Today we’d like to introduce you to Alla Shelest and Mariana Shelestiuk.
Hi Alla and Mariana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
U cuisine is the first Ukrainian to-go restaurant in Austin. The opening of the restaurant was prompted by many different factors and events from dreams and passion for cooking to terrible events in Ukraine and the desire to contribute. Ukrainians are by nature very hospitable and sincere people who cook a lot and amazingly. Culinary traditions are strong and passed down from generation to generation. When we arrived in Austin, we began to miss traditional Ukrainian cuisine, which means we began to cook even more at home for family and friends. Cooking has grown into a passion, passion into a hobby, and a hobby into a profession.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At the beginning there was a fear of just starting, a fear of a completely new and unknown journey. But together with the support of the family, we were able to create something unique. Cooking is not just a recipe and the ratio of ingredients, it is creativity. The hardest part was creating the menu. After all, it was necessary to choose from the huge variety of Ukrainian cuisine exactly those meals that would be understandable and loved here in America.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about U Cuisine?
U Cuisine now is one and only. We are extremely proud to be first Ukrainian restaurant at Austin. Small businesses differ from corporations in that you put your all into it. This business is like another child you raise. We are confident that our customers can feel in every bite how much love and warmth we put into our work. Ukrainian borsch was included to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage and monuments to varenyky, halushky and deruny stand in different cities of the world. Ukrainian cuisine is distinguished by the fact that it is easy to fall in love with it, because it is not only tasty, but also homey. U – for Ukraine, U – for you, U – for yours
Any big plans?
Dreams? Let’s make it – plans! To open a big Ukrainian restaurant in Austin where customers can feel the richness of Ukrainian culture. We want to share our great historical heritage with people, to make them see and love the Ukrainian soul. Ukrainian history begins from the 5th century B.C. – we definitely have what to show and cook.
Pricing:
- Borsch – 13.99$
- Poltava halushky – 14.50$
- Holubtsi – 14.99$
- Chicken Kyiv – 15.50$
- Lviv syrnyk – 10.00$
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ucuisine.us
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ucuisine.us/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ucuisinellc
Image Credits
Photo by Elina Isakova
