Yurii Kovryzhenko
Yurii Kovryzhenko (Ukrainian: Юрій Ковриженко; born June 8, 1983) is a chef, TV and radio presenter, ambassador of Ukrainian cuisine in the world, winner of the Global Chef Awards 2017 in Singapore for his contribution to the development of gastronomy. Biography. Kovryzhenko was born on June 8, 1983 in Kyiv. His mother was a teacher. In 2000, as a student, he began working in a restaurant, and in 2008 he started working in the kitchen and studying in culinary schools in Europe. For many years he had been an ardent supporter of Slow Food. Kovryzhenko represents Ukraine in  the world association of chefs Slow Food Chefs' Alliance. Education. In 1999, he graduated from Kyiv Art School No. 6. From 2000 to 2005 he studied at the Kyiv Slavic University at the Faculty of International Relations. He has also studied in Europe at the following culinary institutions: Ecole Ritz Escoffier, Le Cordon Bleu and École Grégoire-Ferrand (Paris), Basque Culinary Center (San Sebastian, Spain), IFSE (Turin), International Academy of Italian Cuisine (Lucca, Italy). Culinary career. In 2012, as a chef, he opened the Ukrainian restaurant "Kobzar" in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he spent two years working to promote Ukrainian cuisine  in the Caucasus region. In 2014, he headed the Vintage Nouveau restaurant at the Vintage Hotel in Lviv. In 2017, he represented Ukraine at the Chef World Summit 2017. In 2019, he was a TV presenter and chef of the culinary TV show "Dish of Honor" on STB. In 2020 he started to host the program "Smart Kitchen" on Skovoroda radio. Since 2020, he has been the president of Bocuse d'Or Ukraine, the Ukrainian office of a biennial world chef championship. Since 2020, Kovryzhenko has cooperated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine as an ambassador of Ukrainian cuisine  in different countries. At the end of 2020, a photograph of molecular borscht prepared by Kovryzhenko appeared in the Michelin Red Guide and the world-famous culinary magazine CHEF. International activity. From 2016 to 2019, he was a member of the organizing committee and speaker of the Chefs World Summit in Monte Carlo. From 2017 to 2019, he represented Ukraine at the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. In 2018, as a chef, he joined the project "Uncounted since 1932" in Brussels, which aims to promote information about the Holodomor of the Ukrainian people and its recognition by other countries. In  2019, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, he opened the Ukrainian cuisine restaurant Trypillia in Seoul, South Korea. In 2020, he coached the national culinary team for the IKA Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart. In November 2021, he was included into the oldest culinary order of France—Disciples Escoffier International. Awards. In 2017, he was awarded the Global Chef Awards in Singapore for the development of Ukrainian cuisine. In 2020 he received a gold medal from the French Association "Best of Gastronomie". In 2021 and 2022 Kovryzhenko received a gold medal, and the honorary title of  Ambassadors of the Taste for the Global Gastronomy.