Borshch Cook Off Heartwarming Affair

Borshch Cook Off Heartwarming Affair

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

The Borshch Cook Off is one of the most heartwarming and enchanting events at the Babas & Borshch Ukrainian Festival. The 2022 contest, which was held on Aug. 28 in Lamont, was no exception as contestants shared personal stories and spoke about some of the ingredients they used in their soups.

Contestant Linda Goodsir said no two batches are ever the same, and her batch of borshch won over all of the judges to claim top prize. Goodsir said she grew up near Delph, which is located in Lamont County. Her ingredients came from her garden and said she entered the competition because she is Ukrainian and her sister competed in the event a few years ago.

The contestant who won over the hearts of judges Natalia Shevchenko, Brad Smoliak and Donovan Workun was eight-year-old Lily Luszczek from Sturgeon County. Lily was accompanied by her Baba Stefania Jarzabek, who resides in Mundare.

Lily instantly gained the appreciation of fans in the crowd and admiration of family members in the audience. Stefania said Lily often comes to visit and has been working alongside her in the kitchen for a couple of years already. “She’s been making pampusky, perogies and bread.”

Stefania Jarzabek and granddaughter Lily Luszczek.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Stefania, who operates her own business which specializes in Ukrainian-Polish fare, was beaming with pride and joy and added, “She, (Lily) puts lots of love into it.”

Judge Natalia Shevchenko said that Lily reminded her of herself at that age and went on to share the story of the summer when at seven years of age she decided to learn how to make borshch, spending three days a week to perfect her skills.

Lily became the youngest contestant to win second place in the Borshch Cook Off and was smiling from ear to ear when her name was announced. With a big kiss from Baba Stefania they were off to claim her special prize of a handmade soup bowl from the judges.

Perhaps the contestant who was most surprised, however, was Caroline Cherkas from Vegreville who won third place in the competition. She had never entered a cooking contest and made a meatless borsch. She served it on 70-year-old dinnerware that belonged to Olga Petrowski. Cherkas said she grew up near Vita, Manitoba.

Vita is a local urban district in southeast Manitoba settled by Ukrainian immigrants in the late 1890s. It is roughly 50 km by road from Steinbach in the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn with a population of nearly 500 people.

From L-R: Caroline Cherkas, Lily Luszczek and Linda Goodsir.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo

Phyl Toronchuk, who hails from Darling, Alberta, was cooking in honour of her mother Lois Toronchuk and her grandmother Vasilina Kachkowski. Phyl said one of her fondest memories was making borshch and is now passing on that knowledge to her 18-year-old son Nikolai who is learning to cook.

Santina Dovbush said she picked the vegetables from her Gido’s garden near Westlock and was proud to be able to present it to the judges.

The mother daughter team of Charlene and Rachael Melenka come from a long line of farmers in the Warwick area and said they love to cook and garden. The other team consisted of sisters Alexia Tychkowsky and Danicka Robillard who shared a special family recipe.