On a night filled with food cooked by one of the most influential chefs in the world, singing and an auction from Bargain Hunt’s very own, Charles Hanson, we were invited to a ‘Theatre of Borsch’ on a magical night as Community Reporter, Keimae Blake reports…
With just two weeks to plan, Nottingham volunteers along with Ukrainian Refugees organised a spectacular charity dinner with food cooked by famous chef, Ievgen Klopotenko, winner of the World Influencer and Blogger Awards 2022 and the Ukraine’s Masterchef winner of 2015. Hosted at Strelley Hall which was festively decorated, dozens of people had bought tickets for the charity gala and six course sit down dinner.
I had never tried Ukrainian food or - as the table I sat on was discussing - had never seen a Ukrainian restaurant in Nottingham but had high hopes for the secret menu from chef Klopotenko who didn’t disappoint.
READ MORE: Ukrainian refugees in Nottingham want to 'give and not take' with help from famous chef
The first was Borsch. "Don’t use a spoon! Drink it like tea” said Klopotenko and everyone in the room did just that.
With a taste of tomato and paprika, my initial thought of the soup was that it tasted very healthy and it is, one of the main ingredients in the Ukrainian dish is beetroot. Borscht was the perfect starter and I’d happily have it again, for me the soup deserved a 8/10.
The next dish was one of my favourites. It's a desert, I thought at first glance when it was passed to me but I was very wrong.
This was a beef dish with a creamy sauce, cherries and dumplings. It may sound like there’s too many different things going on however, I was pleasantly surprised.
The beef was well cooked and went perfectly with the sour cherries. I wasn’t a massive fan of the creamy sauce but the boiled dumplings were chewy goodness. The second course was a strong 9/10.
In between each dish, Klopotenko would come out and share something about the dish, this time he said: “this is banana and you eat it with the skin.”
Oh no, I thought but again, I loved it. This banana dish didn't have a yellow banana in it and tasted very much like plantain.
Mixed in with crunchy onions, the dish was a strong 9/10 again. Next up was hands down 10/10.
Everyone on my table seemed to enjoy it too as there were satisfied nods and not a lot of talking - always a good sign! This steak was cooked to perfection and also I didn’t like the side of mashed carrots, it didn’t matter as I was blown away by the flavoursome steak.
Waiters wearing black were focused and on task. The ladies and gentlemen all of whom wore black did a fantastic job of catering for everyone.
The next dish was my least favourite - but it wasn’t awful. For those who love beetroot, you’d enjoy this pike dish with a white chocolate mousse.
Personally, I couldn’t taste the chocolate and despite the fish being really bony, it was fresh. I’d give this fish dish a 6/10.
To finish everything off, dessert was served in a small cup filled with crushed apples, sheep’s cheese, blueberries and biscuit crumbs. Klopotenko said “In Ukraine we don’t have a lot of desert because we have food!” which made the crowd laugh.
Although it wasn’t a sweet dessert, it was refreshing and light. My last course was an 8/10.
To end the night, a performance of ‘Shchedryk’ or ‘Carol of the Bells’ was played, a song I’m sure many of you have heard plenty of times (Google it!) I wouldn't have guessed it was Ukrainian.
Chef Klopotenko impressed me. I can see why he won masterchef and all his other awards.
“A Theatre of Borsch” where all funds raised were sent to Ukraine for humanitarian aid was flawless. I’ll now be on the lookout for any Ukrainian restaurants.
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