Goose in Many Ways: Tradition, Flavour and Family Recipes

An interview with Mirosława and Bogdan Liczbik, owners of Marianki Farm, who produce and sell goose products directly to consumers under the agricultural retail trade scheme.

What prompted you to expand your poultry farming to include geese?

Bogdan Liczbik:

– First and foremost, the growing interest in goose meat, its flavour and nutritional value. It is a unique type of meat that offers a wide range of culinary possibilities. Our geese are free-range and feed mainly on vegetation, including fresh greens and nettles, which they particularly enjoy. We have been raising geese for 18 years. We started with a small flock of 30 birds. As customer interest grew, we gradually increased the size of our flock. Last year, we had 580 geese, while this year, due to difficulties in obtaining goslings and their high prices, we raised around 480.

Mirosława Liczbik:

– Goose fat is one of our most sought-after products. This year, however, the geese have less fat because autumn temperatures have been higher than usual. Goose fat is used, among other things, to prepare traditional warming ointments applied to relieve cold symptoms.

You have twice won the “Golden Półgęsek” award at the “Goose for St Martin’s Day” festival in Przysiek. What do these awards mean to you, and which products earned you these distinctions?

Mirosława Liczbik:

– It is a tremendous honour and a source of great pride for us. We won our first award for goose fat with crispy cracklings and onions, and the second for pâté baked in a loaf tin. We are delighted that our products appeal to both customers and the competition jury. These awards motivate us to continue refining our recipes. We also draw on the experience of previous generations, taking advice from our mothers and from people who used to raise geese on their farms. Many traditional dishes were developed through trial and error, in response to the needs and culinary preferences of family members and our customers.

What products do you offer? Which are the most popular with customers?

Mirosława Liczbik:

– I can prepare a great variety of dishes and preserves from goose meat. I once counted that I make around 40 different products altogether. We bring only some of them to the Goose Festival, as our range is very extensive. It includes baked pâtés and pâtés in jars, pure rendered goose fat and goose fat with onions and cracklings, półgęski (traditional cured goose breasts), stuffed goose necks, czernina (traditional blood soup), and goose gizzard stew, known locally as gęsie pipki.

Recently, our goose-filled dumplings have become particularly popular. We receive many telephone orders for them. For the past five years, kindergartens in Bydgoszcz have organised special goose-themed lunches to celebrate Polish Independence Day, serving our goose dumplings to children and staff. We prepare as much as 20–30 kilograms at a time. It is also an opportunity to teach the youngest generation about goose farming and culinary traditions.

Bogdan Liczbik:

– We have customers throughout Poland, and our products also reach customers abroad. They have been showcased at trade fairs in Germany and France. We have been working with the online platform naszelokalne.pl for many years.

For this year’s Goose Festival in Przysiek, we are preparing czernina with various accompaniments, goose broth, goose gizzard stew, liver with onions, pâtés, cured goose breasts and thick slices of bread with goose fat. We will also make more than 2,000 dumplings.

A new addition will be goose bigos, a traditional Polish cabbage stew prepared with carefully seasoned and roasted goose meat. It has a milder flavour than traditional bigos and will certainly appeal to those who enjoy discovering new tastes. The idea came from my wife and daughter-in-law. We are curious to see whether our customers will enjoy it.

How do you divide responsibilities between yourselves, and who helps you with the day-to-day running of the farm?

Bogdan Liczbik:

– We have a clearly defined division of responsibilities. I look after the geese from their very first day until slaughter, which takes approximately six months. I prepare feed mixtures using crops grown on our farm, mainly maize and wheat, together with cut nettles. I also take care of the fresh forage and the geese’s daily needs. I jokingly refer to them as “my girls”.

My wife is responsible for the entire culinary side of the business, processing the meat and preparing our products. In autumn, when we are at our busiest, our sons and daughters-in-law also lend a hand, particularly with making dumplings. Their help is occasional but extremely valuable, as preparing several thousand dumplings for large orders requires extra hands. This allows us to combine goose farming with our family traditions.

At the farm run by Mirosława and Bogdan Liczbik, raising geese and preparing traditional goose dishes and products are not only a speciality but also a family passion. The farm’s name, Marianki, comes from the hamlet of the same name where it is located, near Trzebcz Szlachecki in Chełmno County.

On 10 and 11 November, visitors to Przysiek will have the opportunity to sample the producers’ specialities, including goose-filled dumplings, czernina served with traditional grey potato dumplings, goose broth with homemade noodles, goose gizzards and many other delicacies.

This year, a new dish will join the familiar favourites: goose bigos. The farm’s owners warmly invite everyone to the Goose Festival in Przysiek!