Produced in 2020, before the full-scale invasion by Russia, this upbeat Ukrainian documentary follows culinary personality Yevgen Klopotenko through many regions exploring how each prepares Ukraine's iconic dish - and their are vast differences.
The film is populated by colourful and varied chefs and borsch makers - some professional and most regular folks with traditional recipes they serve up with local wisdom.
Klopotenko's quest also showcases the very varied regional settings and peoples of Ukraine - from a small mountain village to old-world cities such as Lviv and Odessa to a cafeteria near the Chernobyl power station.
The result is a tempting array of gastric delights and evidence of Ukrainian's varied culture and character. A skilled presenter, Klopotenko is a wonderful guide. The film does touch on conflicts with the Russian invasion - as a segment on Crimean borsch was filmed in Kyiv due to the Russian occupation of that region - and the broader war (2022 invasion) inevitably casts a shadow over these regular people who just want to be left alone to cook and be with their families.
The film is populated by colourful and varied chefs and borsch makers - some professional and most regular folks with traditional recipes they serve up with local wisdom.
Klopotenko's quest also showcases the very varied regional settings and peoples of Ukraine - from a small mountain village to old-world cities such as Lviv and Odessa to a cafeteria near the Chernobyl power station.
The result is a tempting array of gastric delights and evidence of Ukrainian's varied culture and character. A skilled presenter, Klopotenko is a wonderful guide. The film does touch on conflicts with the Russian invasion - as a segment on Crimean borsch was filmed in Kyiv due to the Russian occupation of that region - and the broader war (2022 invasion) inevitably casts a shadow over these regular people who just want to be left alone to cook and be with their families.
