Vancouver and B.C. restaurants, wineries, distilleries, and more support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine
Folks in food and beverage across the province are raising funds to help people in need in the face of Russia’s invasion
Clockwise from top: Kozak Restaurant Gastown; Kozak Food Group’s “Patriot” varenyky; Kozak Restaurant Gastown’s Glory to Ukraine shot. Photos by @KozakUkrainianFood
WITH RUSSIA’S SAVAGE attack on Ukraine ongoing, several members of B.C.’s food and beverage community are raising funds to help those affected by the devastating invasion.
Kozak Food Group has been growing ever since Irina Karpenko and Sergiy Kuznietsov opened what was then called Solodko Bakery in 2014, two years after the couple moved to B.C. from Kyiv. They started out selling sweet and savoury goods at various farmers markets from Steveston through to the Sea to Sky region. They opened their first bricks-and-mortar location in New Westminster in 2015, adding more Ukrainian dishes to the menu, and now have outlets in East Vancouver, and, most recently, Gastown.
Borsch (with pork or in a vegan version), house-made potato-dill varenyky (pierogies), derunky (latkes), dark-chocolate babka, poppyseed buns, Napoleon cake, Holubtsi cabbage rolls, and more are among their offerings; so are special occasion breads like korovay, paska, and kolach Christmas bread.
Since the war in Ukraine began, Kozak has been raising funds through sales of various items at all three locations, including “Patriot” varenyky, in blue and yellow; borsch lunches; and, at the Gastown location, Glory To Ukraine shots made of Advocaat and Blue Curaçao. Kozak has also been selling pins, stickers, and other goods, with proceeds going directly to humanitarian efforts in the cofounders’ home country, where several of their family members and loved ones live.
Anh and Chi. Photo by Leila Kwok
The family members behind Mount Pleasant Vietnamese restaurant Anh and Chi—former refugees themselves—have launched a campaign to help raise funds for Ukraine via the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - Canada. Until May 15, 2022, proceeds from Anh and Chi’s Reservation-By-Donation program will be donated to the cause, which will help the expected four million displaced Ukrainians with shelter, food, and necessities. Sibling owners Amelie Nguyen and Vincent Nguyen are matching donations up to $5,000.
“Our parents, Lý and Hoàng Nguyễn, arrived in Vancouver as Vietnamese refugees by boat in 1980 and what is happening in Ukraine reminds our family of that devastating time - the displacement of so many women, children and seniors,” Amelie Nguyen said in a release. “I was starting to feel helpless with the tragedy over in Ukraine, not to mention other ongoing crises around the world, until our family friends Tammy Dao and Nhung Davis of Lac Viet Education Society reached out to us to fundraise for Ukraine.”
“Tammy and Nhung exemplify what it means to have a grassroots movement and to empower our own community to bring about change,” she said. “In honour of our Vietnamese heritage and along with elders, brothers and sisters, we are getting creative once again. We are standing together with fellow BC Vietnamese Canadians to support the people of Ukraine.”
The independent eatery’s Reservation-By-Donation program has, since its inception in December 2020, raised over $50,000 for local charities, including the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Vancouver Black Therapy Fund, Backpack Buddies, and Immigrant Services Society of BC, to name a few. This is the first international campaign the program has supported. Guests have the option of bookings a table for $10 per person in advance, with all proceeds going to the rotating selected charity. (Reservations are not required to dine at Anh and Chi.)
On March 25, the Lac Viet Education Society, along with several Vietnamese community leaders, are hosting a fundraising banquet with live music, silent auction, and 50/50 draw, all for BC Vietnamese Canadians in support of Ukraine via UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).
“As former Vietnamese Refugees and Boat People our community over 40 years ago had lived through those nightmarish days when we were living in fear and uncertainty in various refugee camps throughout South East Asia and we had been the recipients of UNHCR aid when we were most in need,” BC Vietnamese Canadians in support of Ukraine via UNHCR said in a statement. “We feel it is our duty now to fundraise and assist UNHCR in their efforts to give Ukrainians who need an urgent lifeline, give urgent medical aid, provide emergency relief and evacuation transport and bring food and shelter to those displaced civilians.”
The banquet dinner takes place March 25 from 6 pm to 1 am at Pink Pearl Seafood Restaurant. All net proceeds from the event will be forwarded to UNHCR-Canada.
People can also make donations through the secured website of UNHCR-Canada and tax-deductible receipts will be issued instantaneously.
Odd Society Spirits.
Odd Society Spirits, a small-batch distillery and tasting lounge in East Vancouver, is donating to World Central Kitchen to help with humanitarian efforts in and for Ukraine. Having seen an uptick in sales of its vodka since the BCLDB pulled all Russian products from BC liquor stores, Odd Society Spirits is putting 20 percent of its East Van Vodka proceeds toward the organization’s efforts.
World Central Kitchen is an NGO of chefs that provides meals to the frontlines in conflicts around the world. As the #ChefsForUkraine relief effort grows, the group has served more than 1 million meals and counting to Ukrainian refugees in the past few weeks.
WCK is distributing food—including hot, fresh meals—in multiple cities, including Przemyśl, Poland, near the border with Ukraine. There, in the newest WCK Relief Kitchen, the team has the capacity to scale up and cook 100,000 meals per day utilizing 12 massive WCK paella pans and 12 large ovens. The group also has multiple warehouses in Lviv where trucks are filled with food to head east, reaching cities like Odessa and Mykolayiv, and is helping restaurants serve meals in Kharkiv and Kyiv, which remain under active attack.
With the majority of refugees from Ukraine arriving in Poland, WCK has established 24/7 meal distributions at all eight border crossings. They serve hot soup and other dishes through the cold nights as well as hot cocoa, tea, and coffee.
TIME Family of Wines.
TIME Family of Wines is another local venture that is supporting World Central Kitchen. Team members of the Penticton-based wine grower have spoken with many neighbours there who have family members trying to stay safe in the Ukraine. To help, TIME is donating $1 from every Skip The Dishes order and $2 from every Original Burger sold on-site to WCK until the end of March. Guests can also contribute with donations of any amount through purchases in the tasting room.
The Chickadee Room.
In April, the Chickadee Room in Juke will be supporting Ukraine in its monthly Cocktails for a Cause program by bar manager Sabrine Dhaliwal. Each month, Dhaliwal creates three new cocktails, with a dollar from every drink going toward the selected cause—in this case, Red Cross Canada.
Each of the April libations is named after a Ukrainian landmark. Askania-Nova (Europe’s largest and oldest UNESCO Biosphere, located near the Oleshky Sands), combines Campari, with Grand Marnier, and orange and lemon juice; Potemkin Stairs, considered the formal entrance into the city of Odessa from the sea, features Aperol, apricot, jasmine green tea, lemon, orange bitters, and Prosecco. Finally, taking its title from Lutsk’s most prominent landmark (which is found on the 200 hryvnia bill), Lubart’s Castle is a potent mix of Wild Turkey 101, Cynar, Aperol, Cassis, Peychauds, and cocoa bitters.
Mon Paris Patisserie.
On Macaron Day, March 20, Mon Paris Patisserie donated 50 percent of sales of its Cherry Blossom Macarons to World Central Kitchen. Chef-founder Elena Krasnova’s ancestry is Ukrainian and Russian, the culinary artists stating: “The current crisis in Ukraine is deeply personal for our family. As we can’t be there in person to help, we want to give back by supporting a charity that is working on the front lines feeding people warm and nutritious meals.”
Check back here for news of other local culinary creatives contributing to the Ukraine; we'll update this space as information becomes available.
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