bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Vitaliy Aheyev from Ukraine was discharged from the army after being shot in the stomach and the leg in the war with Russia and spending 10 months in captivity.
After six years in the military, the 24-year-old needed a new job. Learning how to cook seemed a good choice, and if he could train under a celebrity with a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, so much the better.
Aheyev has just completed two months of training at a school in Toulouse, southwestern France, run by star chef Thierry Marx.
He is part of a delegation of novice and experienced chefs originally from Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city now under Russian control.

Marx, an author, television celebrity and specialist in molecular cooking – which puts the emphasis on the chemical reactions of ingredients – is known for his skills in social engagement, the local sourcing of food and his ecological approach.
A former soldier himself, Marx has two Michelin stars to his name.
“Cooking is really the only way to rekindle trusting relationships,” Marx said. “The power of social ties is important, especially in a country at war.”
Marx runs a network of cooking schools dedicated to training people he calls “casualties of life”.
Aheyev, tattooed and with a ready smile, has a reputation as the mischief-maker of the group, which is known here as “the Marik brigade” after the city’s nickname.
But even while he teases his co-trainees relentlessly, his attention is always firmly on the food he prepares – in this instance beef tataki, a Japanese fusion dish of lightly seared meat.
“These two months in Toulouse did me a lot of good, it was almost like a holiday, even though we’re working,” Aheyev said.
“We’ve discovered a different culture. The association of ingredients in French cooking is strange, but the result is very good.”

Blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon and magret de canard are staple recipes on the menu for the trainees, as are the classics of French dessert art, such as the Paris-Brest, a baked ring of pastry featuring almonds and lots of cream.
“These recipes require practising fundamental skills,” said Claude Resimont, one of the school’s instructors. “The idea is to teach them the 80 basic techniques of French cooking.”
Trainee Juliya Kurnalyeyeva, 38 – who has been working in a restaurant in Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine’s east after fleeing Russian bombs in Mariupol – is happy to acquire such skills.
She has also discovered a real passion for French pastry, such as eclairs and croissants.
“Cooking is important, it brings joy,” said the mother of two. But when the conversation turned to the war, her expression darkened. “I dream of the war being over so I can open a restaurant in a country at peace.”

Most of the trainees will be able to employ their new skills in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, where they are now based after leaving their hometown.
A renovated student housing complex sheltering 1,400 displaced people there features a restaurant dubbed “the Mariupol canteen”.
Edward Mayor, president of the Stand with Ukraine NGO – which is behind the restaurant and the Toulouse training programme – said his organisation had wanted to do “something useful and reassuring” with the initiatives.
“Those staying in Ukraine need safety, but also a home and a job,” he said. “Cooking is a way to rebuild after trauma.”

Once back in the “Mariupol canteen” the freshly trained chefs will cook “for their community” and “teach other Ukrainians”, said Marx, who is planning to give a masterclass there.
“They’re ready to run the Mariupol canteen,” said instructor Resimont.
“I was impressed by how motivated and diligent they are, despite everything they’ve been through,” she added. “I’m going to miss them.”


Ukraine chefs find hope at top French cooking school run by Thierry Marx

Sake brewers hope Unesco heritage listing will boost Japanese rice wine overseas

Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for November 15-24

New limited-edition Saicho sparkling tea inspired by a tiny Taiwan tea garden

Food and Drinks

Vitalii Aheiev (front) prepares food at an event in Toulouse, France. A training school in the city offers hope to Ukrainians who are looking forward to the day that the war with Russia ends. Photo: AFP

A trainee chef from Mariupol, Ukraine offers food to diners after undertaking the training programme. Photo: AFP

A chef prepares food at an event marking the culmination of the training programme. Photo: AFP

Trainee chefs from Ukraine prepare food. Most of the trainees will be able to employ their new skills in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine after the programme is complete. Photo: AFP

Blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon and magret de canard are staple recipes on the menu for the trainees. Photo: AFP

How Japanese chef of 3-Michelin-star restaurant Ta Vie in Hong Kong fell for French food

Chef Hideaki Sato of Hong Kong’s three-Michelin-star Ta Vie restaurant at La Table des Chefs, by Champagne brand Maison Mumm, in Reims, France. Photo: Maison Mumm

Hideaki Sato’s grilled pigeon with sesame oil and truffle at La Table des Chefs in Reims, France. Photo: Eric Vanden

Sato puts the finishing touches on a dish at La Table des Chefs in Reims, France. Photo: Maison Mumm

Sato with his wife and Ta Vie co-owner Hiromi Takano at the Michelin event in which Ta Vie received its third Michelin star, in April 2023. Photo: Charmaine Mok

The 19th-century mansion that is home to Maison Mumm, and La Table des Chefs, in Reims, France. Photo: Maison Mumm

Sato’s grilled pigeon with sesame oil and truffle is served at La Table des Chefs. Photo: Eric Vanden

How Korean food is rising across the world and the chefs transforming traditional cuisine

A dish at Baroo, in Los Angeles. Photo: Wonho Lee

A course at Baroo, in Los Angeles, fusing Korean and Chinese ingredients. Kwang Uh and Mina Park, the chefs behind the restaurant, are just two of those pushing the boundaries of Korean cuisine around the world. Photo: Wonho Lee

Kristian Baumann, the Korean-Danish chef behind Copenhagen restaurant Koan. Photo: Neve Q Photography

Sundae at Koan. Photo: NeveQ Photography

Junghyun “JP” Park of New York restaurants Atomix and Atoboy, and his wife and co-owner Ellia Park. Photo: Atomix

A dish at Atomix. Photo: Evan Sung

Mina Park and Kwang Uh of Baroo in Los Angeles. Photo: Silvia Razgova

A dish at Baroo featuring dried Korean wild mountain greens and rice served with an XO sauce made from dried scallops and shrimp, gochujang and doenjang. Photo: Wonho Lee

A chilled corn purée with apple, celery and cucumber, paired with a fermented red yeast makgeolli bread with nduja, Gouda, and lemon balm, at Baroo. Photo: Wonho Lee

Woongchul Park of London Korean restaurant Sollip. Photo: Sollip

A beef tartare course at Sollip, featuring house-made aged gochujang red chilli paste, cured daikon and truffle cream. Photo: Sollip

Dana Choi offers both Japanese and Korean dishes at her new London restaurant Jang. Photo: Eleonora Boscarelli

Choi’s Jang salad is inspired by tangpyeong-chae, a mung bean jelly salad. Photo: Victoria Burrows

Meet the ‘Bourdain of China’, why Jeff Goldblum loves Pocky, what a record-breaking white truffle sells for and more

The 908g Alba white truffle that was sold as part of a single-lot package for US$154,000 to a Hong Kong bidder at the 2024 World Alba White Truffle Auction, on November 10. Photo: Castellana

Pocky Day, a celebration of the Japanese chocolate-coated biscuits, is celebrated every year on November 11. Photo: Ezaki Glico

Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien from Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle in Hong Kong. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles from Yung Kee in Hong Kong. Learn about the different kinds of noodles served in the city, how they are traditionally made, and the foods they are typically paired with. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles. The thicker, neutral-tasting noodles are perfect for absorbing the flavours from the roast goose and broth. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Driving from their Mariupol homes, trainee Ukrainian cooks are attending star chef Thierry Marx’s school dedicated to ‘casualties of life’


Driving from their Mariupol homes, trainee Ukrainian cooks are attending star chef Thierry Marx’s school dedicated to ‘casualties of life’.


Ukraine

France

Ukraine war