One year ago, Ukrainian Natalia Tkachenko fled from Donetsk to the Netherlands with her husband and son. Once they arrived in Hilversum, they moved in with Weronika Gotek-Sapin and her family. Together, the two women opened Natalia's Kitchen
Weronika immediately had a good relationship with Natalia and her family. She herself is Polish, which means that the language and culture are very similar. "In addition, the food is also very similar," she proudly says from behind the counter of the restaurant. So she loved it when Natalia and her husband - with their background as chefs - prepared a restaurant-worthy dish for her and her family every night.
"But at one point they cooked so much that we couldn't finish it ourselves. So we had to come up with something else," says Weronika with a laugh. After setting up a successful delivery service, 'Natalia's Kitchen' was created: a restaurant with only Eastern European dishes and employees.
Different than in the Netherlands
Natalia's Kitchen is open as a lunchroom during the day, but it doesn't offer a typical Dutch lunch with a slice of bread and cheese: "We always have a hot lunch," says Weronika while serving the typical Ukrainian borscht soup. "Some Eastern Euro
pean guests sometimes get emotional when they eat here. They never see these dishes outside their home country. They can enjoy them here again."
“Bitterballen and frikandellen,
I really like them”
Natalia Tkachenko - Ukrainian chef at Natalia's Kitchen
The Ukrainian chef Natalia says that their kitchen was very unusual for the Dutch. "We do our utmost with cooking, in the hope that they like it. We want every resident of Hilversum to appreciate our food."
And that has worked well so far. More and more Hilversum residents are now familiar with Ukrainian cuisine, and Natalia's Kitchen has already gained a lot of regular customers.
Dishes Natalia's kitchen
Dishes Natalia's kitchen NH News / Eva Doesborgh
Natalia also had to get used to the food in the Netherlands. "In Ukraine, for example, you have almost no ready-made meals. So I found it really strange to see that canned soup is sold here. It tastes different and it contains a lot of fat."
But there are also Dutch dishes that make Natalia's mouth water: "Bitterballen and frikandellen, I really like those."
Weronika and Natalia both proudly look back at the past few months. They never dreamed last year that they would now be in such a successful business together. But this success is also linked to a lot of sadness: "This case would never have happened if war had not broken out. So there is a very beautiful, but also a very painful side to it," says Weronika.
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