Giving strength and support through gastronomy

“Let’s make some nice, big kiflykis. I’ll show you how to do it, and then we will taste it together,” smiles explorer of local cuisine of Zakarpattia Liubov Keretsman as she rolls out the dough. Kiflyky is a traditional Carpathian sweet, like a mini croissant with jam inside. Around her is a hive of activity; with displaced women from across Ukraine – Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia – gathered together in Uzhhorod, taking part in this bakery workshop. In the face of the war, they have left behind their lives and loved ones and are embarking on a new journey to find community, strength and inspiration in their new homes.

The smell of baked goods wafting from the kitchen is nothing short of delicious. On one side of the room, the animated chitter chatter of children who are busy decorating gingerbread can be heard.

There’s no electricity this morning. In the background, the hum of a generator can be heard, a constant reminder of the war; a new reality of daily life. The women, dressed in floury aprons and hairnets, are standing around a large table carefully following Liubov’s instructions. Despite the hardship and pain of their personal experiences of war, here they can feel safe and comfortable.

Liubov Keretsman worked as an accountancy teacher for 20 years, before turning her hand to bakery. After studying confectionary technology, she became a pastry chef and after some years, launched her own pastry classes. Key to her work is ensuring that local recipes are passed from generation-to-generation. “I studied local gastronomy, collected notebooks and books, talked to the older people and participated in fairs. I spend a lot of time collecting and preserving authentic recipes from Zakarpattia,” Liubov explains, holding out a selection of old, worn notebooks and recipe notes.

What started as a hobby quickly became a useful skill which Liubov now shares with the others, at the same time promoting Zakarpattia local cuisine. Liubov dreams of turning these training courses into something bigger like a cookery school that can help people get back on their feet. “I dream that everyone can find their purpose and start their own business. What I organize is not just a master class to make some pastry. I want to tell people how to register a business, what not to be afraid of, what to avoid, how to overcome barriers in their minds,” says Liubov, “I do all this by myself and learn from my mistakes, but if I give people the knowledge I have, it would make their path to entrepreneurship much easier. Each region of Ukraine has its own gastronomic specialties, and after the war, at home, in my home region, my current guests could recreate similar workshops if they wanted, and then I would visit them, and Ukraine would prosper economically and gastronomically.”

Liubov has been a volunteer since 2014, when the war initially started in eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea. She tried to help people from different corners of the country to find a common language with each other. With the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many displaced people found safety in Zakarpattia oblast in Uzhhorod, situated in Western Ukraine on the border of Hungary and Slovakia. Liubov wanted to help them overcome the trauma of war and displacement through sharing her passion for food.

She believes that food is one of the best ways to find common ground. She recalls how, at the beginning of the war, she met some displaced actors from the Mariupol theatre and invited them to her workshop to entertain and support them. Their resilience and bravery inspired her and showed her that she was indeed on the right path.

“I want Ukrainians to know, love and share their priceless gastronomic treasures with their descendants despite the centuries-long destruction of their culture”

“People often come here depressed and distressed, but I see how they plunge themselves into cooking, putting aside their worries and troubles.. It inspires me to see people recharge. I am very happy about it. In the process, I ask about the cuisine of the regions where my guests come from, and these are always lively, vibrant discussions in which pride in the culinary skills of our ancestors is born, and the inferiority complex that was forced on us disappears. Creativity is a driving force, and delicious creativity is also an understanding of your roots,” she says smiling.

Liubov’s initiative is one example of a local community-led business, supported by Neemia, UNHCR’s local partner organization, providing an opportunity to upskill and enter the labour market. Neemia is one of 13 local NGO partners, working with UNHCR to support the humanitarian response and early recovery in Ukraine.

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