LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE:
This week’s guest on The Shift with Sam Baker podcast is Ukrainian chef, food writer and activist Olia Hercules.
Olia was born in the South of Ukraine and has lived in the UK since her late teens. After working in journalism she decided to follow her heart, her stomach and arguably her heritage, and become a chef.
She trained at Leith’s School of Food and Wine, worked in kitchens, including as chef de partie for
and as a recipe developer.But her mission is to make people rethink their attitude to Eastern European - and particularly Ukrainian - food. She has written three cookbooks, including Mamushka, which won the Fortnum’s Award for Best Debut.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, life changed forever for Olia and her family who lived in the Kherson region. As Olia says, “They lost their homes and their livelihoods, but they are all still alive.”
Her brother signed up to fight and Olia turned activist, launching Cook for Ukraine and raising over £1million for supplies for Ukrainians.
I was fortunate enough to visit Olia for lunch at home in East London (above) to talk about her new book, Strong Roots, a moving portrait of the history of Ukraine through generations of her family and a definite contender for one of my books of the year.
We also discussed being descended from a long line of powerful women, making the decision to retrain as a chef and make the kitchen a nicer place, and how it felt to discover she is a carrier of Fragile X syndrome which meant that she was unexpectedly plunged into premature menopause (and everything that entails) at just 38.
Listen to the full episode here:
Interested in finding out more about the books recommended by the guests on The Shift podcast? Visit The Shift bookshop to see a full list.
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