Cooking Demo With Anna Voloshyna, Author of Budmo!

Get excited and heat up your favorite pan, because we’ve got a virtual Ukrainian cooking demo just for you! We’re excited to announce that San Mateo County Libraries welcomes Anna Voloshyna for a special cooking demo based on her new book, Budmo! Recipes From a Ukrainian Kitchen on Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 PM over Zoom!

Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive your Zoom invitation and two delicious Ukrainian recipes from Anna that anyone can make at home.

From Ukraine, With Love and Garlic

We know what you’re thinking—what delicious, aromatic, traditonal-but-modern Ukrainian recipes will Anna be cooking for us?

Well, get out your tvorog cheese, opens a new window and garlic, because we'll be making light and springy Tvorog Herby Spread to serve with your favorite toasted bread. Plus, we'll be preparing Mom's Famous Spicy and Sour Tomatoes, an herby, spicy, sweet and sour pickled-tomato dish based on Anna's family recipe.

Guided by Anna’s experience as a pop-up chef and culinary instructor, Budmo! shows us how to reinvent classics like borscht with herby green sorrel and perfectly master hidden gems, like Anna’s perfectly-crispy-brown duck recipe handed down from her grandmother.

In Ukrainian, budmo! means “cheers,” the perfect name for Anna’s new book about the food that brings people together. By peppering each recipe with memories and love for home, the Bay Area–based author pulls us into the vibrant history and culture of Ukraine and its cuisine.

Whether you’re new to Eastern European food or just love watching people cook, we’re thrilled to see you there!

Anna Voloshyna: Bay Area Chef, Blogger, Cooking Instructor

Anna Voloshyna was born and raised in Ukraine before moving to the Bay Area. Anna started working as a food photographer and stylist, helping chefs and culinary brands tell their stories through photography. After many successes, Anna was finally offered a chance to unveil her own food-making talents through hosting Eastern European pop-up dinners. Her Georgian khachapuri nights and Ukrainian varenyky feasts became a delicious sensation in the San Francisco culinary community.

Now Anna’s goal is to make people fall in love with Eastern European food through every little Ukrainian dumpling, fluffy garlic pampushki and every single bowl of luscious borscht, as found in her stunning cookbook. To learn more about Anna, please visit her website, opens a new window or follow her on Instagram, opens a new window.

Praise for Budmo!

"Known for hosting pop-up dinners and cooking classes, Voloshyna is also a food stylist, photographer and blogger. In her debut cookbook, she offers modern and American spins on the typical dishes she grew up with, and she also includes details like food origins, customs and traditions in each recipe’s headnote. Budmo, which is how Ukrainians say 'cheers,' shares the country’s complicated history that has led up to the current war, while simultaneously celebrating its varied and vibrant cuisine." — Smithsonian Magazine, opens a new window