Anelya restaurant in Chicago became the first Ukrainian restaurant to be included in the Michelin Guide catalog. The restaurant's founder, Johnny Clark, dedicated it to his grandmother from Kharkiv, who survived the Holodomor and World War II. Anelya's menu offers traditional authentic Ukrainian dishes in modern interpretations.
This was reported by the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago.
"We have good news - the official gastronomic catalog MICHELIN Guide has included for the first time a Ukrainian restaurant - and it is Anelya Chicago! Last year, the restaurant's owner and chef, Johnny Clark, visited his grandmother's homeland, the heroic city of Kharkiv, for the first time. This trip inspired him to create a restaurant that would promote Ukrainian traditional and modern culinary traditions in the United States", the post said.
The restaurateur grew up in Cincinnati and was very close to his grandmother, who was born in Kharkiv and moved to Ohio after World War II. She survived the Holodomor and forced labor in the Third Reich. So the chef named the restaurant Anelya Chicago in honor of his grandmother.
Anelya Chicago serves red borscht, green borscht with dill and nettles, stuffed cabbage, dumplings (with cherry, ricotta, white chocolate, and bacon-walnut praline), and buttered donuts.
Clarke admits that for a long time he doubted that Ukrainian cuisine could appeal to a wide audience, and he worried about the difference between Ukrainian dishes and the usual American tastes. However, everything changed after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
"When the war broke out, something just flared up in me. I think it was all the stories I had heard as a child. And it just made me do something. I didn't know how to do much except cook. And I felt like I had an opportunity and a responsibility to spread Ukrainian food and culture because it's being threatened again", Clark says.
According to him, Anelya is not just a business, but a mission. He wants people to understand that Ukrainian cuisine is not just a dish, but a whole culture with a long history. And the world has seen that Ukrainian food is not Russian food, but that the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian cuisine have their own unique food and their own unique culture. Clarke also created vegan versions of Ukrainian classics, demonstrating the evolution of Ukrainian cuisine.
"We want you to put food in your mouth, not political statements. I feel like I'm doing it in a very gentle, fun way: showing people that Ukrainian food is real. It's something substantial and historical", he added.
However, the official Michelin guide lists the restaurant as Eastern European cuisine.
Author: Inna Mikhno