Good Dining in Chernobyl

As Stefan Gates of the BBC discovered, a most delicious meal is available to be had by any willing to enter the irradiated wasteland of post-meltdown Chernobyl:

Anna kept chipping away at my resolve, saying: "Just eat it! You won't die. God will protect you. We eat it and we're alive and you'll be alright too!"

My producer Marc Perkins was hissing: "You're NOT allowed to eat it," but when she produced her homemade butter and our local guides made me more confident by tucking in, my resolve crumbled.

I fell upon the food, much to her admiration.

It was just pork fat soup, but it tasted deep, smoky and very, very Ukrainian.

Admittedly, the fear of radiation had made my taste buds extra sensitive, but I felt much more comfortable with the idea after Anna forced several glasses of her plum moonshine down my throat.

Of course, the food isn't as safe as all that: the mushrooms alone contain 8 times more radiation than what would be considered safe. But I'd risk a single meal to be able to say I drank plum brandy and ate babushka soup in Chernobyl.

The Chernobyl Diet [BBC]