Leadership is lacking, says chef heading the World Central Kitchen, which provides meals for those displaced by the war
Karla Hoyos, a chef for World Central Kitchen, which has served more than 3m meals in the region since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Karla Hoyos, a chef for World Central Kitchen, which has served more than 3m meals in the region since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While he praised the work of the Polish government, he said looking after the refugees’ basic needs is a “gigantic undertaking” that needs more support. Instead of making speeches and watching the situation worsen from a distance, Andrés said, leaders should be implementing systems to help refugees find safety and to better protect women and children from going missing.
Karla Hoyos, the chef leading WCK’s kitchen near the border in Prezmyśl, Poland, flew there on a one-way ticket from Miami four days after the start of the invasion, researching Ukrainian comfort food on the plane. In six days they built the kitchen from scratch in an empty warehouse, where they now produce between 10,000 and 12,000 meals a day including borscht, chicken stew and cups of hot chocolate and broth.
In Lviv, at WCK’s Ukraine headquarters, they are stocking up on supplies which they can then distribute around the country, and working with people from across Ukraine to work out how best to support chefs who are cooking for their communities.“There are so many restaurants and small brasseries that are continuing to cook, and many restaurants with basement kitchens that are cooking and doing what they can to support shelters, orphanages and hospitals.