Alissa Timoshkina

Food writer. Historian. Culinary teacher. Co-founder of #CookforUkraine campaign Alissa Timoshkina is a food writer and historian specialising in Eastern European food culture. Originally from Siberia, Alissa comes from a Ukrainian-Jewish lineage, with her family history forming an important part of her culinary writing. Having lived in the UK since the late 1990s, Alissa initially studied film, gaining a PhD in the field of Soviet film and Holocaust history. However, her love of cooking pulled her away from an academic career, and Alissa launched an immersive dining experience project, called KinoVino in 2015. In 2019 she authored her debut cookbook ‘Salt and Time: recipes from a Russian Kitchen’, alongside a new series of supper clubs and culinary classes exploring food and history of Eastern Europe. Alissa was working on her 2nd cookbook dedicated to a culinary journey across Eurasia, when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Putting an end to Alissa’s book project, the invasion inspired an idea for a global fundraising campaign, which she launched together with her Ukrainian chef friend, Olia Hercules, and the team behind #CookforSyria, a few days after the war broke out. Since its inception #CookForUkraine attracted over 300 restaurants in the UK alone, an innumerable support on social media globally and helped raise over £2 million for Ukraine. The project received The Champions of Change Award from World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The Editors Choice Award at the 2022 Observer Food Monthly Awards. Alissa lives in London with her partner and their daughter, and is now working on a new cookbook. Her recipes and writing have been published in The Guardian, The Independent, British Vogue, The Economist, Waitrose Magazine and other publications. www.alissatimoshkina.com Instagram @alissatimoshkina