Restaurateur Klopotenko was not allowed to open a Ukrainian restaurant in Japan because of “Russian” borscht
The restaurateur emphasized that the situation is “a great example of the depth of Russian propaganda,” so we need to work on popularizing Ukrainian cuisine in the world.
In Japan, chef and restaurateur Yevhen Klopotenko was denied permission to open a Ukrainian restaurant because of borscht, as they consider this dish to be Russian. He wrote about this on Instagram.
He said that he had negotiated the opening of a Ukrainian institution in Japan, but they refused.
“You live your life, work, negotiate the opening of a Ukrainian restaurant in Japan. And here you are: the Japanese don’t want to open a single borscht restaurant, because they have a widespread belief that borscht is a Russian dish. It’s clear that people will avoid this place like the plague, because, fortunately, sane Japanese have historically been Russophobes,” Klopotenko wrote.
The restaurateur emphasized that the situation is “a great example of the depth of Russian propaganda.”
“No, this situation does not reduce the scale of our efforts. It only means that we need to work even harder to popularize Ukrainian thought and Ukrainian cuisine in the world. We need to work harder to counter-propagate. And it’s good that Ukrainians have no shortage of zeal,” the chef summarized.
View this post on Instagram
In July 2022, Ukrainian borsch was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
In October 2020, the Ministry of Culture announced that the culture of cooking Ukrainian borsch would be included in the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.
