaplavi is a dish of rice and meat which in many places, particularly in Eastern Georgia, is seen as an essential part of a wake. It is cooked in a large pot, usually with lamb or beef, and in many homes it is served as the last hot dish, a sign that the meal is drawing to a close. On a fasting day shilaplavi is made without meat, with mushrooms or vegetables, or replaced with another rice dish. Some families do not make it at all, and that is not considered a breach of tradition.

Something sweet to end the meal

A kelekhi often ends with something sweet, but exactly what depends on the region and the family. In some places halva is made; in others pelamushi, a thick pudding of grape juice cooked with flour; elsewhere people simply put out churchkhela (walnuts threaded on string and dipped in thickened grape juice) and seasonal fruit. Halva and pelamushi are both suitable for fasting, which helps keep the same order even during a fast. Folk tradition interprets the symbolism of the sweet course in various ways, and there is no single view. What matters is that the sweet is modest and does not resemble a celebration cake.

Bread and wine

Bread is the axis of any Georgian table, and families make sure well ahead that there will be plenty at the wake. In the city they usually buy shoti or bread from a tone, the traditional clay oven, and in some regions mchadi, a cornbread flatbread, is also put out. Wine at a kelekhi is for the toast to the departed and for remembrance, not for merriment. It is drunk in moderation; strong spirits are, as a rule, not served at all or only in very small amounts. Soft drinks, water and lemonade should always be on the table for those who are driving or do not drink alcohol.

Rules of the fasting table

In Orthodox tradition, meat, dairy products and eggs are excluded from the menu on a fasting day. That means cheese, khachapuri (cheese bread), meat soup and shilaplavi with meat are not served that day. Pkhali, lobio, aubergines, mushrooms, pickles, herbs, vegetable dishes, fruit and fasting sweets all stay. The fasting days are Wednesday and Friday, plus the longer fasting periods, whose exact dates are given in the church calendar. Under the strict rule, on certain days even vegetable oil and wine are restricted, and the family would do well to discuss this with a priest.

Fish on a fasting day

Fish is allowed on some fasting days and not on others, which often causes confusion. So before putting fish on the menu, check the church calendar or ask a priest whether it is permitted on that particular day. If it is, fish makes a good substitute for meat: fried or poached, with herbs and lemon. If the family is unsure, it is safer to leave fish off altogether; the table will be none the poorer for it.

Order of serving

1. Before the guests arrive: bread, cold starters, pkhali, aubergines, pickles, herbs and wine are already on the tables.
2. As soon as everyone is seated: the tamada (toastmaster) gives the toast for the repose of the departed, and the waiters serve the hot soup.
3. In the middle: lobio, if it is eaten hot, and the meat are brought out.
4. Towards the end: in many families, shilaplavi or another rice dish.
5. To close: sweets, fruit, sometimes tea or coffee, after which the guests gradually leave.

This is a general outline. In some families everything is put on the table at once, especially when the wake is held at home and there are no waiters.

Quantities to prepare

At a Georgian table food is served in shared bowls, usually one set for every four to six people. That is why quantities are often calculated by table rather than by individual guest. A rough guide: per guest, one bowl of soup, a small portion of two or three cold dishes, one portion of meat, the rice dish and something sweet. Always keep a small reserve, because the exact number of guests only becomes clear at the last minute. Leftover food at a wake is a lesser misfortune than an empty bowl.

The tamada and the toast to the departed

The memorial table is led by a tamada, usually someone close to the family, respected and composed. His first words are always for the departed: a toast to the repose of the soul, which guests drink standing or in silence, without clinking glasses. The tamada then remembers other members of the family who died earlier, thanks everyone who helped during the days of the funeral and, finally, wishes the family strength. A good tamada speaks briefly and brings the meal to a close at the right time, so as not to wear out relatives who are already drained.

Cooking at home or booking a restaurant

In many families the food for a kelekhi is still cooked together by relatives and neighbours, a long-standing form of mutual help. That takes big pots, many hands and room for the tables, in a courtyard or a spacious room. Furniture is easily solved with our table and chair rental. In the city most families choose a restaurant: set menus at our partner restaurants are priced at 35, 45 and 60 GEL a head, ranging from meat-free to a fuller spread. For the details of organising it, see our funeral wake meal page.

Regional differences

Across the regions of Georgia the memorial table is similar only in broad outline. In some places the sweet dish is a must, in others it gets less attention. In the east shilaplavi is cooked especially often; in the west mchadi frequently sits beside the bread. In some mountain villages old local rules survive, and the elders of the family follow them to the letter. If the family comes from a different region from the one where the wake is being held, it is wise to ask the elders what matters to them and include it in the menu.

What does not belong on a memorial table

At a kelekhi people avoid anything that suggests a celebration: music, singing, bright decorations, iced cakes with inscriptions, champagne and balloons. Nor is it the custom to pile the table with expensive delicacies, which comes across as a show of wealth. At a restrained table people also speak quietly and do not clink glasses. If there is a television in the room, it should be switched off. None of this means the table should be meagre: it is simply moderate and modest.

Frequently asked questions