SF-Based Ukrainian Chef, Food Writer Hosts Benefits To Help Refugees From Her Homeland
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) - A Ukranian chef and food writer in San Francisco who has spent years introducing people to her country's culture and cuisine, is hosting a series of benefit fundraising events to raise money for the millions of refugees pouring out of her homeland.
For years, Chef Anna Voloshyna has been trying to raise awareness about her country. Since the Russian invasion that mission has taken on a whole new significance. On Sunday, she's hosting a fundraising benefit for refugees at The Archery workspace in San Francisco.
When Voloshyna began cooking and writing about food, she wanted people to come to know the homeland she loves so much. The dishes she prepares come from her family and her heart.
"We have a lot of hearty dishes," says Voloshyna. "So, yeah, it's all very comforting, but at the same time, after dinner you just want to lay down and sleep for a while."
As she prepares her mother's famous pickled tomatoes, she talks about the Ukrainian cookbook she recently wrote that has been held up in production. The war is giving it a different ending.
"I don't hear good news. People are dying."
Anna speaks several times a day to family members trapped in their home near the Southern city of Mykolaiv.
"Basically, they cannot go anywhere, because either the infrastructure is ruined and they cannot go anywhere, or it's so dangerous because of the Russian soldiers that are everywhere. And they are killing civilians. You cannot drive your car because, if they want, they could kill you. Nobody's stopping... there are no limits to this war."
For Voloshyna, normal life has stopped. Everything she does or thinks about is tied up in the war. And like a lot of people, she is doing whatever she can think of to help...even if it's for her own mental health.
"And right now, it's like, ok, I can only cook here from my kitchen or host people but it feels so distant," she says. "It feels like it's not enough."
For Voloshyna, food has always been a unifying symbol, a common experience connecting everyone on earth. But now, she is afraid that if her country is taken, its traditional dishes will only exist in other places in the world. So, even in these dark times, she holds out hope for the day when she can once again open her kitchen to guests... this time in her homeland.
"We will welcome everyone there and I want to tell the stories. But I want to tell them in Ukraine. I don't want to tell them here."
Sunday's fundraisi,g dinner is sold out, but Voloshyna will also be part of a benefit online baking class that has already raised more than ten thousand dollars. The money will go to a group called World Central Kitchen, which is feeding Ukrainian refugees. The information is on her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/annavoloshynacooks/.