Liia's Kitchen ウクライナのふるさとの味

Ukraine House Japan is launching a new cooking video podcast that introduces authentic Ukrainian home cooking to Japanese audiences with the support of ZenGroup Inc.

At Ukraine House Japan, we have long wanted to create a video series introducing authentic Ukrainian home cooking to Japanese audiences. We believe that recipes alone cannot fully convey the richness of Ukrainian culture. Every traditional dish carries a story—of family, childhood, celebrations, and the people who prepare it with love.

When we met Liia, we realized that her personal story reflected exactly what we hoped to share. Her experience, together with our desire to introduce Ukrainian cuisine through the stories behind each recipe, became the foundation of a new project.

That is how Liia's Kitchen – ウクライナのふるさとの味 came to life.

Before introducing the podcast itself, we would like to share Liia's story in her own words. It is a story of loss, resilience, and rediscovering the feeling of home through Ukrainian cuisine.

“Hello everyone! My name is Liia.

I was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. In 2014, when I was 11 years old, my family was forced to leave our home after the city was occupied by russia. We moved to a small mining town in the Donetsk region with the symbolic name of Ukrainsk ("Ukrainian"). After russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, that town was occupied as well.

Later that year, I came to Japan.

I arrived without my family, without friends, and with very little idea of what my new life would be like.

At first, everything around me now give this in Ukrainian and in easy understandable and modern Japanese fascinated me. Japan was completely different: the culture, the people, and even an ordinary trip to the supermarket felt like a small adventure.

But as time passed, I began to miss home.

Most of all, I missed something I had never really thought about before—Ukrainian home cooking. I longed for the familiar flavors that had always been such an ordinary part of my life that I had never truly appreciated them.

I looked for Ukrainian restaurants in Tokyo, but there were only a few. So one day, I simply called my mother. Through video calls, she patiently explained every step, teaching me how to prepare the dishes I had grown up with.

Every time I managed to recreate a meal that tasted just like home, I felt an incredible sense of joy.

That is why, for me, Ukrainian cuisine is much more than recipes. It is memories, family, warmth, and the feeling of home.”

At Ukraine House Japan, we believe that every recipe is more than a list of ingredients—it is a story passed from one generation to the next.

Liia's Kitchen – ウクライナのふるさとの味 combines traditional Ukrainian recipes with the memories and stories that make them special. Through each episode, Liia shares not only how to prepare a beloved family dish, but also why it has a special place in Ukrainian homes and culture.

This is the first cooking video podcast produced by Ukraine House Japan. Like every new beginning, it is also a journey of learning. We are taking our first steps in creating this kind of content, discovering how to bring Ukrainian cuisine and its stories closer to Japanese audiences.

What inspires us most is our shared wish to preserve and share family recipes together with the memories, traditions, and emotions they carry. That shared vision gave us the courage to turn this idea into reality.

We warmly invite you to join us on this journey and discover Ukraine through the flavors, traditions, and stories of its home kitchen.

The announcement of the first episode is coming soon. We look forward to sharing it with you.