The Power of Food
Food plays an important role in Freedom Pancakes for Ukraine in both the storyline set in Ukraine/Poland and the one in the United States. Janice Cohn, the book’s author, wanted to convey the way food provides sustenance to our bodies and also to our souls, and that cooking for others is a way of showing that we care. Food is comfort, something that can transport us in time and place, bringing memories of different occasions and people.
In her book, Janice introduces World Central Kitchen, an organization that provides meals for people in the midst of crises. She was struck by the idea that their chefs always strive to serve familiar food to the people they help. When feeding Ukrainian refugees in Poland, the cooks worked hard to make authentic Ukrainian dishes—and when they heard that vinegar is not typically used in Ukrainian cuisine, they changed their recipes. Paolo Volpati-Kedra has served many meals to Ukrainian refugees as a volunteer with World Central Kitchen. He noticed the way people relaxed as they ate, finally able to experience feelings of calm after days of fleeing the violence of war.
Illustration by Yana Holubiatnikova
When Janice was writing Freedom Pancakes for Ukraine, she knew that she wanted her character, Hannah, to have a fundraiser for the Ukrainian children. She imagined Hannah selling some kind of food—preferably some kind of Ukrainian food. Janice, as did her character Hannah, went online in search of different kinds of Ukrainian dishes. When she came upon a description of Ukrainian potato pancakes (“deruny”), she immediately thought of Hanukkah potato pancakes (“latkes”). The connection was perfect as Hannukah tells in part the story of the Maccabees—Jewish freedom fighters—who were victorious in liberating the Jewish people from their Syrian rulers. Janice thought of the Ukrainian people as modern-day freedom fighters.
She ran her idea by her good friend, Merrill Silver, a writer and teacher who works with adult immigrants and refugees. Merrill is an avid cook and she appreciated the central message of the comfort of food. She shared fond memories of making latkes with her mother, an activity that she now enjoys with her own grandchildren, as the interconnection of food, love, and remembrance passed down from generation to generation.
Food is Memory by Merrill Silver
Merrill in her kitchen
When Artem arrives at The Welcoming Center after a long and difficult train ride from Ukraine to Poland, he sees the food counter provided by World Central Kitchen. Reading this page in Freedom Pancakes for Ukraine made me think of Oliver Twist singing “Food, Glorious Food” in the musical Oliver. Whereas Oliver dreams about “hot sausage and mustard” and “piled peaches and cream about six feet high!,” Artem is immediately comforted by the wonderful smells of foods of his native country. They make his mouth water. Imagine when Artem will actually taste the potato pancakes, dumplings, and cabbage rolls that Paolo serves him. He will be transported to Ukraine, the home he has left behind, and the father he has left behind to fight for freedom.
Whether it is Proust’s madeleine, or my mother’s chicken soup bubbling in a big pot in a small Brooklyn kitchen, food is memory. When my now grown daughter was in 2nd grade, the children in her class had to write a Mother’s Day poem using the five senses. Everyone wrote about their mom’s perfume or soap, maybe lipstick. My daughter wrote about the smell of soup coming from Mom’s kitchen. What better compliment could I receive?
Thirty years later, I am still making soup and memories in the kitchen. My grandchildren smile when they smell their grandfather’s homemade challah in the oven and devour it at a Friday night meal. Now when I make latkes I think about Artem, too, because of Freedom Pancakes for Ukraine, and of the displaced families in Ukraine being comforted by food. I hope that one day they will be able to make new memories around food without the ever-present threat of war.
Photos provided by and used with permission of Merrill Silver