Following recent unrest in Ukraine, Olia Hercules began to collect her family's recipes, afraid they would otherwise be lost to her. Many appear in Mamushka, alongside stories of her delightful and sometimes eccentric family. Born in Ukraine in 1984, Hercules describes growing up surrounded by diverse culinary inspirations, for which eating seasonally was not a choice but a necessity. Not until she became a chef did she realize how much she valued the food she had grown up eating, and how much her early culinary adventures had shaped her as a person.
Mamushka includes dishes common to Ukraine and Eastern Europe, like borshch and potato cakes; however, those recipes quickly become extraordinary with the personal touches Hercules and her family have added to them, like the piquant Russian broth, which Hercules describes as "savory, spicy, and a little bit crazy-tasting." Mamushka is an absolute joy to explore. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company