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'Mom, Please' Café Brings Taste of Ukraine to Los Angeles
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: UKRAINIAN CAFÉ LA
HEADLINE: 'Mom, Please' Café Brings Taste of Ukraine to Los Angeles
TEASER: Ukrainian refugee offers opportunities for other new arrivals
PUBLISHED AT: 08/01/2023 at 9:45AM
BYLINE: Svitlana Prystynska
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Krystyna Zahrebelna
VIDEO EDITOR: Oksana Babenkova
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Stearns
SCRIPT EDITORS: Stearns, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:00
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TV, R PKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO:)) [[Since Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 17,000 Ukrainian refugees have moved to the greater Los Angeles area. One of them is Olena Kochetkova, who fled to the U.S. after a rocket strike had killed her husband in their Mariupol bakery. For VOA, Svitlana Prystynska has the story how one new Ukrainian business has helped other immigrants along the way.
((NARRATOR))
Olena Kochetkova is chef and co-owner of a new Los Angeles restaurant called "Mom, Please." After her husband had been killed in a rocket attack in Mariupol, she fled Ukraine. Less than a year later, she and her family have built a thriving business from what started as a way of coping with their grief.
((Olena Kochetkova, Café Co-owner)) ((SPEAKING UKRAINIAN))
"When we got here, we were living with three families in one house. There were many children. I was making a lot of dumplings and pies for them. They all said, 'Mom, please.' That's how the restaurant was named."
[[For Radio: She says that when she and her family got to the U.S., they were living with three other families in one house. The home's many children said, "Mom, Please," as she made dumplings and pies for them. She says that's how the restaurant got its name.]]
((NARRATOR))
Their business selling dumplings and sweets online was such a success that they moved to this former pizzeria. Co-owner and daughter-in-law Inna Kochetkova says their customers are mostly Ukrainians, Americans and Chinese.
((Inna Kochetkova, Café Co-owner)) ((SPEAKING UKRAINIAN))
"Chinese clients love dumplings, and this is so interesting to them — how we make Ukrainian dumplings with cherry or cabbage, for example.
[[Radio: She says their Chinese clients love dumplings and are fascinated by how Ukrainian dumplings, made with cherry or cabbage, are different from their recipes. She says many Chinese families have tried all the dumplings on the menu.]]
((NARRATOR))
The traditional Ukrainian menu includes handmade dumplings known as varenyky, crepes, cottage cheese pancakes, cabbage rolls, soups and desserts.
Inna Kochetkova credits a strong team of Ukrainians, Americans and Mexicans for the restaurant’s success.
((Inna Kochetkova, Café Co-owner)
“It is different from their recipes. We have a lot of Chinese families here who became our regular clients and tried all our dumplings on the menu."
((NARRATOR))
Newly arrived Ukrainians Kateryna Gurova and Diana Kudrya work as baristas.
((Kateryna Gurova, Barista)) ((SPEAKING UKRAINIAN))
"I am incredibly grateful for this place because it is very important to have someone by your side who supports you and speaks the same language."
[[Radio: Gurova says she's grateful for the café because it is important to find someone who supports you and speaks the same language.]]
((Diana Kudrya, Barista)) ((SPEAKING UKRAINIAN))
"It is very hard sometimes for immigrants to find new friends. This place has true Ukrainian spirit: music, food, and friendly people. This is cool that I also have a chance here to meet some other communities and introduce my culture to them."
[[Radio: Kudrya says it can be hard for immigrants to find new friends. The café has true Ukranian spirit: music, food and friendly people. She says that it is cool she can meet other communities and introduce her culture to them.]]
((NARRATOR))
Olena Buchinski is a first-generation Ukrainian American.
((Olena Buchinski, Customer)) ((SPEAKING ENGLISH))
"They didn’t just say cherry varenyky. They are actually sour cherries, which are the correct way of having varenyky made.
((NARRATOR))
Olena Kochetkova reflects on how far she has come since that dark day in Mariupol when she lost her husband and their bakery.
((Olena Kochetkova, 'Mom, Please' Co-owner)) ((SPEAKING UKRAINIAN))
"I never expected that far away from home our food would be so popular. /// I am very glad people love my recipes and it’s given me inspiration to keep going."
[[Radio: She says she never expected that the food would be so popular, or that her family would open something again. She is glad people lover her recipes, and this has inspired her to keep going.]]
((NARRATOR))
Going forward, the Kochetkov family is looking to open a chain of restaurants and expand their frozen food business.
((Svitlana Prystynska for VOA News, Los Angeles))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
