Left, participants work on preparing the meal, and, right, Andriy Savchuk (front right) and Victor Tomanek (left) are busy slicing and grating foods in the kitchen. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Sharing culture

Immigration Resource Centre hosts borscht and perogy making night

Feb 24, 2023 | 3:36 PM

Onions, potatoes, carrots, bacon and a boisterous group of budding foodies.

It was a fun night for those taking part in the Battlefords Immigration Resource Centre’s Cultural Cooking Class at the Don Ross Centre in North Battleford Thursday. The event was a partnership with Midwest Food Resources and the City of North Battleford.

The recipes called for hot perogies made with fried onions, bacon, sour cream and mashed potatoes, and Ukrainian borscht, with pork, carrots, along with some garlic for added flavouring.

Participants worked together to make the meal. Then, they enjoyed a tasty dinner, and had leftovers to go home with afterwards.

Andriy Savchuk, who hails from the west region of Ukraine, works with Battlefords Immigration Resource Centre for the Settlement Worker in Schools (SWIS) program, providing support to families settling in the Battlefords. He led the group in the cooking class.

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“Borscht and perogies— it’s a traditional [meal],” Savchuk said. “It’s nice to see people come and learn something about Ukrainian culture. For me, it’s really important. I know lots of Canadians have Ukrainian relatives. [This way] we can gather together.”

Class participants shared stories as they cooked and prepared the meal.

North Battleford resident Victor Tomanek was among those taking the class.

“My mom came from Ukraine and my dad from Poland,” he said.

Tomanek also speaks some Ukrainian and Polish.

“My mom came from Odesa [in Ukraine] and they fled in the dirty ’30s, and dad from Poland,” he said. “They ended up here, and now they are both passed. My mom made everything. She would say you make it like this, and this. But you have to have a recipe. That’s why I’m here.”

Tomanek said he wished he knew how to make his family’s traditional meals, so he enjoyed taking in the cooking class to connect with his past and learn some recipes too.

“It’s incumbent on me to try to pass that on,” he said. “My kids all like perogies. I wanted to keep the Ukrainian foods in our family.”

Tomanek is proud of his Ukrainian roots. He said especially now with the war going on Ukraine, he is particularly cognizant of his own Ukrainian ancestry, and feels sympathy for the Ukrainian people under turmoil.

He noted Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022, a year ago to the day almost. Tomanek has four friends still in Ukraine he is is worried about.

“It’s a tough time there,” he said. “How will [people] resolve this? War is terrible there. It’s a terrible thing.”

Tomanek said when he heard about this local cooking class focusing on Ukrainian dishes and culture he wanted to attend.

It was a nice evening, as everyone enjoyed the meal they made together, and shared stories at the same time.

“We chatted as if we knew each other for years,” Tomanek said.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW