Maximilien Carlier, edited by Romain Rouillard
modified to
9:35 a.m., December 24, 2022
This Saturday, December 24, Frédéric, a resident of the North of France welcomes a family of Ukrainian refugees for Christmas Eve. The opportunity for this large table to share traditional dishes from both countries and to forget, for one evening, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Frédéric and his guests are going to experience a very unique Christmas Eve this Saturday evening. This resident of Odomez in northern France welcomes Olga and her family who fled war-torn Ukraine. Next to the Christmas tree, on the long table furnished with porcelain plates and silver cutlery, the host for the evening delicately sets down the crystal glasses. “We will meet at eleven, including six Ukrainians at the table. It will be a very different Christmas in every way,” he concedes.
The meal will mix tricolor cuisine and Ukrainian dishes cooked by Olga. “We usually make salads for Christmas in Ukraine. We will also prepare a Napoleon cake for dessert, it’s very flaky, a kind of thousand leaves,” she describes. Frédéric wants to be enthusiastic about this “culinary discovery”. “These are not dishes that we usually eat”, concedes the host who also intends to introduce this Ukrainian family to “traditional dishes” of France.
“We are all very happy to be here, safe”
“It will be an opportunity to give them a taste of scallops in cream with a little leek fondue”. A special Christmas, therefore, for Olga and her family, who have still not returned to Ukraine since the start of the war. “It has to be happy despite everything. Even if it’s complicated. We’re all very happy to be there safe and we’re going to have a wonderful time, I’m sure,” says Olga.
Especially since Frédéric has planned everything. “We have reserved a time slot with Santa Claus who must leave gifts for the Ukrainians and for the French,” he smiles. Good news for Zlata, Olga’s little niece, only six years old, who will spend the holidays without her parents, mobilized in kyiv.