Yevhen Klopotenko: 'Borsch is our passport in the world'
A conversation with the Kanapa chef about UNESCO recognition of borsch as intangible heritage and the future of Ukrainian cuisine.
Yevhen Klopotenko meets me in his own Kanapa kitchen at 9 a.m. — an hour when the restaurant world is still quiet. The chef, who in 2022 personally led the UNESCO application for borsch recognition as Ukrainian intangible heritage, speaks of food as a system of national codes. 'Borsch is not a dish, it is our passport in the world,' he says. 'Every Ukrainian chef in a European restaurant has to explain to foreigners why borsch is a Ukrainian dish.'
Klopotenko talks about working with the archives of the Institute of Art Studies of NASU: in four years the team has collected 487 regional borsch variants — with different bases, additions, and serving methods. Kanapa currently rotates 12 of these seasonally — from Poltava-style with pampushky to Transcarpathian with sauerkraut. Asked about the future of Ukrainian gastronomy, the chef answers shortly: 'In 10 years Ukrainian cuisine will be as recognisable in Europe as Italian or Spanish. This is not magic, this is consistent work.'
