Nun, described as Poland’s best cook, releases DVD

WARSAW, Poland – A Polish nun who thought up her best cake recipe in a dream has released a special DVD with tips on her culinary masterpieces.

“When I first joined my order, I asked to work in the kitchen,” said Sister Anastazja Pustelnik, a member of the Daughters of Divine Love.

“I spent years cooking for the Jesuit fathers in Krakow, and they liked my recipes so much they proposed publishing them. I thought they meant some kind of brochure. I never suspected it would lead to several books,” she said at a specially convened press conference at the Polish bishops’ conference headquarters in mid-December.

The nun, whose four recipe books already have sold 850,000 copies, spoke at the release of “Sister Anastazja’s Cookery School,” which shows her preparing some of her tastiest delights.

She said she had inherited some recipes from her parents and others from older nuns, but had thought up most herself, including the very best, “A Nun’s Secret,” which came to her in a dream.

“I made the cake in my sleep,” Sister Anastazja said. “When I woke up in the morning, I wrote it all down and then cooked it in the kitchen, and it turned out rather nicely.”

The nun said most of her cakes had been given their names by voracious Jesuits. One cake, “The Happy Mountaineer,” is noted for its high alcoholic content.

She said she personally preferred traditional Polish fare, such as sour soup and steamed cabbage, but added that she also had up to 100 different cheese recipes.

In a statement, Poland’s Jesuit-run WAM publishers described Sister Anastazja, whose books include “103 Cakes” and “100 New Cakes,” as “the republic’s greatest cook.”

The publishing house added that it planned a follow-up DVD featuring the nun’s wackiest dinners “if the current DVD meets with approval from clients.”

The Polish-language DVD is available online at: https://www.wydawnictwowam.pl/.