I decided to illustrate the traditional style of picnic in Kazakhstan where I am from originally. Kazakh national food reflects the traditional nomadic lifestyle, so having food outdoors was a normality during summer time. Kazakhs traditionally eat at a low table called a Dastarkhān.

The following food were illustrated:

Beshbarmak - the most traditional dish consists of boiled horse meat or mutton with boiled large noodles or pasta sheets and onions.

Kumys - a dairy product made from mare’s milk fermented in big skin bags and traditionally served in wide wooden bowls decorated with silver or in painted cups.

Kurt - a traditional snack made from dried cheese and whey rolled into balls. Traditionally, kurt was useful for long treks on horseback across the steppe.

Baursak - a Kazakh national dish made from spherical or triangular pieces of dough and fried in oil. Sometimes it is described as a type of Asian doughnuts.

Shelpek - a flat cake or flatbread made in the same way as baursaks. The main ingredients of shelpek are flour, milk, sugar, butter, sour cream such as Kaymak, baking soda, salt and vegetable oil.

Shashlyk - a Central Asian dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat, similar to or synonymous with shish kebab.