Johnny Clark, the James Beard Award-winning Chicago chef who runs/owns Parachute and Wherewithall with his wife Beverly Kim, and actor/director Liev Schreiber’s charity BlueCheck Ukraine, have announced a Ukrainian pop-up restaurant, “Anelya,” to raise funds desperately needed for the people of Ukraine amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Named after Clark’s Ukrainian grandmother, “Anelya” will be a two-day a week, ticketed $225 per person dinner that will include a cocktail and “zakuska” hour, followed by a seated multi-course seasonal dinner consisting of large format and personalized dishes paired with Slavic wines and beverages. Tickets for the dinner can be found here.

Clark explains the concept and the reason behind it:

"Anelya was an idea that came to me at the onset of the war in Ukraine. I’m doing this on behalf of my grandmother, Anelya Ochatchinskiya, who was a very proud Ukrainian and an even more proud American. My grandmother was the most influential person in my life, she inspired me to be hard-working, humble, and self motivated. She would have wanted me to do something like this to help others in need. I am also very excited to partner with BlueCheck Ukraine for these events. I love their model of identifying and vetting legitimate Ukrainian NGOs and getting the funds directly to the organizations on the ground. I hope these events can also help raise more awareness and ultimately more funds for BlueCheck’s cause.”

“In celebrating Ukrainian cuisine and culture, we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the freedoms they are fighting for – the freedoms we Americans cherish so dearly,” said Schreiber. “My BlueCheck co-founders and I are deeply grateful to Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim for their generous support of our efforts to assist Ukrainians in need. Great food nourishes the soul and brings us together. “Anelya,” in memory of Johnny’s immigrant grandmother, will do just that and more. It will bring us closer to the very people who are valiantly standing against an unprovoked attempt to erase their culture and independence.  The least we can do is eat well in support of them.”

The pop-up will be run by Johnny Clark, Beverly Kim, and Marina Yakush, a recent refugee who has relocated to Chicago.  Yakush has worked for many years in the food and hospitality industries in Ukraine, most recently as head of the Ukrainian Creative Chefs Summit, a symposium of Chefs and Ukrainian food culture the Ukrainian Gastro Show.

“The main goal is to promote Ukrainian culture in the world," said Yakush. We want to create the atmosphere like in Ukraine. Now it is very important to support the country, that is why I have joined this wonderful idea - the popularization of Ukrainian cuisine and financial assistance to those who are in need. My country is suffering now.  And I want to help them.I believe that the dinners should be a journey into Ukranian culture. It will be 5 dishes that have a connection to Ukranian culture and use the dishes to show how Ukraine has changed through time. You will discover a Ukraine, you have never seen.

“Anelya” will launch on 9/16 and wrap 12/3 with all proceeds going to BlueCheck Ukraine, co-founded by actor/director Liev Schreiber and, among others, two former executives of Doctors Without Borders with a 30 years of combined humanitarian crisis response experience.

BlueCheck Ukraine identifies, vets, and fast-tracks urgent financial support to Ukrainian NGOs and aid initiatives providing life-saving and other critical humanitarian assistance to people impacted by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Pro-bono due diligence partners include Ropes and Gray and Integrity Risk International. www.bluecheck.in

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