You possibly can’t say you’ve visited New York Metropolis’s East Village with out stopping at Veselka. For the reason that Nineteen Fifties, the mom-and-pop restaurant has been the go-to spot for “Ukrainian soul meals.” And to today, the cooks at Veselka churn out dishes primarily based on household recipes, together with kilos of selfmade borscht, potato pancakes, and over 3,000 handmade pierogies all earlier than most individuals even get off the bed within the morning.
“One in every of our staples right here is our selfmade pierogies,” says third-generation proprietor Jason Birchard. “Every single day we begin our day right here at 8 a.m.”
Veselka has a workforce of six cooks who make the pierogies totally by hand, together with the dough and the assorted fillings.
“We’ll produce on common, between two and three,000 in the middle of their workday, per day, with as much as 5,000 on weekends,” says Birchard.
The most well-liked pierogi filling is potato and cheese, which comprises shredded, oiled potatoes, farmer cheese, eggs, sugar, cream of wheat, salt, and pepper. All of that is combined by hand earlier than being stuffed into the pierogi dough.
“That’s the lure of what we do right here, every thing’s handmade, and, , it’s a labor of affection,” says Birchard. “These girls are available right here and do that each day with out complaining, it’s one thing that they like to do.”
The restaurant additionally sponsors refugees from the battle in Ukraine. Birchard says he’s utilized for 12 folks to return from Ukraine to the U.S. and 10 of them have been accepted, with most of them working on the restaurant.
Watch the complete video to see how Veselka’s cooks make pierogi dough, potato pancakes, and the Ukranian honey cake medovyk, and to study extra about Brichard’s efforts to sponsor refugees from the battle in Ukraine.
