Borsch to Go launches mission for healthy Ukrainian fast food in Cambridge

Borsch To Go has opened its first outlet, a cafe on Parker’s Piece in the centre of Cambridge.

The Ukrainian food service started trading on May 15, says Liliya Pochkun, who founded the new service with business partner Alyona Sydoruk.

“We did our first delivery to the University of Cambridge yesterday for 10 people - borsch and a small piece of the bread we bake, plus salad on top. Our borsch is vegan,” says Liliya over coffee in the seating area outside the cafe’s small kitchen area at the top end of Parker’s Piece near the Gonville Hotel.“

Borsch to Go’s mission is to create “a global franchise of healthy fast food which will popularise Ukrainian cuisine and help fund post-war restoration”.

On the menu is hot food - wraps and crepes - plus hot and cold drinks, ice cream and delicious homemade cakes.

“I tell my clients: ‘Good food is the shortest way to happiness!’” says Liliya. “What they are eating must be fresh and without chemicals.”

There’s a Ukrainian take on tea and coffee too. Along with the regular offering you can get a Shushkovskyi coffee with ingredients including turmeric and ginger, named after a herbalist from Odessa who had treated Liliya when she was living in Ukraine before the war. The Ukrainian tea is called Malva tea.

“Malva is our flower,” says Liliya. It’s also the name of a Ukrainian women's choral folk ensemble.

“In Turkey it’s called the hibiscus. Malva is from the same family. We add nine spices to our tea. It’s very very good for health. People come here especially for our Shushkovskyi coffee and Malva tea.”

It tastes a little like Indian tea - masala chai – I remark.

“It means a mix of different spices, so this [Malva tea] is masala tea,” replies Liliya.

The Cambridge Independent has previously reported that Borsch to Go received a Jumpstart grant from Business & IP Centre Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (BIPC) in December. Liliya And Alyona are delighted to be making progress in their entrepreneurial careers.

“It’s nice for people to read a story about us,” says Liliya. “This is one small step to prove Borsch to Go all over the world because now Ukrainian women are everywhere. We lack entrepreneurs in our country. Here the government is supporting you. We can feel a big difference here because everything is clearly set out, even with the accounts system, and we really appreciate it. When people come here they grow better.”

There’s a team of eight running Borsch to Go, which is open seven days a week - 12pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

“It can be 9pm before we close because if it’s busy of course we do not want to close.”

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