At the Russian and Soviet table, one does not think in terms of starter-main course-dessert. One begins with zakuski (small savory bites, marinated or fermented, accompanying tea or vodka), then comes the pervoyé blyudo, the 'first course', always a hot soup. The vtoroyé blyudo, the 'second course', brings hearty meat and starches. One closes with a sweet treat or fruit drink like kissel or kompot. In the life of a military pilot and later cosmonaut like Leonov, this structure is doubled by a cuisine of rations: during training at Star City, and especially in orbit, where dishes become purées in tubes and freeze-dried foods.

Two signatures run through almost the entire Russian meal: smetana, that thick, tangy cream spooned onto soup and dumplings alike, and fresh dill (ukrop) chopped in abundance. Together, they provide that recognizable tangy freshness and green aroma, from Siberian borscht to cosmonauts' tubes.