What better time to listen to a chef talk than just before lunch? But Olia Hercules, a Ukrainian chef, the author of a range of cookbooks, and the founder of #CookForUkraine, a charitable initiative which has raised considerable funds for aid after the 2022 Russian invasion, wasn’t in Marlborough to talk about cooking (although the subject of food, and specifically, Borscht, did crop up). She was here to talk about four generations of her family and their experiences through times of war, peace, invasion and exile.
And so began a captivating journey that was traumatic and uplifting, complicated and hopeful all at the same time. From her grandfather being imprisoned by the Russians for ‘stealing’ grass on the roadside in the 1940s to whispered celebrations and false tears on hearing the news of Stalin’s death in the 1950s, from a phone call to her parents which led them to flee their family home post the Russian invasion in 2022 to becoming fluent in Ukrainian as her own “act of resistance”, Olia’s passion, attention to detail, and skilled storytelling gave the audience a real sense of the country’s tumultuous history and what it was and what it is to be Ukrainian today.
At the start of the talk, Olia was asked where the title for her memoir came from. She told us a story her grandmother used to tell her – of how, no matter how much it was pruned, chopped up or neglected, a plant with strong roots would grow again. After listening to her today, it felt very appropriate. Small stories can paint a very big picture and, in sharing her family’s journey with us, Olia certainly left the audience with food (this time of the non-edible type) for thought…
‘Strong Roots: A Ukrainian Family Story Through War, Exile and Hope’ , by Olia Hercules, published by Bloomsbury Publishing plc
First days at Marlborough St Mary’s – comfort, connection and joy
