The Patriotism of Ukrainians chases away Russian Dishes from the New Year Table
Two salads of Russian origin usually decorate New Year's tables in the post-Soviet space - "Shuba", including herring and beetroot, and the potato salad "Olivier" (known in Bulgaria as "Russian salad"). However, many restaurants in Kyiv have removed them from the menus - because of the war.
"We have to turn the page," summarizes the 58-year-old Tetyana Mitrofanova, sitting on one of the sofas in the restaurant, where she is organizing a new year concert that will last until the morning.
"This will be the first year for me without Olivier and Shuba salads," adds the restaurateur. "I know that for the people who come to spend the (New Year's) night with us, it will be unforgettable," continues Tetyana, who sees the upcoming party as an opportunity for a "psychological new start."
“We have many traditional Ukrainian dishes, we don't need Russian ones”, says director Anna Selesen. ”We can live without them, we even had to do this earlier.”
Naturally, she says, she will miss the “Shuba”, but "there are so many other salads to prepare".
Culinary aspects of patriotism in Ukraine developed especially strongly after 2014, when Crimea was annexed by Moscow. The Russian invasion, which began on February 24 spurred Ukrainian gastronomic patriotism, which reached its peak in July - Ukraine got UNESCO to include in its list of endangered intangible cultural heritage the "culture of borscht" - soup, for whose homeland is also declared to be Russia.
One victory for Ukraine in this "war for borscht".