USA, Ukrainian soup that goes against Putin

The answer to Vladimir Putin’s invasion is beetroot soup. It is called a Porsche and its provenance is disputed between Russia and Ukraine. Two Americans in their 30s, Lawrence Faber and Emily Williams, sided with Kyiv. They imported the recipe to the United States after a two-month stay in Odessa. Now borsch is the signature dish of Bosch, a deli that Faber and Williams opened this past March in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A few days after the start of the special operation of the Russian army in Ukraine, the Americans, a married couple in life and work, donated the proceeds from the sale of borsch ($ 5,000, about 4,500 euros) to the Ukrainian. People.

Potchke, which was planned to open even before the start of the war in Eastern Europe, falls in the category of places that in the United States are defined as pop-ups, animated restaurants in the literal sense of the word, i.e. that come alive from nothing for a specific period of time. Faber and Williams have chosen a similar way to generate income as they plan to open a modern Ukrainian bistro inspired by their trip to Odessa.

Hanging on the walls of the dining room Potchke are pictures of those days spent in the port of the Ukrainian city. “The place has never really inspired us,” Faber told the New York Times, noting that he was particularly influenced by Jewish culture rooted in Odessa and the menus written in Yiddish.

Shortly before their return to the United States, the couple met chef Igor Mizensev, a chef from Kharkiv who invited the two to cook venison purchased from a local farmer and search for mushrooms and berries for a side dish. “One thing I’ve learned is that being in the Carpathians is a bit like being in the Smoky Mountains,” said the American director of the mountain range on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

American chef’s soup has become so popular that customers, as soon as lunch or dinner are over, leave with a selfie with the owners. Who, at the moment, are cooking soup against Putin and turning their thoughts to Ukraine. “It is very difficult to understand everything,” they explained. “What we do know is that we had a great time in Ukraine, learned many things and can’t wait to go back.”