Royal Albert Dock hosts ‘Eat Drink Ukraine’ for Eurovision

As part of its exciting programme of events celebrating Liverpool hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, Royal Albert Dock have partnered with leading chef Olia Hercules for its ‘Eat Drink Ukraine’ campaign. 

Bringing Ukrainian culture to Liverpool’s waterfront, Olia Hercules has developed two recipes for a selection of the dock’s bars and eateries, allowing visitors to experience Ukrainian cuisine minutes from where the city will be hosting Eurovision on behalf of the country. 

From 1-13 May, those with a sweet tooth can visit Maray, Madre and Lunyalita to enjoy Syrnk – a Ukrainian cheesecake topped with caramelised apples, which is based on a recipe Olia’s mother used to make. Alongside the dessert, visitors to The One O’Clock Gun, Revolucion de Cuba, Tate Liverpool Cafe, The Beatles Story’s Fab4 Cafe, Madre and Lunyalita can savour a Ukrainian Kompot Spritz – a fruity cocktail blending berries, rhubarb and sour cherries with Ukrainian vodka, Prosecco and soda water. 

Both the dessert and cocktail will appear on specials menus during the two weeks of the campaign and guests are invited to make a voluntary donation of £1, which will be added to their bill to raise funds for #cookforukraine, an initiative co-founded by Olia Hercules and her friend Alissa Timoshkina, a Siberian-born food writer and historian. 

Since it was launched in 2022, #cookforukraine has raised over £2m for UNICEF and aided in further spotlighting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

Speaking about her involvement with Royal Albert Dock’s Eat Drink Ukraine campaign, Olia Hercules said:

“I’ve been delighted to work with Royal Albert Dock, especially when the eyes of the world are going to be on the city this coming May. An opportunity like this couldn’t be missed and it’s great to see my mother’s dessert and my Kompot Spritz appearing on so many of the dock’s bars, cafes and restaurant menus; they’ve really embraced the project and it’s lovely to be able to share a little part of my Ukrainian heritage with so many visitors coming to the city!”

Thomas White, director and co-founder of Maray and The One O’Clock Gun commented:

“We jumped at the chance to get involved with this campaign and have been testing out Olia’s cocktail recipe over the last few days. It’s great to be able to offer guests a taste of authentic Ukraine food and drink – plus of course at the same time raising funds for #cookforukraine.”

Eat Drink Ukraine takes place across multiple Royal Albert Dock venues from 1-13 May. Many of the dock’s venues overlook the inner quay, which will also be home in the run up to Eurovision of Floating Earth, a 10-metre artwork installation by artist Luke Jerram, which is illuminated after dusk from 28 April to 18 May.

For more information on all of Royal Albert Dock’s Eurovision events programme click here.