Illustration: #DashaFilippova
//
The Kharkiv-based restaurant, where 20-year-old Dmytro used to work, prepared sushi and desserts before February 24. However, completely different food became more important for the locals after the start of hostilities around Kharkiv. It was bread. Then Dmytro settled in the restaurant’s kitchen, looked up how to make bread on the Internet, and began to knead the dough. Soon, he was baking between 150 and 300 loaves per day. His continuous work saved people because many food producers had stopped working. Also, in the first months of the war, delivering food to Kharkiv from other cities was risky and challenging due to shelling. Volunteers helped Dmytro convert the restaurant into a bakery, bringing the necessary equipment to the semi-basement.
Dmytro's typical day looked like this: the young man kneaded the dough and set up all the production processes at 9 P.M. and in the morning he handed over the finished loaves to volunteers and soldiers. Closer to the midday, he started preparing about 200 servings of hot lunches, because, as people stayed without electricity and water in some districts of Kharkiv, they were unable to cook anything themselves. Dmytro's working days lasted 12—13 hours; he never went back home during the first months of the war. He moved into the restaurant-bakery and lived there. The sounds of explosions at times prevented him from working, so the guy turned on the loudspeaker and listened to loud music in order not to hear the shelling.
Volunteers primarily delivered food to people with disabilities and older people and to the most affected areas, such as Northern Saltivka. According to reviews, everyone liked Dmytro's bread, and the guy is constantly improving his recipe.
At present, the availability of food products has improved significantly in Kharkiv, so the baker has less work than before. Dmytro doesn’t give up hope of defending Ukraine: At the beginning of the Russian invasion, he tried to enroll in the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces, but there were too many people willing to volunteer. Maybe he will try again soon.