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This is a true story of taste and love!

Kilometers of roads,

hectares of fields and forests.

High mountains and salty seas.

Fast rivers and calm lakes…

Big cities and old villages…

And, most importantly,
incredible people and their values.

This is a story about our country.

About its traditions and new senses.

This is the story about borsch
that unites us!

For Ukrainians,
borsch is one of the linchpins.

It's one of the few values
that everyone understands.

We don't know
what it means to be Ukrainian,

but we do know that borsch is our thing.

As they say, borsch is a part of our DNA.

If there are hundreds of borsch recipes,
which one is genuine?

Made of meat broth or meatless?

With tomatoes or with tomato paste?

With beans or potatoes?

Potatoes are not cool for entrée.

Potatoes, spices, bull's tails…
It looks like everything is there.

Freedom is borsch.

Sugar, lard.

But without white beets,
borsch will not be good.

Here are Dutch mushrooms.

We do not put this into borsch
in our village!

Well, maybe just a little?

Ukrainian borsch is our power.

The fish is jumping.
It means it wants to get into borsch!

This is our piknytsia smoked sausage.

I never added sausage to borsch.

We will cut the baked cabbage for it.

-We have bell peppers.
-Yes, bell peppers.

Borsch will not be good
if the beets are store-bought.

Half of a sour apple.

Dried plums, berries, cherries.
This is how you vitaminize the borsch.

Honey in borsch?

She took a piece of garlic, chewed it,
and spat it out into the bowl!

In the end, I add a little bit of dill.

If we take it all together,
it might become our new love.

Yevhen Klopotenko has been researching
Ukrainian cuisine for a long time.

The famous cooking expert and chef

experiments with traditional dishes
in his restaurant.

If you look around you now…

YEVHEN KLOPOTENKO
CHEF

…everyone has probably eaten
borsch this week.

This is the meal Ukrainians
and Ukraine cannot exist without.

That's why I went to study
the history of borsch,

to understand how it works
and find the borsch philosophy.

He traveled all over Ukraine
to learn all about our borsch.

He tasted it and cooked it,

ate it and baked it,

repeated the old things
and discovered new things,

was surprised.

He found real characters

and learned what each of them
put in their borsch.

It's not all about ingredients
but about values.

What is it, this secret ingredient
of our DNA?

What is it like, our perfect borsch?

Shall we try it?

I combined many different techniques,
many various things, because

I wanted to create an experimental borsch
that would unite all regions.

We can be from the east or from the west,
from the north or from the south.

We can be completely different,

we can be for or against politics,
for or against religion,

but we still come and eat our borsch.

The borsch starts with the broth.

What should it be like?

It's highly debatable:

what meat to use, or maybe poultry?

Some say that lean borsch is not borsch.

I'm 98% sure I know
what the first borsch was like.

It was a soup with beets
and various vegetables.

Meat was not a part of it. It was vegan.

Hundreds years ago,

80% of Ukrainians
were predominantly vegetarians.

Meat was expensive and thus a rare treat.

It was added to borsch
only on major holidays,

such as Christmas.

It is believed
that borsch is a very complex meal

that should be cooked for hours,

but the first borsch was prepared quickly.

People worked hard
and did not waste time on cooking.

The ancient way of borsch cooking

awaits us high in the mountains
of Western Ukraine.

MT. YAVIRNYK

Yanko Derevliany lives on the top
of the Ukrainian Carpathians,

on the Yavirnyk Mountain,

in a place
with virtually no mobile signal.

The man is a woodworker
and mountain caretaker.

When you see him for the first time,
he seems mysterious and magical

like a Parajanov's film character.

Hello, I'm Yevhen.

Yanko Derevliany is my title.

Yanko has worked all his life
as a wood artist.

Back in Soviet times,

he was invited to decorate
a tourist camp house

on the Yavirnyk mountain.

He fell in love with this place so much

that he bought an old hut

and turned it into a workshop
and a shelter for tourists.

For the last 45 years
he has been giving them accommodation

and treating them with borsch.

Now let's make this beautiful bonfire.

Let's fry everything,
cover it with water and let it simmer.

As far as I know, almost everyone did so.

Because the cauldron is big,
and the fire is low.

So that's what we will do.

Here we do without broth at all.

We quickly cut all the vegetables
to large chunks

and fry them through on the fire
with some oil.

Next beets, carrots…

Oh! Tears.

Tears of smoke are tears of love.

To be honest,

I've dreamed of cooking borsch
this way all my life.

Okay, let's go.

Now let's add mushrooms…

and potatoes.

Next goes cabbage.
Then we sprinkle with wild herbs.

Fifteen minutes later we're done.

The primeval borsch is ready.

Yanko takes all his guests to the forest

to hug trees.

He says
that forests are our protective charms.

Trees soothe you,

share their power and strength,

suggest the right answers to those

who are lost in life
or cannot make an important decision.

You just have to believe in it
and hug a tree.

There are three concepts:
faith, trust, and acceptance.

If you have accepted a belief,
then there is no more doubt.

You mean
we shouldn't trust but accept faith?

Faith is when someone leads you.

It's not very good either.

It's not that easy to explain.

Yanko seasons his borsch with faith

in people, in God,
and in the power of nature.

FAITH

According to Yanko,
25 couples who had met here

got married quickly afterwards
and live happily ever after.

Some even got pregnant
after their tree-hugging.

Now I understand
what your energy and wisdom is all about.

Well, we should not be like idols.

We are living beings, and trees are life.

Trees are life.
Do you give names to trees?

-Well, of course.
-Really?

-The one you saw, I call it St. Joseph.
-Saint Joseph!

I always give names to groceries.
That's how I unite with them.

Yeah.

What is the difference
between cunning, smart, and wise?

The cunning one will get
into trouble and find a way out.

The smart one will accidentally get
into trouble

and will also find a way out.

And the wise one
will not even get into trouble.

WISDOM

Can you give me a wise advice?

Now that you know me a little.

I will not give you advice.

I am very glad
that you believe in your work.

Fire, vegetables, and herbs.

It is that mountain authenticity.

I think this is how it used to be
500 years ago.

A borsch with dried mushrooms and no meat

is extremely tasty
and absolutely authentic.

But what about fish borsch?

Taras Shevchenko loved borsch very much.

Describing his trip around Ukraine,

he recalled being treated
to old-fashioned borsch

with crucian carps.

He wrote about this borsch
in his autobiographical story "Musician"

and mentioned it in his diary.

We are going to Bessarabia to find
the borsch praised by Shevchenko.

The town of Vylkove
is literally standing on water.

VYLKOVE

In place of roads they have Danube canals,

and the locals call them yeriks.

They move around on boats and go fishing.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Greetings to you.

-I'm Yevhen.
-I'm Nina.

Is there…

Here is my sister Nadia.

We want to cook borsch.

We'll catch more.

Are we going to cook borsch
with that fish?

-Yes.
-Where are we cooking?

This is our oven, our miracle stove.

-It's called Harnushka.
-Harnushka?

-Harnushka, yes.
-As in "beautiful"?

Yes.

The sisters had made this stove
just before our arrival.

They used reed and clay to build it.

Such ovens used to be
in every Vylkove household.

So let's cook borsch on the yerik bank.

We take water straight from the Danube.
Everyone does it here.

I want to taste it. May I?

-Why not?
-Let's see.

I know what your secret ingredient is.

First, you cook on river water.
It's very important.

It's the water of life.

We start with the broth,
and it is not fish broth.

Fish will come in later.

First, we boil the beets.

And these are not red beets, either.

They grow sugar beetroot
specially for borsch.

-No red beets?
-No, we don't use it.

-So it's…
-Sweet, right?

It's sweet beetroot.

This is a wow moment for me.

The water is already boiling.
Let's put the beets in.

You start with…

Now that the beets are in the pot,
let's fry the fish.

This is so different.
You're blowing up my stereotypes.

-Let me throw it in.
-Yevhen, go ahead.

-Fry it.
-I'm narrating.

Okay.

-This job is dangerous.
-Watch out so it doesn't burn.

You need to cook it with love.
Then it'll be tasty.

I'm turning over the fish,

and the beets permeate
the borsch with their aroma.

We pour in a ladle of broth
and let the fish stew.

Then we return the broth to the pot

take the bones out of the fish

and add the fillets to the borsch.

This technique removes any hint
at strong fishy taste or smell.

It's a delicious and very delicate borsch,

Ukraine's answer to the Thai Tom Yam.

It looks like borsch with sour cream,

but the thing is,
there is no sour cream here.

Yes, it's called milk, fish milk.

Let's put the lid on for five minutes
and then take it off the fire.

Great-grandmother Kateryna
and great-grandfather Moysey

taught the sisters to cook this borsch.

They came to Vylkove
more than a century ago.

At that time, there was nothing
but water where the house is now.

Moysey scooped out the silt

and used it to pile up the ground
for the house and the garden.

You come here and it feels like paradise.

The trees are waving their branches.

It's the air Lord gave us.

But let's go back to meat.

After all, most of us
prefer our borsch rich,

with orange spots of fat.

It can be pork or beef,

sometimes poultry,
but it's still hearty and meaty.

The most popular is the ribs broth.

Yevhen found it in Ivano-Frankivsk.

IVANO-FRANKIVSK

Here, at the foot of the Carpathians,

lives Hutsul Mokh Perkalaba,

and he loves borsch so much

that he has transformed its recipe
into a poem.

Hi, guys.

-Hi.
-I'm finally here.

-Welcome!
-Thanks. How's the broth doing?

-It's clear.
-Just clear broth, eh?

MOKH PERKALABA
PRODUCER

Borsch. A poem.

Pork marrow bone…

PERKALABA FAMILY
GROUP

…and six or seven ribs
of a mature bull or pig.

Veal isn't meat.

Good meat needs to be mature.

Mokh Perkalaba is the producer
of a Frankivsk folk-rock band.

We are cooking our borsch
to the author's recital.

You put the meat in. The water has boiled.

When the foam appears,
drain the water and rinse the meat.

Pour more cold water.

When it starts boiling again,

put it on small fire for two hours.

This poem is actually
Mokh's family recipe.

His wife taught him to cook it.

We add eggplant to the rib broth.

By the way, that's what
writer Ivan Franko's family

used to do 100 years ago.

You need small baby beets.

Four of them
need to be pickled a day before.

Half a cabbage.
Carrots and onions for blanching.

Six potatoes, small and white.

Half of a Granny Smith apple,

half of a zucchini, garlic,

old lard, thyme, and one dried hot pepper.

Finally, parsley and dill.

In the end, we add dried thyme.

It's a local specialty

added to almost every meal
in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

In search of the borsch
secret ingredients,

we are going 140 kilometers east
from Ivano-Frankivsk, to Lviv.

LVIV

The city is known for its food culture.

Lviv has a record number
of restaurants and cafés per square meter.

People from all over Ukraine
and neighboring countries

come to Lviv for a cheesecake
and a cup of coffee.

Yevhen, however, is here for borsch.

Chef Yuri Koshyk is waiting for us

at an exquisite haute cuisine restaurant.

He is making beef broth.

He uses bones instead of ribs,

combining them with porcini mushrooms.

He also adds roasted cabbage
and pickled beet leaves.

-Hi, Yuri.
-Yevhen, hi.

Alright, so, your borsch.
What is special about it?

This is my heirloom borsch recipe,

because I am from Lviv,
a true-born Galician.

The two chefs have similar backgrounds.

Yuri did not become a chef right away.

He worked in construction,
did machine embroidery,

and even was a nail artist.

Before this, I did everything but cooking.

I even played rugby.

-Rugby?
-Yes.

So, can you do this?

I can do more than that.
I loved cooking since I was a kid.

I dreamed about running a restaurant
when I was little.

When did you say to yourself
you would become a chef?

My friend worked at our company
at that time.

He said,

"Yuri, you are a good cook. Join us."

I went to work at an ordinary kitchen

and spent a season there
as an ordinary line cook.

I liked it. It was a gastronomic pleasure,

to see people who eat your food

with smiles on their faces.
And they do it like that.

Only we can understand it.

Yuri cooks two separate broths.

He boils beef bones with salt
and bay leaf for two hours

and simultaneously cooks the porcini
in another pot.

Then he combines them.

For our perfect borsch,
we take the ribs from Mokh's poem,

add carrots,

celery, onions and mushroom broth
from the Lviv restaurant.

Can this even be not good?

The beets.

Many will call it
the borsch's main ingredient.

Indeed, beets are added to borsch
in all regions of Ukraine.

The very name of borsch
comes from a Turkic word,

that means "beets".

But beets can be very different,

ranging from brownish to snowy-white,

or white on the inside
and purple on the outside,

like Yanko's at Mt. Yavirnyk.

The borsch color and taste
depends not only on the kind of beet

but also the cooking method.

Some cook beets separately,
some bake them,

others boil them raw.

In Bessarabia, they start with beets;
in Galicia, they add them in the end.

Yevhen decided to add beet kvass
to our perfect borsch,

the recipe he brought
from the Poltava region.

Kvass is a continuation of beets.

This is when the beets
get a little fermented and become sour.

It's how it flows in our veins.

OPISHNIA

What are we going to cook?

Olena, someone is at the door.

Who is it?

Yevhen has come!

-Hello.
-Hi, Yevhen.

It's been ages. How have you been? Hi!

Ages? You're not that old.

Olena Shcherban, ethnographer
who studies Ukrainian traditions,

lives with her family
in the village of Opishnia.

She bought a mazanka clay house
twenty years ago,

restored it,
and moved in here with her family.

They live by old Ukrainian traditions:

wear authentic clothes

and cook their borsch
in a clay pot in the oven.

We do it the way our grandmothers did.

-Did you do some research?
-Of course.

It's my passion.

When I came to Opishnia,
I worked at the pottery museum

and became interested in studying pottery.

Okay.

Clay pots led me to borsch.

What do you mean?

I asked older locals about vessels
that were used to make borsch.

Obviously, it was a pot for borsch.

I mostly traveled Poltava oblast by foot,

Slobozhanshchyna:
Sumy region, Kharkiv region.

Before the war, I was lucky to visit
Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

It's Ukraine, too.

It is very difficult
to travel around Ukraine.

Besides, I'm a mom, I have children.

My oldest is 15,
and my youngest is 10 months old.

I had to spend more time at home.

So I came up with
Borsch in a Clay Pot festival.

Now people come to me
from all regions of Ukraine

and tell me about their borsch:

red, white, green, brown, cold, hot,
Easter, wedding, baptismal,

funeral, festive, with meat, without meat…

Don't interrupt me!
There are a lot of them.

I already know 100 varieties
of borsch as of today.

All authentic.

But let's talk about kvass.

Yevhen, you need to get sour beets.

How do you like the taste of my kvass ?

Oh yeah. This is exactly that taste.

Oh, horseradish!

-Cut it into sticks. Delicately.
-Sticks?

-Mom, into sticks?
-Yes.

To make beet kvass,
you need two kinds of beets:

white and red.

Cover them with water
and leave in a cool place for a week.

You need to add a big horseradish, too.

Grandmother always looked
at the moon phase.

-What do we look at?
-The moon phase.

-What moon phase?
-Quarter of the month.

You look at the moon.

First, second, third, and fourth quarters.

It's done only on the second and fourth.

It has to be a clean woman that does it.

But here a guy is doing it.

A guy is good.

Maybe because it's a guy…

…it gets fermented.

-It's the wrong moon phase.
-Got it.

Fermenting beets is an ancient tradition

widespread not just in Poltava region,
but also Kyiv.

That's where we're going next.

CHORNOBYL

This is Kyiv Polissia.

Since the 15th century,
it was inhabited by Polishchuks,

a Ukrainian ethnic group.

This is the home of the sayings,
"Borsch and porridge are our food",

"I don't go to a wedding without borsch",

"You can't cook borsch with them."

The Polishchuks made borsch
with pickled beets and mushrooms.

But you can't pick mushrooms here now.

You can't even be in this area

without special equipment and a pass.

Time stopped here in 1986.

The young and promising town of Pripyat
lays almost in ruins.

Residential buildings
are almost overgrown by trees.

No traditional borsch here.

The only place where you can eat

is the Chernobyl NPP canteen,

where they serve Soviet recipe borsch.

In 1989 I came here as a young specialist.

There were people here
who came even earlier, in 1986 and 1987.

The Chornobyl nuclear station
was already operating.

People would come here to work.

You grow up here, you live here,

it becomes a part of you.

Meet Valentyna Zavhorodnia,
a cook at the nuclear plant's canteen,

who has been working here
for over 30 years.

She met her future husband here,

a first responder.

Many people left.

Some were scared.

But the strongest remained.

Imagine you go to work and you are scared,
wondering if you'll ever come back.

That's the main theme.

It's like human relationship.

We do not start a relationship
with someone we don't trust,

or someone who turns us off.

It is alive. We have merged with it.
We live and work with it.

Valentina.

I put on a hat as you said.
Can we cook borsch now?

Let's cook Ukrainian borsch today.

-Ukrainian borsch.
-Yes, with pampushkas.

When you enter this kitchen,

it's like you are back
in the Soviet Union:

stewed dried fruit in faceted glasses,

mashed potatoes as a side dish
and cabbage salad.

The borsch is cooked
based on 1987 specifications.

So you grate the beetroots…

-Of course.
-And then?

We chop it, add butter,

salt, sugar, and bay leaf.

Is tomato paste in it?

-Of course.
-Tomato paste.

Then we stew it until it's cooked.

How many servings is there?

We are making 50 liters of borsch today.
It's 170 servings.

What's the biggest volume of borsch
you have ever made?

100 liters of borsch.

-Do they eat it all?
-They do.

Borsch on an industrial scale:

everything is being weighed on scales

and stays within a gram
from what is in the specifications.

You will not see any meat
or traditional mushrooms here.

They simply may not be put in borsch
according to sanitary requirements.

Beets are stewed in butter
not to improve the taste

but to add more calories.

-I'll eat it. Shall I help?
-Yes, please, Yevhen.

Is it five kilos of cabbage?

No, just three or four.

I will play the chef for a minute…

Yevhen, wait.

Let me stir in the cabbage
while Valentyna is gone.

-We need to add more water.
-Let's add it.

And now we can add salt.

Come on, with love.

How much salt should be added?

It's 230 grams. We have weighed it.

A little here and a little there.

Where's the romance in it?
What if you add more or less?

We'll see it through the end.

I sometimes break the rules,
but you don't.

-Now we'll dot the I's.
-Changing the recipe!

-Okay, we have bell peppers.
-And this…

-Bilozirka peppers.
-Yes, Bilozirka.

When it starts boiling,
we'll let it stew for 10 minutes.

I wouldn't let it cook much longer
so that it does not get overcooked.

We won't. We don't have time.

Okay, then… Okay, I got it.

I'm too relaxed,
and the people will be here soon.

The last part.

-We add the soul…
-The borsch's soul.

The soul.

Yevhen, wait.

A bit lower. Okay, easy, easy.

It happens often
when Yevhen works in the kitchen.

Let me stir it.

The cooking expert will try it.

Look, I would add a little bit of acid.

-No, no acid.
-Got it.

I can cook at home the way I like.

-Yes.
-Here, you tell me what to do.

Yevhen, come to work with us.

We have wonderful women here.

Good cooks, too.

Ironically,

the Chornobyl area has become
the largest nature reserve in Ukraine.

More than 300 species of wild animals live
in the area of 2,000 square kilometers.

Some of them are protected species.

As for people, there are almost none.

The Polishchuks descendants
have left this territory,

and their traditions
and their borsch recipe

are now scattered throughout Ukraine.

TOPILCHE

You combine music with singing…

Your mother, your land –

without it, life can't go on.

If our Hutsul traditions,

Hutsul music die out,

there will be no Hutsulia.

In the Ukrainian Carpathians,

near the Chorny Cheremosh mountain river,

there is a small Hutsul village
called Topilche.

Only 200 people live here.

It was named so
because of the flash floods

that ruin the bridges.

Good day.

Good day.

-But that's not how we greet each other.
-How, then?

We say "Are you well?"

-Are you well?
-That's right!

-Are you well?
-Are you well?

And you have to answer
"I'm fine, are you well?"

-I'm fine, are you well?
-That's right!

It's not that simple.

This is the Romaniuk family:
Paraska and Vasyl.

They've been together for 47 years.

They run a small business,

baking bread
using Paraska's grandfather's recipe.

We've been together for ages.

We got married when I was 15,
and he was 23.

We were all grown-up then.

-Wow. Fifteen and twenty-three.
-Yes.

My husband worked as a forester:

they planted seedlings
and worked in the forest.

They planted 250 hectares in the 30 years
of my husband's work in forestry.

And now,
we have been baking bread for 20 years.

The family is also famous in Topilche
for their musical talents.

Vasyl plays the bagpipes,
their son plays the fiddle,

and Paraska practices
the ancient technique of Hutsul singing

called ehoking.

It's how people communicated
in the mountains.

It was a long time ago,
when there were no phones,

no Internet, no nothing.

No means of communication.

For a guy to give a sign to a girl

or a girl to give a sign to a guy,

so that they could meet, they would ehoke.

A girl would ehoke, and the guy answered.

Paraska treats the nature, the people,

and the Hutsul traditions
with heartwarming care.

CARE

The secret of the Hutsul borsch

is that every mix
has to be cooked separately

and placed separately in the oven.

I got it.

And when they are ready, you combine them

in a large pot and keep cooking.

Let's do it, then.

Are these white beets you have?

-Can I see it?
-Yes, it's white.

Borsch should be made of white beets.

-Can I taste it?
-Sure.

This is fodder beet.
Not everyone likes it.

And some red beet.

I love it.

Without white beets,
your borsch will not be good.

Because there is sugar in it.

Well, sugar can be added in borsch,
but it won't be as good.

Oh, you've sliced it the wrong way;
it's not good.

Please don't scold me.

This is the way. Not like this.

That's not how we cut the meat.

Maybe this one time?

This is how it should be.

I feel ashamed now.

If you grate the beets
or use a kitchen machine,

the borsch will not be as good.

When you handle your ingredients,

you transfer your energy,
your love for this food.

So if you cut it manually,
you think more about it, you love it more.

-It gets tastier.
-Yes.

Hutsul borsch is cooked
with two kinds of veal:

fresh veal and the buzhenytsia,

the local name for smoked veal.

You can make your own buzhenytsia:

rub garlic, pepper, and salt into veal
and roast it in the oven.

Neither tomatoes

nor tomato paste are added
to a traditional Hutsul borsch.

I cooked my first borsch
when I was about eight years old.

Only eight?

My grandma told me to,

so I would learn.

I really wanted to make it.

Was it any good?

It was, grandma lead my every move.

Was she your mentor?

Yes. We all studied from someone.

They say, "If the roots dry up,
there will be no fruit."

If we don't restore our roots
so that they bear fruit…

everything will dry up.

There will be nothing.

Can I hug you for saying this?

Because I honestly believe

that if there is no past
there will be no future.

Traditionally, to sweeten the borsch,

white beets are used for kvass.

Now it is called fodder beet,

as if it is for animals only,
not for people,

but in fact it is for people.

We need sweet taste of the white beet,

and the red beet provides thickness,

so they should always be together.

Our ideal borsch will not have
white beets.

Unfortunately, it is impossible
to buy those in Kyiv stores.

We'll borrow the Hutsuls' buzhenytsia.

We slice it and put it into the pot.

The beef and mushroom broth
is already boiling

along with potatoes,
celery, and beet kvass.

The national cuisine
is something to be proud of.

Here what makes a dish national:

local ingredients,

the recipe's origin and,
most importantly, its popularity.

Borsch is everyone's favorite
from the West to the East of Ukraine.

Every area of life
has something to do with borsch.

There are legends about it.

There are films about it.
There are books about it.

There are sayings like

"I've over-borsched it,"
meaning "overdid it."

But if you explore the traditions,

they are best preserved in ritual meals.

Borsch is served at a funeral dinner.

It has been served

at funerals for at least 200-300 years.

We have it only here and nowhere else.

However,
Russia stubbornly includes our borsch

into its official cuisine.

The Russians have that transparent soup

with nothing in it, called shchi.

Please meet Hetman.

This is both his actual last name
and call sign.

He is staff sergeant of the Ukrainian Army

at the 55th Artillery Brigade.

They are at a military exercise

near Berdiansk on the Azov Sea.

They practice APC maneuvers.

In a field kitchen,
cooks make borsch for lunch.

What's your secret ingredient? Tell us.

Those on duty, they peel potatoes.

I can help.

It would be great to see you in our ranks.

I will go peel the potatoes,

and you do what you need to do.

-You're going to deal with the meat?
-Yes.

Do that,
and I'll take care of the potatoes.

Andriy Pekhterov
is in charge of the field kitchen.

He has been cooking
for the Ukrainian Army since 1989.

In the 90s, all we had was dried potatoes,
dried carrots, dried onions.

At the Zhytomyr training base,
40 warrant officers come to me and say,

"We will eat here." What shall we do?

All we had was canned meat
and jellied tongues.

That's what saved me.

In the 30 years of your cooking,
has the borsch recipe changed?

The classic Soviet cuisine
has become obsolete.

Now we do it the way
our Ukrainian grandparents did it.

The sugar, the lard.

They didn't add it in the Soviet Union.

-This is our borsch.
-Ukrainian.

Real Ukrainian borsch.

His team: assistant cook Alina.

She has been in this brigade
since the war in Donbas started.

Two soldiers, Serhiy and Vitaly.

They are on kitchen duty today,

so they have to help peel the vegetables.

They all come from Zaporizhzhia region.

Together, they went through the hell
of the war in Donbas:

Debaltseve, Volnovakha, Avdiyivka.

Such ordeals teach you
the value of true friendship.

How did you cook borsch in 2014?

-Just like this.
-Like?

The beets are peeled and ready.
We used rocks to make a firepit.

At the frontline,
our cooks worked under fire.

Under fire? And they also cooked borsch?

Yes.

Ukrainians without borsch
are not Ukrainians.

It is something
that sets us apart from the others.

Our Ukrainian borsch.

Even under shelling we… cook borsch.

We cooked vegetables in the dugout,
jumped out, boiled, jumped back in.

This borsch is cooked according
to the Ministry of Defense recipe:

pork broth, beans, and sweet pepper.

However,
Hetman asks to adjust the recipe a bit

and add his secret ingredient
of homemade borsch.

I have a secret.

I add bell pepper.

Then I add blanched vegetables.

And in the end,
I add a little bit of dill.

It brings out the taste.

-Not parsley but dill?
-Yes, dill.

If there is no fresh dill in wintertime,
you can grind dill seeds.

You sprinkle it on your borsch,
and the taste is amazing.

-It's not for everyone.
- I've never heard of it.

Well, it's a thing.

Can I use this secret at my restaurant?

You are welcome.

I came to this field kitchen
and am learning to cook borsch,

that's why I adore Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Every region, every small area
has secrets of their own.

I promise you that I will do it this way.

Let's do it Hetman's way.

This is amazing.

Borsch is Ukrainian
because it was invented here,

in this territory.

The Russians would argue with it,

but I'm sure that borsch
is not cooked in Asia or in Dagestan.

I don't think it's popular there.

Here, in Ukraine,
we cook it in every region.

THE CRIMEA

Eskander and Asan Budzhurovs
are Crimean Tatars

who left the peninsula in 2014
when Russian troops had entered.

In Kyiv, they first opened
a shop at a marketplace,

where they sold yantyk,

and then a small restaurant
of Crimean Tatar cuisine,

which became Kyiv's Little Crimea

where family, friends,
and people from the Crimea get together.

-How are you?
-Great.

I was told that he cooked borsch
with Crimean Tatar accent.

The borsch was cooked
after Eskander's grandmother's recipe.

She had been deported from the Crimea
to Uzbekistan by the Soviets.

There, Eskander learned her recipe
as a child.

It's based on lamb broth.

The blanched vegetables
are rich in spices:

here you have bay leaf,
coriander, and a lot of garlic.

-Insanely delicious.
-Cool.

What do you associate borsch with?

With Ukraine.

The Crimea has the right
for its own Crimean borsch.

I believe this borsch
represents best Crimean traditions.

It has a lot of herbs and lamb broth.

-And even qatiq suzme.
-And qatiq suzme.

I don't speak Crimean Tatar very well yet…

But I'm trying really hard.

I can't speak,

but I can feel.

What do you associate Crimea with?

Well you see this coast,
you feel this brine smell,

and you feel at home.

It is probably associated
with the smell of freedom.

And when you go to the sea
you have this feeling of home,

something so pleasant.

There still is some pressure,

but it is behind you.

You look at the sea, at the horizon,
and it's freedom.

-The sea gives some hope.
-Yes, it gives some hope.

God help us to go back there.

HOPE

Hoping for the return of the Crimea,

we add the Crimean Tatar lamb
to our Ukrainian borsch.

What color should the borsch have?

Red? Pink or bright purple?

To learn the true colors of borsch,
we go 200 km away from Kyiv

to visit Ukrainian artists

Masha Shubina and Ilya Chychkan.

These artists
often represent Ukraine abroad.

Ilya Chychkan's paintings are
in private collections around the world.

His works were displayed
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

and at the Venice Biennale.

Masha is also a renowned artist.

She not only paints
but also designs jewelry,

clothing, and interiors.

This old house has got its new life
thanks to Masha.

They both like to make everything
beautiful and delicious.

Thank you, Mykola.

Is anyone at home?

I don't see anyone.

Oh, a snowball tree.

So, is anybody home?

Where is everybody?

-Hello.
-This is Masha.

-Masha, hello.
-Hold her.

I'm also Masha. Hi.

-Two Mashas?
-I'm Masha.

There are two Mashas.

What are we going to do with this goose?

Enjoy it.

We will cook according to Malevich.

-According to Malevich?
-Yes.

Kitchen suprematism.

His famous Black Square…
is a slice of Boroditsky bread.

You know his famous picture,
Red Circle with a White Dot.

He painted a pot of borsch. Top view.

Do you see borsch?
-Sure.

The spiral is sucking you in.

And this is sour cream.

Lead paint.

This is a painting by Malevich,
red carmine with white lead paint.

Borsch, top view.

Shall I bring you a spoon?

I would eat it.

-Is it safe to eat paint?
-Of course.

-Mykola.
-Hi.

Didn't I pay for the trip?

-Well, let's shoot a goose.
-Okay.

So that it fell straight into the pan,
into the borsch.

And it becomes borsch.

There is a duck. Shoot.

This is the first time for me.

You missed it. Here we go again.

Shoot!

We have a duck!

Wow!

That's where the duck fell.

-Is the goose in there?
-Sure.

Oh God. Now I see.

First of all,
we make broth with the goose.

Right? The goose has just fallen in.

You need some vegetables,
mushrooms, goose broth.

What else?

Prunes. Because we love the Middle East.

Middle East?

We often visit Turkey and other places.

"Come buy the dried fruit!"

Come on! Go ahead!

I have always dreamed to cook this way.

Malevich is looking at you.
The Suprematists. Kazimir.

-It's a new technique.
-Yes.

Kitchen Suprematism.

The sausage, the cheese.
You look and see Suprematism.

You mean this is Suprematism?

-Of course.
-Do you add blanched vegetables?

Here they are.

-And what is this?
-Here's the salt.

Here we have Dutch mushrooms,

prunes from the Turks.

Okay. Tomato paste?

There are a few tomatoes, beets.

We are making Suprematist borsch, right?

Do you know how they painted?

-So this is the way we cook?
-Yes.

I chop it like this.

-Yes, that's right.
-I'm a Suprematist.

Yes, Jackson Pollock's technique.

Pick it up.

-And we add this…
-I'll step aside.

Borsch was born

Borsch was born

-The secret ingredient is energy.
-That's right.

-Okay.
-Twist it, twist it.

-Use the edge.
-Take more, don't be shy.

-I'm a Suprematist.
-The beautiful Dnieper…

Now we're talking.

Cooking borsch is like painting.

You add tomatoes and make it orange,

add fresh beet juice,
and the borsch becomes carmine.

We will take prunes
from Illia Chychkan's recipe,

but not for the color.

Prunes add smoked taste.

It is not always possible
to cook borsch in the oven,

so using something smoked
is always a good idea.

Borsch is a mixture
of sweet and sour tastes.

It is achieved by combining, for instance,

pickled tomatoes and white beets

or simply vinegar and sugar.

Ingredients may vary,

but the sweet and sour is the basis,

something that should always be felt
in a borsch.

OVRUCH

There is a small village of Zabolot
on the Belarus border.

It's almost a ghost village.

Only a few houses are left.

Here they add sauerkraut to borsch
to make it sourer.

Sauerkraut,
because it is not far from Belarus.

They use it there for shchi soup.

It is like an echo of that,

because it's one kilometer
from the border.

It is the influence
of the northern neighbor on our cuisine.

Mykola Pylypovych, 82,

lives in one of the houses.

-Mykola Pylypovych, good afternoon.
-Good afternoon, Yevhen.

What took you so long?

It's getting late,
and we won't have time to cook borsch.

We will make it, I'm sure.
We got a bit lost.

You live so far from everything,

it took time to find you.

Thank you for finding me
in these thickets.

Well, shall we cook borsch?

-It's already boiling.
-Boiling?

It's boiling in an iron pot.

The stove is hot,
and it will cook quickly.

-Let's go inside.
-Let's go.

Mykola Pylypovych had been
a wild-honey farmer all his life.

He used to work on a collective farm,

and after retirement started an apiary.

Now the man lives alone.

His wife died seven years ago.

Two daughters got married
a long time ago and went abroad.

-Let's build up the fire.
-Okay.

The borsch will be ready soon,
and we'll have dinner.

We are cooking lean borsch.

The broth on red beets,

and then we add vegetables:
carrots, onions, and cabbage.

And in the end,
a little bit of sauerkraut.

Why sauerkraut?
I never saw is added before.

If you only use fresh cabbage,

it turns out sweet.

And when we add sauerkraut,

-it's better and more app…
-Appealing?

More appealing.

We put the borsch in the oven
for literally 15 minutes,

and it's ready.

I just got the borsch out of the oven.

Look, what a beautiful color it has.

I have a surprise for you, Yevhen.

What is it?

Oh!

-Wow!
-It's too heavy.

Is it honey?

This is forest honey.

And a little bit of it can be added
to the borsch.

Wait. Honey in borsch?
I've never heard about it.

I add jam, sugar, or some other sweetener,
but honey?

-This is…
-And I add honey.

Why would I want sugar if I have honey?

That's right.

Let's see what we've cooked.

This is… I must say this is…

unique.

Yevhen, I want to tell you something.

I've been working bees all my life.

I love them, I take care of them,
and they do not die on me.

If only we all worked as hard as bees do,

it would be so good for us
to live in this world.

INDUSTRIOUSNESS

Comb honey will give sweetness
to our borsch.

HONEY

But it is important not to overdo it.

Nowadays,
tomatoes become are a borsch staple.

Tomatoes were not used in old times,
because tomatoes come from America,

and no one knew about America back then.

But as soon as they arrived,

the Ukrainians took them
and placed in the heart of the borsch.

You can use tomato paste,

fermented or canned tomatoes,

or you can use tomato juice.

It is that sour berry taste.

This is what we really want in borsch.

VYLKOVE

We are returning to Vylkove
where they make fish borsch.

Sisters Nina and Nadiya
add to their borsch fresh tomatoes

and specially prepared tomato brine.

Yevhen, the tomatoes.

-What do we do with them?
-Grate them.

-Nadia, into sticks.
-I love peppers.

-Don't you use tomato paste?
-No.

This is the second time I'm hearing
about grating tomatoes.

-Really?
-Yes.

How do you use them in borsch?

Very often
we cook borsch without tomatoes.

-No tomatoes?
-Only tomato paste.

We have another secret: brine.

Let me taste it.

It is sour and salty.

-It's a cool taste.
-It's overfermented.

It's fermentation,
when something ferments,

it has a cool and rich taste.

Pour it in?

-Go ahead.
-Like this?

-Go ahead.
-Like this?

A bit more.

-Like this?
-Enough.

-And now the tomatoes.
-Your tomatoes.

For our perfect borsch,
Yevhen Klopotenko made brine

based on the sisters' recipe.

He grated the tomatoes,
added salt and left it in a cool place.

Seven days later, the brine is ready.

TOMATO BRINE

You can add it to the borsch.

Spices bring out the taste of the dish.

They make it stronger.

Yevhen came to Transcarpathia
for new spices.

Here, in the multicultural Uzhhorod,

people know all about
fragrant and strong spices.

Local chef Edgar Peti has already made
a bonfire on the bank of the river Uzh.

He has published a cookbook,
owns several restaurants

and runs an online blog.

Hi!

-Hi there!
-I'm Yevhen.

Betiar Edgar.

-Betiar Edgar?
-Yes.

-Well, Edgar is your name.
-Yes.

-And what's Betiar?
-And betiar is my vocation.

What vocation?

Betiar is a Hungarian answer
to Ukrainian opryshkos

or even Cossacks.

So you are Cossack Edgar.

-I'm in Uzhhorod.
-Yes.

Every time I come here,
I come down to this river.

And now I will cook here.

It's our Transcarpathian version.

I would call it Bograc-Borsch.

What is the main principle of this borsch?

We will cook it not as a soup
but as a goulash.

Oh, so it will be really thick…

Right. I'll start with the best part.

This is our traditional Transcarpathian
piknytsia smoked sausage.

It's a little unfair.
I have never added sausage to borsch.

I didn't see anyone add sausage to borsch.

This is probably the secret.

Our Transcarpathian dishes
are a little bit different

from traditional Ukrainian ones.

Partially due
to smoked goods like piknytsia.

Transcarpathian borsch!

-Bograc-Borsch!
-Bograc-Borsch!

Peeling carrots and onions…
How do you say "onions"?

This is vöröshagyma.

- Vöröshagyma?
-Yes.

And how do you say carrot in Hungarian?

- Sárgarépa.
- Sárgarépa.

Sárga means yellow, and répa is a turnip.

Yellow turnip.

And how do you say potatoes in Hungarian?

In some countries, it's "earth apple".
And for you?

- Krumpli.
- Krumpli.

It's an old Hungarian word.

-In Hungary they hardly use it anywhere…
-But in Transcarpathia you do.

-Yes, we do.
-So what do we do next?

We put the cauldron on fire, our bograc.

-This is a real Hungarian bograc.
-This is what bograc looks like.

-It's small.
-It's small.

What's next?

Next, we put some lard in.

I usually do not recommend using
vegetable oils for traditional meals.

First, lard is delicious.
Second, the paprika.

It dissolves in animal fats much better
than in vegetable ones.

And now it's time to add paprika.

I'll taste it.

Paprika has a hot sweet taste.

It is made of ripe red peppers,
which are dried and then ground.

I don't know how much.
One needs to feel it.

We say,
"The Hungarians do not measure paprika.

The Hungarians pour it
until the voice of the ancestors says,

"That's enough, son!"

We add it generously.

-Have they said "Enough"?
-Yes, they have.

And my ancestors were saying,
"Lard, add some lard!"

We mix everything thoroughly.

-I already like the color.
-I already want to…

But we need to wait.

Paprika gives the borsch
a hue of smoked meat.

PAPRIKA

It enhances the sweet taste.

In addition to salt and pepper,

we generously season our borsch
with paprika.

Then we put it in the oven
for ten minutes or so.

If we cook any meal in the oven,

it will be twice as healthy,
because there is no live fire there.

It's just very warm,
like your mother's arms.

While our borsch is boiling in the oven,
it's time to set the table.

But Yevhen would not be Klopotenko,

if he didn't find something
to replace your regular sour cream.

So we are back in Topilche
with the Romaniuk family of Hutsuls,

who add to the borsch
a unique sour milk product, huslianka.

It's something like kefir,
but it's kind of grainy.

Take it away from me,
because I'm going to eat it all,

and you will have no huslianka.

What's the secret? How do you make it?

There is no secret.
You just take fresh milk

and you boil it.

-Boil the milk.
-Boil the milk.

You boil it for 30 minutes at most.

Let it cool.

-We let it cool.
-Let it cool.

So that it got, like…

Cold?

Well, not cold.
Like river water in the summer.

-Got it.
-Somewhat.

If you check the pot and it's warm,

you can add huslianka to the milk.

So you use it like basis, right?

This huslianka might be 20 years old.

-You use it like starter, right?
-Right.

We leave some of it
to make the next batch.

If we introduce the world to huslianka,

people will be fascinated.

We do not cook any meal
without this huslianka,

because borsch without huslianka
is no good.

I took some huslianka back with me.

When I was on the train,
the jar lid came off,

and the huslianka leaked
all over the train.

But I still brought some,
and now we use it as starter

and serve huslianka to our guests.

It is unreal.

This is a super unique sour milk product.

You can't buy it in stores,
just like sugar beets.

I think we need to give it time.

IVANO-FRANKIVSK

-Shall we serve it?
-Yes.

Tell me, is there
a proper way to eat borsch?

Your roll your eyes with pleasure.

Like this?

You need to have
Hutsul-made moonshine in the fridge

and frozen lard

from Chernihiv or Vinnytsia,

somewhere in Central Ukraine.

Only they know how to make true lard.

You pour yourself a glass and drink.

You feel as if Jesus
has walked over your chest barefoot.

You feel the warmth,

you open your eyes,

you pour yourself a big bowl of borsch,

put some sour cream on top,

and Godspeed. That's it. The borsch.

The most important thing
for everyone is peace.

For me, peace is when people
around me are calm, joyful, and happy.

HAPPINESS

Then I will be happy.
Because that's all I need for happiness.

The main thing is to find a free man,
then I can feel free.

Do you mean me?

FREEDOM

I mean borsch.

Where is the borsch?

He has to cook borsch.

Ilya knows how to cook borsch.

You are my borsch.
You are my borsch woman.

You mean the color? Easy!

You're my little borsch baby.

BRYLIVKA

-So much borsch!
-We've cooked so much.

For an entire kindergarten.

This is the color.

The color of freedom.

Let's eat this real colorful borsch.

Cabbage is sliced so finely, wow.

-Is it melting in your mouth?
-You can say it twice!

I did not expect this.

Did they teach you this in Japan?

I have never seen

cabbage sliced so finely.
Never in my life.

I have never seen such a color.

I think that Martians
fly down here for borsch.

They don't like green borsch.

They want to turn pink a little bit,
so they come to Ukraine.

-For borsch?
-Well, of course.

To make love and eat borsch.

My father worked in Novohrad-Siversky,

decorating the entry gate.
He was staying at an old woman's house.

So she says,
"Sashko, come eat some borsch."

He sits down, and she asks him,

"Do you take it with garlic?"
"Yes, sure."

She took the garlic, chewed it,

spat it out into a spoon
and stirred it into his borsch.

So I'm asking you,
do you take it with garlic?

I hear this for the third time.

This is an ancient Ukrainian technique:
people took it, chewed, spat.

Your waiters should do that.

-Do you take it with garlic?
-With garlic.

I can add some pepper for you.

The borsch costs 200 hryvnias,

and 400 with the garlic option.

Yes, definitely.

Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.

The kingdom come;

thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and lead us not into temptation:

forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
those who trespass against us.

And may all be well, Lord forgive us.
Amen.

And we bless you and this food.

Now you can eat. It will be delicious now.

Thank you. Okay.

This borsch, truth be told,

it is on the sour side.

-Because it has…
-Pickled beets.

Yes. This is
what I always look for in a borsch.

Eat, Yevhen, eat.

When my grandmother made borsch
in the old times,

the neighbors would come
and everyone sat at the table,

but it wasn't served in individual bowls.

There was this huge bowl,

and everyone ate from it together.

Borsch is that unique thing

that we need to raise high,
and hold it and go forward.

Maybe you feel bad,
maybe something goes wrong,

but you can always think of borsch,

your home, your family memories,

your parents' house,

and then you'll feel much better.

ODESA

The Bukhman family expects Yevhen
for borsch in Odesa.

We meet the father, Boris,
at the Pryvoz market.

-Yevhen, hello.
-Boris, hi.

What are you doing here?

I'm waiting for you

to show me what to buy in Pryvoz.

Pryvoz is the key thing in our life.

We will now go to the meat pavilion
and start cooking borsch from there.

Borys Bukhman is a renowned photographer

and a fifth-generation Odessa resident.

His family has a tradition
that is more than 30 years old.

Every morning,
his wife gives him a grocery list,

he takes his bag on wheels
and goes to the Pryvoz.

Yevhen, this is Pryvoz.

All those scents,
those aromas, all those colors.

You get real pleasure from it.

Look, the beans.

-Hi.
-Hi, how much are your beans?

Twenty for you. I'll give you a discount.

-And before the discount?
-It was 25.

Right away!

Well, they looked at me,

they saw all the sorrow
of the Jewish people in my face

and knew at once that I need a discount.

I'll take this jar.

Thank you.

Now to the vegetables.

-Let's go.
-Yes.

We can come up and calmly say gamarjoba.

You see?

And here you say barav dzess.

-Oh, Uncle Boria has come again.
-Uncle Boria has come again.

Vontez.

We take our grocery list.

Red bell peppers.

-How much?
-One kilo.

-You gave me cabbage.
-Yes.

Now select some good beets for me.

Now listen.

You can't make a good borsch

if we ask for the beets in Russian.

You have to ask in Ukrainian.

Look at these colors, these flavors.
It's classic.

Yellow, green, red. I already feel hungry.

You come to Pryvoz

and you immediately feel hungry.

-Did you get everything?
-Yes, everything on your list.

-Come up then.
-I even saved some money.

Marharyta has cooked borsch
before our arrival

and invited neighbors and relatives.

Bukhmans' daughter Diana
lives in the same house

with her sons Isaac and Raphael.

Okay, okay!

-Grandma, is the borsch ready?
-Are these your grandchildren?

Yes, they are all mine.

-They followed the scent.
-Are you hungry?

-Then let's…
-Look…

In summer, the Bukhmans
follow an old Odessa tradition:

bring out the table to the courtyard,
set it and invite their neighbors.

-Diana, the spoons.
-On my way.

You're too slow.

Oh, it makes my mouth water!
Where are the cups?

-Dad!
-What?

-What was I supposed to get?
-Schlimazl, forks and spoons.

I'm a girl.

All the more so.

In the old times,
people always put their initials,

their name and surname on the cutlery.

Here you can see them.

I share birthday with Odessa:

September, 2.
I was born at 10, Prymorski Boulevard.

You show off these spoons,

your old stuffs.

That's the only spoons I have.

Hush! Attention!

Hooray, the borsch is coming.

Careful.

-Okay.
-Quick.

Here.

Is it with meat?

It's chicken.

Well, shall we eat borsch?

-Yes!
-Yes!

Look how red it is.

-I want clear borsch, please.
-Borsch with nothing in it?

-Yes.
-Just the broth.

-This is healthy borsch.
-With potatoes.

Yes.
-Let me sit next to you.

-Grandma!
-It's okay. The kids will finish and…

Do you like the borsch?

-I didn't even doubt it.
-Sure.

Are you stoked?

-Itsyk!
-What?

I warned you. Come here.

-Eat. Don't say no.
-I can eat it like this.

I think I found the secret ingredient
of your borsch.

It's your family.

I want to raise this glass to you.

For your joyful,
cordial family atmosphere.

-To you.
-Thanks.

-Thanks.
-To you.

-Lechaim!
-Lechaim!

Yevhen, I'll tell you one thing.

I absorbed it with my mother's milk:

you have to love your children,
your grandchildren.

It should be unconditional love,
in spite of anything,

rather than for something.

The secret of Jewish families
is the support of their loved ones.

When there is someone

you can turn to
when you feel totally helpless

and hear "I'm here for you."

That's why you need family.

FAMILY

KYIV

Kyiv restaurateur
Valery Sozanovsky believes

that borsch cannot exist without love.

In his restaurant of Ukrainian cuisine,

we cooked borsch with his family:

his wife Lesia and their three children.

To understand
whether you are a good match,

you need to do something together.

In the kitchen,
you see at once who the boss is,

-how to behave…
-Whether it annoys you.

-Whether it annoys you.
-"No salt!"

And then in therapy she says,
"God, he is an oversalter."

" I looked at this salt for nine weeks
and couldn't work."

We have carrots, celery, beetroots,

potatoes, spices, oxtails,
Everything seems to be there.

Valeriy and I, we love red wine.

We even took sommelier courses.

-I see.
-We are going to…

Now I see why wine is added to borsch.

Wine brings this special aroma.

And saturation, too.

It smells yummy.

There is celery in this borsch, right?

I love it when you come from the cold,
you come to this warmth

and hot borsch.

-With a slice of bread.
-At a fireplace.

The borsch is delicious.
I'm telling you, Yehor.

I have finished mine.

Do you want mine?

I would eat this borsch every day.

You have the recipe now.

What do you think, honestly,

what does love mean for you?

When you feel good around a person,
when you grow up, enjoy,

and at the same time give them
a chance to be free,

support them in their development.
That's what love is.

-What do you think?
-We are just eating.

For her, love is celery and bread.

LOVE

I love whiskey.

-I love borsch.
-And I love borsch.

Maybe if you combine them,
it'll be a new love.

All the borsch ingredients,
they all come together.

It's the perfect taste.

It's the same thing in business,
when cool people get together,

they become something special.

This is a very good point.

It's like in business. When borsch
is rich, has many ingredients,

then it's the best.

-Yes.
-We are many, we are invincible.

A team that unites around an idea.

It's 10 or 20 minds
that think and create together.

Only this broad discussion
can produce a cool result.

We need to add
a little bit of creativity in the end.

-And some bourbon.
-And creativity.

Let's try.

I cook for people to appreciate it.

-Yevhen, do you like herbs?
-Sure.

-More.
-More.

Some pepper. For you?

-Yes.
-Okay.

-Thank you.
-Pepper is perfect with fish.

-Right.
-That's it.

Put the bread on a napkin.

For you. Here.

I've been imagining this taste
while we were cooking.

The biggest surprise for me
is that we achieved this taste

without sour cream.

You add it, and the borsch
becomes whitish and gets this taste.

But here, there is no sour cream.

We make orange borsch like this.
Never red.

God's mercy be with us. We trust in Him.

Thank you so much.

Yevhen, we are so happy.

So am I. See you.

-Hope to see you again.
-Mykola, let's go.

We are now heading against the current.

It'll be less deep there.

-You need a hand?
-No, I'm good.

-You don't need help.
-Here…

In this area…

-Because we'll get tired.
-No, not at all.

The water level has dropped.
It was 50 cm higher three weeks ago.

Why did it drop?

Because there is less snow melting
in the mountains.

Vylkove is my love.

Because you just go out
in your birth suit,

take a fishing rod, catch a catfish,

kiss it and let it go.

It's like a different world on the water.

I love water.

Now we are entering the Danube.

I think our bograc-borsch
came together well.

Add some sour cream.

Sure. There is no such thing
as too much sour cream.

-Now is the time.
-Yes.

What do you think?

It is 100% Ukrainian borsch
but with a Transcarpathian soul.

I'm so glad you like it.

For me, borsch is a passion,
a special kind of love.

It's deep in my heart.

NOVOPETRIVKA

-Shall we taste what we have got?
-It's hot.

We've made this strong borsch.

Borsch is strength, right?

-Borsch is strength.
-It's great strength.

-It gives you strength.
-It gives life.

-Glory to Ukraine!
-Glory to Heroes!

STRENGTH

We are different.

We make different kinds of borsch.

We have different recipes.

But each of us loves, hopes,

stands up for truth and freedom,

supports, creates,
makes friends and has faith.

Our biggest strength is unity.

UNITY

Just like in borsch,
where ingredients come together

and become that tasty borsch

we all love so much.

BORSCH OF UNITY

So let's cook the borsch of unity.

RIBS – 600 GRAMS

We take the ribs for the rich broth.

VEGETABLES – 400 GRAMS

Cut vegetables into large chunks:

celery, carrots,
eggplant, and a large onion.

ONION - 2 PIECES

Cook for over an hour and then strain.

COOK FOR 1 HOUR

We throw away the vegetables and ribs.

DRAIN

Boil dried mushrooms separately
for half an hour.

Pour it into a large saucepan.

Dice potatoes and smoked pork.

POTATOS – 400 GRAMS
BUZHENYTSIA – 200 GRAMS

LAMB FAT – 200 GRAMS

Melt lamb fat
and fry the onions and carrots in it.

Grate tomatoes and red beets
on a coarse grate.

TOMATO, RED BEET – 200 GRAMS

BEET KVASS – 150 ML

Pour in the beet kvass.

Add prunes and cabbage.

PRUNES – 100 GRAMS
CABBAGE – 300 GRAMS

A little honey.

HONEY – 60 GRAMS

Then the tomato brine.

TOMATO BRINE – 140 ML

Our borsch is almost ready.

Season generously with paprika.

PAPRIKA – 1 TSP

Add salt and pepper.

A pinch of thyme.

The borsch seethes and ripens.

HUSLIANKA – 1 TSP

Serve with huslianka,

sprinkled with dill.

Enjoy your meal!

My father taught me.

It happened so
that he taught me to cook borsch.

Seriously? So it runs in the family.

Maybe you became a chef
because of your grandfather.

He used to cook.

You mean cooking is in my genes?

Perhaps.

I was introduced to borsch

when I was five or six years old.

I was at my grandmother's.
I saw what a wood stove was.

And when she opened this oven,
there was a pot

and a chicken leg was sticking out of it.

-A chicken leg?
-It was the borsch

that I'll remember forever.

Take it from there.

It must be wild carrots.

No, don't eat it.

Why?

You can't eat everything you see,
you'll get poisoned.

So what, you can't eat it?

Even goats don't eat it.