Yevhen Klopotenko

Yevhen Victorovich Klopotenko(Ukrainian:Євген Вікторович Клопотенко; born 23 November 1986) is a Ukrainiancelebrity chefandrestaurateur. His work focuses on traditionalUkrainian cuisine. Since 2019, he has run the restaurant100 Rokiv Tomu Vpered[uk]inKyiv, which features pre-Soviet Ukrainian dishes.
Klopotenko wonMasterChef Ukrainein 2015 and then studied atLe Cordon Bleu. In 2017, he led the Cult Food project to improveschool mealsin Ukraine. He has documented Ukrainian regional styles ofborscht; his work led to the dish being listed asUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritagefor Ukraine in 2022. He has supported the Ukrainian effort in theRussian invasion of Ukraineand his restaurants have given free meals to refugees.
Klopotenko has written two cookbooks in English. He starred in a 2023 documentary about borscht, titledBorsch: The Secret Ingredient.
Klopotenko was born inKyivin 1986.In 1991, he spent time living with his grandmother in England, nearManchester, where he was introduced to more diverse food.His parents taught him to cookborschtandscrambled eggs, which he credits for his early interest in recipe development.
Klopotenko learned about global cuisine on the internet, and he was inspired to become a chef after watchingGordon RamsayinKitchen Nightmares.In his twenties, Klopotenko traveled to Italy and gained an interest inItalian cuisine. He worked at aMexican restaurant in the United States, at aMcDonald'sfranchise in Germany while on a university program, and at various restaurants in Kyiv.Before becoming a professional chef, he sold homemadejam.
Klopotenko experienced breakout success when he wonMasterChef Ukrainein 2015. He then studied atLe Cordon Bleuin Paris.He created a TV series titledOdysseythat featured Ukraine's culinary traditions through historical figures. It ran for three seasons.
Klopotenko was inspired to revive traditionalUkrainian foodafter realizing that, besidesborscht,salo, andvarenyky, people were unfamiliar with Ukrainian dishes and mostly atefood introduced during the Soviet era.
In 2017, Klopotenko began an effort to improveschool meals, called the Cult Food project.Ukraine's school meals had been subject to Soviet-era regulations since 1956, which forbade spices besidesblack pepper.He took four years to develop a menu that was healthy and featured both Ukrainian and international dishes. It became the national standard on 1 January 2022.He has collaborated with First LadyOlena Zelenskaon childhood nutrition campaigns.
Borschtis Klopotenko's signature dish.In 2020, he created aYouTubeseries calledThe Secret Ingredientfeaturing people across the country making borscht.He considers borscht a unifier for Ukrainians.
Klopotenko is a proponent of recognizing borscht as a Ukrainian, rather than Russian, dish. He has described it as his "cultural frontline"and said in a 2020 interview withAFP, "I don't really like to call it a war for borscht, but in fact that's what it is."In 2018, he began a campaign forUNESCOto list borscht asintangible cultural heritage. The effort was partly in response totweetsby the Russian government saying borscht is "one of Russia's most famous and beloved dishes."Along with Maryna Sobotiuk of theUkrainian Ministry of Information Policy, he assembled a team of culinary historians and ethnographers who document recipes from 26regions of Ukraine. In October 2020, they submitted to Ukraine's cultural ministry their findings, including five liters of borscht, and the ministry approved the listing of borscht as Ukrainian "intangible cultural inheritance."On 1 July 2022, UNESCO fast-tracked a decision to list it as intangible cultural heritage in need of safeguarding.A representative ofRussia's foreign ministry,Maria Zakharova, responded that Ukraine was xenophobically refusing to share the dish.Ukraine's Minister of CultureOleksandr Tkachenkoposted onTelegram, "Victory in the war for borsch is ours!"UNESCO stated that its decision "does not imply exclusivity" but that Ukraine's application was prioritized due to theRussian invasion of Ukrainethreatening the country's tradition.
Klopotenko's documentary,Borsch: The Secret Ingredient, features his travels from 2018 to 2019, where he spoke to people across Ukraine about their recipes. It was produced byNatalka Yakymovych[uk], who received $149,000 from theU.S. Agency for International Developmentand additional funding from the Kyiv-based studioFilm.UA. Its footage first aired in 2019 on1+1as a series of short episodes and as a documentary on theIndependence Day of Ukraineof that year. Film.UA planned for a theatrical release in Ukraine, which was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.Netflixacquired the rights and pivoted the film's focus to Ukraine's cultural identity during the Russian invasion. It was released as an 80-minute film on Netflix on 30 March 2023.
In March 2019, Klopotenko opened100 Rokiv Tomu Vpered[uk](transl.Fast Forward 100 Years), a restaurant in Kyiv's city center focusing on reviving pre-Soviet Ukrainian cuisine.It was cofounded byInna Popereshnyuk[uk], a cofounder ofNova Poshta.To study historical dishes, he referred to mentions of food inUkrainian literature, such asIvan Kotliarevsky'sEneïda; Ukraine's first cookbook,Practical KitchenbyOlha Franko; and the 1913 bookFood and Drink of Ukraine, written by multiple people under the pseudonym Zinaida Klynovetska. He then traveled to learn about Ukraine's regional cuisines.The restaurant's ingredients arelocally sourced.
When theRussian invasion of Ukrainebegan in February 2022, 100 Rokiv closed for two days, then operated as a military canteen.By April, it produced 1,000 meals for the army per day.The restaurant reopened in July.
In March 2022, Klopotenko opened apop-upbistro inLvivcalled Inshi (transl."Others"), which offers free meals forrefugees of the war.When Klopotenko noticed the volume of refugees passing through Lviv, he acquired a former cafe building and opened the restaurant five days later. The restaurant lists its free options as "menu two" and avoids referring to its customers as refugees. The free menu is funded by paying customers, donations, and Klopotenko's own money.
In April 2022, Klopotenko began catering for diplomats and other VIPs on the national rail service,Ukrzaliznytsia, in an effort to gain their political support. The first he served wasBoris Johnson, whose identity was kept secret from him; others includedOlaf ScholzandBono. In November, he hosted a series of dinners in the United Kingdom to raise money for victims of the war.
In October 2021, Klopotenko released an English-language cookbook with seventy recipes, including varynyky,holubtsi,deruny, and severalborschtrecipes he found across the country.
Klopotenko's second cookbook in English,The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen, was released on 15 May 2024 in the United Kingdom and the United States. It is published under the imprintVoraciousworldwide andRobinsonin the United Kingdom.He called the book a "love letter to the diverse culture and foodways of Ukraine."It received reviews byBooklistandPublishers Weeklyand a starred review fromLibrary Journal.
In 2021, Klopotenko was included in the 50 Next ranking byThe World's 50 Best Restaurants, the first Ukrainian to be listed.
Klopotenko is Ukraine’s most famous celebrity chef.He is known for his fashion, with unruly curly hair.For his enthusiastic public appearances, he has been called "Ukraine'sJamie Oliver".
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaped his image as an ambassador defendingUkrainian culture.He was one of the people featured inTimewhen it listed "Volodymyr Zelenskyand the Spirit of Ukraine" as the 2022Person of the Year.