UK hospitality businesses express solidarity with Ukraine

Hospitality operators are fundraising, collecting donations and seeking to offer visas to displaced Ukrainians following the Russian invasion last week.

Pinch bar in London’s Fitzrovia, owned by Ukrainians Yana Galiyeva and Alex Ribalicenko, is sending 15% of profits to the Ukrainian armed forces and hosting fundraising events, while the team behind #CookForSyria has launched a #CookForUkraine campaign.

Clerkenwell Boy and Unicef NEXTGen have teamed up with Alissa Timoshkina, author of Salt & Time, Polska author Zuza Zak, and Olia Hercules, author of Summer Kitchens, to collate Ukrainian and Eastern European recipes and stories, and will be organising fundraisers, supper clubs and bake sales in the coming weeks.

A JustGiving page has already raised more than £10,000 for charity Unicef. Hospitality operators are being invited to add a voluntary donation to their bills during March and can email cookforukraine@gmail.com for details to get set up and share their support on social media by using the #CookForUkraine hashtag.

Timoshkina said: “Like millions of Russians, I too have Ukrainian roots, and grew up on a beautiful diet of Ukrainian and Russian dishes. These countries have shared a complex and rich history, and the culinary language reflects this relationship in the most powerful and relatable way. I am so grateful to have had first hand experience of it and it is so important for me today to play a part in spreading the message of unity… Let’s cook for Ukraine, for peace, for freedom, for truth, for common sense, for rational thought and for love.”

Polish chef Damian Wawrzyniak, chef-proprietor of House of Feasts restaurant in Peterborough, is coordinating a delivery of clothes, first aid kits, sleeping bags and toiletries. The restaurant will be accepting donations until later this week, which will be taken to the Poland-Ukraine border.

He has also offered to pay for two visas and flights for Ukrainian chefs who are looking for work in the UK and posted on Twitter that he had already received expressions of interest and had contacted his local MP Paul Bristow. “He promised me, he will try do everything in his powers to get it done,” said Wawrzyniak.

Alex Hole, managing director of Perch restaurants in Lancing and Eastbourne, and Ben Gabbitas, head of recruitment for Frasers Hospitality, which owns Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, also offered to support visas and travel for hospitality workers.

“We’ve spoken to an immigration lawyer who tells me that whilst the challenges are substantial with employing people in Ukraine at the moment, it would be possible,” said Hole.

“We can look to relocate a whole family rather than just an individual,” he added.

The Home Secretary announced a new 'humanitarian visa route' on 28 February, however there has been confusion around the visa options open to Ukrainians.

Chef José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, a non-profit dedicated to providing meals in the wake of disasters, is offering food to refugees in bordering countries, as well as working with restaurants in Odesse and Lviv.

The number of refugees from Ukraine who had crossed to other countries was 368,000 according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees yesterday.