Leonid Parfenov with his wife and children. Elena Chekalova: how to bake delicious pies and raise smart children

Elena Chekalova struggled with her daughter’s illness for several years

Elena Chekalova struggled with her daughter’s illness for several years

Leonid PARFENOV and Elena CHEKALOVA celebrated their silver wedding this year - 25 years of marriage. Both are talented journalists. And their children went their own way. In an interview with Express Newspaper, Elena, the host of the “Happiness Is” column as part of “Good Morning” on Channel One, frankly spoke about the secrets of family happiness, the envy of colleagues and uneducated viewers.

- They wrote that before meeting Leonid you had an affair with a Frenchman. This is true?

Yes. But at that time I really listened to my mother’s opinion. And she then told me: “The political situation is difficult now, and if you leave, it is unknown whether you will be able to come and visit me, and I will not be able to survive such a separation.” I had to forget about the Frenchman. - You and Parfenov have been together for a quarter of a century. Have you celebrated your silver wedding?- Certainly! This is a big date. Among our friends there are not many people who have lived together for so many years and have not lost interest in each other. We went to San Sebastian to celebrate. I know many outstanding chefs there; I admire these people. - What is the secret of your marriage?- To save a family, everyone must have their own life, their own work, their own career, their own inner world, their own friends. You can’t get hung up on your spouse, dissolve in him - this is a vicious path. There are wives who want to know about every minute of their husband: where is he, what is he, how is he? This endless surveillance doesn't lead to anything good. You cannot be a dependent in a family - neither financially nor spiritually. This leads to the destruction of relationships. You just need to trust! There are many families: he works, and she sits and waits. And then such a wife wonders why her husband does not want to return home. Although it is very important to have a tasty and cozy home. Lenya and I changed during our marriage, but we changed together. And we never thought about divorce. They quarreled and made up, but it didn’t go to extremes.

Hell of patience

- Your father is a journalist. The children did not continue the dynasty?

I believe that under no circumstances should you put pressure or impose your opinion. Every child must find himself. When mine were little, I suggested they study painting, languages, mathematics, figure skating, and football. Now Ivan works at RIA Novosti and runs a successful Internet project. He is 24. He studied in England and Germany. Graduated from the Milan University of Economics, speaks fluent English, Italian and German. My daughter Masha is 19 years old. She studies in Italy, to the surprise of everyone, she successfully graduated from the British Council School. We look forward to her every visit like a holiday. When we get together, we have a big feast. I dream that our children will make us grandparents. Vanya has a regular girlfriend, and Masha has a young man. But for now... They don’t even go to the registry office. - I’ve heard more than once that you are a wonderful mother and you have an excellent relationship with your children. Why did you decide to limit yourself to two? - I wanted another child, but my husband was against it. He went through a lot, I had a very difficult birth, and Lenya was not ready for a new test. I have had two cesareans, but the second time I gave birth to my daughter was a disaster. And not because doctors are bad, there are simply women, I am one of them, who are not programmed to give birth. My daughter did not study well until the tenth grade; she had dyslexia. It is a difficult thing when a person does not master written language. After graduating from primary school, she read syllables. I had to sit at home for several years and just read aloud to her. Otherwise she would not have been able to finish school.

It took hellish patience. In the end, I tried to calm my daughter down: “Masha, it’s okay that you’re not good at science, let’s learn to cook with you. You’ll graduate from school, get a certificate and go to study to become a cook.” We found her a college in France, where they study to become a chef, but in the last year of school Masha suddenly had a fracture. She graduated with a very high score, with which she can easily enter any foreign university. But my daughter still had the idea that she would be a cook. Moreover, she already has experience working in a restaurant. My children have been working part-time since they were in school. Vanya - from 14, Masha - from 16. My daughter worked in a hotel as a maid and at the reception, and washed dishes in a restaurant.

Monstrous diet

- When you appeared on television, everyone whispered that this happened not without the help of Leonid Parfenov.

My column has been on air for several years. Due to connections, you can’t last that long on TV. Our rating numbers are high. We used to go out three times a week, now it’s five. Sometimes TV viewers ask me to tell you specifically about something, sometimes I look for it myself. We have a mandatory principle of seasonality. During the years of Soviet power, people forgot how to eat seasonally, and this is important in order to get the most from their products and spend a minimum of money. You need to buy strawberries not in January, but now - while they are tasty, juicy and fairly inexpensive. Previously, there was a lot of criticism directed at me, but the criticism was from completely uneducated people. - Not only the uneducated, but also, for example, Kira Proshutinskaya. Not the last person on television!- I am not offended by any criticism at all. A Kira Proshutinskaya- an uneducated person in cooking. And I think she is absolutely unphotogenic on screen. Kira has pulled up her entire face and, at 65 years old, plays like a 25-year-old girl. If this is good for her, what can I say?! I never hide my age. My ideal cooking program host is Julia Child.

She worked on the air until she was 90 years old! She had knobby hands, an old voice, a huge number of wrinkles, but all of America loved her. She is the most popular food presenter of all time in the States. A woman who has never had plastic surgery, never injected Botox, or dyed her hair. Gastronomy is an area where the viewer will trust not a picture with huge breasts and a painted face, but a woman with experience, a mother of a family, a grandmother.

- Do you follow a diet?

When I saw myself on the screen, I experienced a lot of unpleasant feelings. When a person does not see himself from the outside, he does not notice what and how he hangs. But I hate the word “diet”. Diet is always extreme. You are dooming yourself to terrible hardships, to becoming an outcast in the society where you live, because you set yourself a bunch of prohibitions: you can’t do this, you shouldn’t do that, you shouldn’t eat after 6 p.m., and so on. In my opinion, the currently popular protein diet Dukan- monstrous. Yes, people lose weight, but this undermines their health. In the Middle Ages there was such a torture: a person was put on nothing but boiled meat, and he died, because the body became slagged, the liver and pancreas quickly became clogged. I haven’t been on a diet for a day and have lost five kilos and dropped two sizes. It is very important to think about portions and their size, people overeat a lot. A person feels the taste of the first two sips, a piece - everything. Chefs in restaurants are slim because they don’t eat, but taste - that’s how I feel. My motto: you need to try everything, and not overeat! But my husband eats no more than 150 grams of meat, and that’s enough for him. - Can Leonid Gennadievich cook?- No. Probably, I once cooked, when I was still living in the hostel, I cooked mushroom soup, I haven’t seen or tried it. But he has amazing taste, he sees the flaws in dishes. - That’s why your joint book “World Cuisine” was such a success: you complemented each other perfectly!- I'm interested in working with my husband. Now I’m writing a book about light food, how to eat everything tasty and not gain weight. For example, chocolate cake, where one serving contains 172 calories - that's about the same as two apples!

58-year-old Leonid Parfenov is celebrating a new addition to his family. On the evening of February 5, the son of a television journalist, Ivan, became a father for the first time. His wife Maria gave birth to a charming boy, who was named Mikhail. A happy event for Parfenov and his loved ones took place in one of the capital’s perinatal centers.

The good news was reported by Parfenov’s wife Elena Chekalova. The restaurateur and television journalist published a joint photo with her husband on Instagram. In the caption to the photo, Elena shared that she had become a grandmother. Chekalova and Parfenov cannot get enough of the appearance of their grandson.

“Grandma next to grandpa. Yes, today there is happiness in our family: Mikhail Ivanovich Parfenov-Broitman was born. Weight 3940 g, height – 54 cm. I am a granny! Many of my friends are not shy about this title, but they prefer that their grandchildren call them “Masha” or “Lena.” But Lenya and I are just grandparents,” said the wife of the famous TV presenter.

On her Facebook page, Elena Chekalova shared the details of the baby’s birth and congratulated her son and daughter-in-law on the joyful event.

“It’s great that now the husband is allowed to be with his wife during childbirth - in our time this was prohibited. Masha was able to hold on to Vanka all the time, and he himself cut the umbilical cord. In my opinion, it is so important that the husband also gives birth, and that the woman in labor has a loved one next to her, and not just other people’s aunts and uncles. Especially remembering how I gave birth myself and how the nurses yelled at me with obscenities. Of course, you can endure everything for the sake of the happiness of becoming a mother... But it’s better otherwise,” wrote Leonid Parfenov’s wife.

Users of social networks congratulated the TV presenter on the new addition to the family and left him a large number of warm wishes. “A new stage in life!”, “Grow up healthy and happy”, “All the best to the child”, “Hurray”, “This is a great joy”, “You are wonderful”, “You have a heroic daughter-in-law - to give birth to such a hero”, “Now all that’s left is wait for the great-grandchildren”, “What a wonderful couple you are”, “There is nothing more beautiful than the word “grandmother” spoken by a baby”, “We are waiting for a healthy and tasty children’s menu in the feed,” commented Elena’s subscribers.

The fact that Ivan Parfenov’s wife was expecting a child became known in November last year. “Yes, it happened quite recently: the wedding of Vanya and Masha and the release of the book “First Year Married.” And now we are waiting for a new addition to our family - that’s what it means to eat well,” Elena Chekalova wrote on social networks then.

The son of a famous TV presenter legalized his relationship with Maria Broitman, the daughter of an investment banker, in 2015. The wedding took place in Moscow according to Jewish customs. The newlyweds received many pleasant gifts from family and friends. It is known that Maria and Ivan entered into a marriage contract - ketubah.

“Grandma next to grandpa. Yes, today there is happiness in our family: Mikhail Ivanovich Parfenov-Broitman was born. Weight 3940.54 cm. I am a granny!”, the TV presenter’s wife Elena Chekalova wrote on Instagram then.

Happy parents prefer to hide the boy and cover his face in the pictures with a sticker. All the more interesting to fans was Elena’s publication of photographs from Leonid Parfenov’s walk with Mikhail. “Grandfather and grandson,” the journalist’s wife succinctly captioned the photo.

A post shared by Maria Broytman-Parfenova(@maria_broytman) on May 19, 2018 at 2:27am PDT

Maria Broitman and Ivan Parfenov with their son Misha

Leonid Parfenov’s eldest son is 30 years old. Ivan married the daughter of an investment banker, Maria Broitman, in September 2015. The wedding took place according to Jewish customs, with a chuppah ceremony. Maria and Ivan entered into a ketubah - a marriage contract.

Maria Broitman is a designer. She herself designed and decorated the children's room for her first-born. Leonid Parfenov and Elena Chekalova also have a younger daughter. 25-year-old Maria followed in her mother’s footsteps and graduated from the university of restaurant and hotel business.

She received an excellent education, graduating from the best university in the country. He came from the provinces to conquer the capital.

The story of their family began with unearthly aromas in Elena’s apartment, continued with a romantic walk in St. Petersburg and, as the couple hopes, will not end for many years.

Path to the Heart

Elena’s friend, a teacher at retraining courses for television workers, periodically showed her the work of her students. Among the many essays, articles, reviews, Elena drew attention to the very light and independent writing style of the young man from Cherepovets. And her friend promised to introduce her to this talented man.
And soon she actually came to the next gatherings with Leonid Parfenov. At first, the relationship was purely business-like: she ordered him articles for the newspaper, he gladly brought her materials and published in “Soviet Culture”.

Leonid Parfenov in his youth.

Much later, Leonid admits to Elena that at the first meeting he was completely driven crazy by the aromas coming from the girl’s kitchen. I wanted to stay in this warm, hospitable apartment forever.
But this recognition was still far away, but for now he offered to show Elena his special Petersburg, which she had not yet seen. During her first walk, she was completely blown away. He took her along completely unknown roads, showed her parks, took her into warm and somehow unusual courtyards, and sat her down at a table in an unknown cafe where rock musicians gathered. It was a completely different city, completely imbued with Parfenov’s personality. And she realized that she fell in love.

Together through all the trials

After this trip, an invisible connection arose between them, they began to write letters to each other and even call each other. And then he suddenly arrived. Unexpectedly, with an incredible bouquet, he immediately proposed marriage. He believed that he had nothing to offer his chosen one, but his feelings were stronger than thoughts of wealth.
The wedding was quite modest; even the bride’s dress was made with the expectation that it could be worn after the celebration. Friends and relatives gathered in the apartment of Lena’s parents; there was simply no money for a restaurant.


Elena Chekalova.

The couple dreamed that they would have a son, and then a daughter, and they would have Ivan and Marya. And so it happened. A son was born first, a few years later a daughter. Elena would like to give birth to a third baby, but her husband categorically opposed: the second birth was so difficult that he almost turned gray for fear of losing his wife.


Elena Chekalova with her son.

But the famous presenter turned out to be an amazing father: he could come up with special games for children, involve them in creativity, and stage performances with them. Only he didn’t go to parent-teacher meetings. But he could organize an excursion trip for his daughter’s entire class to St. Petersburg, and lead the most exciting excursion himself.

Leonid Parfenov and Elena Chekalova with their daughter Maria.

When Maria went to school, Elena had to leave her job. The daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, a disease in which written speech is not perceived. So that her daughter could graduate from school, her mother read all the material in each subject out loud to her. And she understood: her daughter was unlikely to be able to get a higher education, but she could very well become a good cook. However, her mother’s patience and love bore fruit: in her senior year, Maria received high marks in all subjects. The disease was defeated.

The Secret of Family Longevity

They are very different, Leonid Parfenov and Elena Chekalova. She is open and very homely, he is more closed. But this never stopped them from being happy together. In 2017, they celebrated their pearl wedding, have already become grandparents, and they are still interested in each other’s company.


Leonid Parfenov and Elena Chekalova.

Leonid Parfyonov does not talk much about family life, but Elena talks about her happiness with undisguised pleasure. In her opinion, the biggest secret to their family's longevity is to remain different. You cannot dissolve in each other, you cannot live in the interests of your spouse. Then mutual attraction will not cool down and feelings will not dry up.

“When I first came to visit you, I was so amazed by the extraordinary aromas coming from the kitchen that I immediately wanted to stay in your house forever,” Leonid Parfenov later admitted to his wife Elena Chekalova, the host of the First Channel program “HAPPINESS IS!” .

- Elena, how did you - a journalist leading a culinary column in a newspaper, not an actress, not a TV personality, not a media personality, not a socialite - suddenly start hosting a program on Channel One?

Since my youth, I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. And I always had someone to treat, since guests often gather at our house. And once during one of the feasts, Konstantin Lvovich Ernst, whom we had known for a very long time, said to me: “Len, every time I eat with you with great pleasure, and at the same time you also talk about food so interestingly. Why don't you present all this on the air? Let's try". And he suggested making an original program about cooking, in which, as an appendix to the recipe, there would certainly be a history of the origin of this or that dish. I said: “Kostya, I can’t take on such responsibility, I don’t have experience working on television.”

Photo: Elena Sukhova

But the idea was tempting, and I volunteered to try myself on the “Good Morning” program so that everyone could understand whether it was worth contacting me at all. We tried and... decided to get in touch. When it was definitely decided to do the program “HAPPINESS IS!”, the first thing I did was call Galina Borisovna Volchek, with whom we have been friends for a long time, and asked: “Maybe you can rehearse with me?” She says: “Come on, come to the theater, you can show us everything there. And we will tell you our opinion - whether we believe you or not.” “We” are her assistants and administrators. I came, bringing a saucepan with me, and said: “Please help me come up with the image of this on-screen woman. What should it be like? To which Volchek replied: “Lenka, spit on it. You're not an actress. And if we come up with a character for you, you won’t be able to play it.

Photo: Elena Sukhova

So just be as you are in life, and there is no need to be afraid of anything. Imagine that it’s not a camera in front of you, but, for example, I’m sitting, just like now. And tell me everything." And I began to tell the story and recipe for French potato soup Parmentier. And when I saw that everyone was smiling and laughing while listening to me, I calmed down a little... You know, before, under Soviet rule, it was believed that the profession of a cook was somehow not prestigious. When I, as a journalist, began to engage in gastronomy, my mother skeptically said: “Listen, you received such an excellent education - you graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, worked as a literature teacher at a historical and literary school, published in prestigious publications, and now what have you become? A cook..." And in my opinion, a cook is one of the most creative professions.

This is not only cooking, but the history of civilization. I approach food as a philologist and historian.

- How did you develop an interest in cooking? Family traditions?

Vice versa. My dad was a journalist. Now, unfortunately, he is no longer alive. He worked in the newspaper “Soviet Russia”, then in various industry publications. And my mother is an editor and compiler of dictionaries, a lexicographer by profession. My parents were always very busy. My older sister and I - she is an engineer by training - were not given much attention. They were interested in books, museums, theaters and everything related to the profession. But everyday life and household chores were never a concern. They considered housework, home improvement, and cooking to be philistinism.