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Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko poses with a tray of Pampushky bread in his kitchen in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 5, 2023. Klopotenko has been outspoken during the Russian invasion in promoting national dishes, especially borsch, as a way of establishing a definite identity for Ukraine. Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko poses with a tray of Pampushky bread in his kitchen in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 5, 2023.
KYIV, Ukraine — Don’t tell Ievgen Klopotenko that borsch is just food. For him, that bowl of beet-and-meat soup is the embodiment of everything Ukraine is fighting for. “Food is a powerful social instrument by which you can unite or divide a nation,” said Klopotenko, Ukraine’s most recognizable celebrity chef and the man who in the midst of a bloody war spearheaded what would become an unlikely cultural victory over Russia.If that seems hyperbolic, you underestimate how intrinsic borsch is to this country’s soul. More than a meal, it represents history, family and centuries of tradition.
And now, at the one-year mark of the war with Russia, Klopotenko uses the dish as a rallying call for preserving Ukrainian identity. It’s an act of culinary defiance against one of Moscow’s widely discredited justifications of the war — that Ukraine is culturally indistinct from Russia.Thanks to a lobbying effort that Klopotenko helped lead, UNESCO issued a fast-track decision last July declaring Ukrainian borsch an asset of “intangible cultural heritage” in need of preservation.
No more Ukraine
US tax payer pays for that soup
this was a cry for independent culture too?
Free food brought to you by USA
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borsch is Russian though, Right?
When did the AP start carrying water for the state department?
Looks absolutely disgusting. Once Russia takes over, throw that shit out.
AKA, war profiteering. 🤬
TastingHistory1 has a great video on Ukrainian borshch.
Do you mean 'borscht'? Looks about as delicious as Chinese millipede and cockroach kebobs! Yuck! Wait until I turn them on to 'two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, & cheese, on sesame buns'! Yelstin like McDonalds more than Pizza Hut!!!
Jewish Borscht is best !
that’ll show em 😤😤😤
Клопотенко галімий жополиз
Borscht is Russian and Unesco knows it. Why now? i always thought Unesco was a serious body. Rumor has it they robbed Haiti blind while excavating in the Citadel. There were Louis in gold there. While helping they took us for stupid. That could explain stealing a soup.
YanaSuporovska No need for adding beef to Borscht! It is delicious vegetarian or vegan.
Food has a way of transcending boundaries and can be a rallying point. Ukraine ♥️
His break came in 2015 when he won the television competition “MasterChef Ukraine.” You get the feeling this show was broadcast on the same network as those house-flipping shows.
This would be more convincing drivel if the dish were Chicken Kiev.
This is propaganda. Why are we pretending this is the most important country on the planet?