Hello, it's 1,0402 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It's Christmas time, as you know, a time when many people focus on food.

And Ukraine, a country known as the breadbasket of Europe, is no different.

James, how seriously do Ukrainian

people take their cooking? Victoria, over the last three years, I've learnt they take it incredibly

seriously. We often have soups, salads, many cuts of meat, veal, chicken, often accompanied with

pickled vegetables. There are all kinds of patis you can have on breads.

And even in some of the most far-flung places in eastern Ukraine,

we've still sat down and had a good slap-up supper.

And what is your particular go-to Ukrainian dish?

What's your fave?

My fave is something called serniki. It's a dessert, isn't it?

It's a... Or breakfast. It's a guilty dish for me.

It's a dessert or breakfast. Sorry, the voice you can hear in the background is Olya,

who we're going to introduce properly in a moment. Oli, welcome. Thank you. But breakfast or dessert?

For me, both. They're like cottage cheese

pancakes that you have with sour cream, maybe jam. Health warning, Ukrainians put sour

cream with almost everything. They're obsessed with it. And I'd like to think they're good

for you. They're not. Those are my sort of guilty pleasures. Well, we have talked about food on the odd occasion over the last three years on Ukrainecast.

And today we have a Ukrainian chef who you've already heard, Oliya, in the studio.

And we are going to sample some of the country's traditional dishes,

including a staple of a Ukrainian soldier's ration box.

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