Vitaliy Aheyev from Ukraine was discharged from the army after being shot in the stomach and the leg in the war with Russia and spending 10 months in captivity.
Following six years in the military, the 24-year-old needed to train for a new job. Learning how to cook seemed a good choice, and if he could train under a Michelin-starred celebrity in France, so much the better.
Aheyev has just completed two months of training at a school in Toulouse, southwestern France, run by star chef Thierry Marx.
He is one among of a delegation of novice and experienced chefs originally from Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city now under Russian control.
Marx, an author, TV celebrity and specialist in molecular cooking — which puts the emphasis on the chemical reactions of ingredients — has a history of using his skills for social engagement, local sourcing of food and an ecological approach.
A former soldier himself, Marx has two Michelin stars to his name.
“Cooking is really the only way to rekindle trusting relationships,” Marx said. “The power of social ties is important, especially in a country at war”.
Marx runs a network of cooking schools dedicated to give training to people he calls “casualties of life”.
Aheyev, tattooed and with a ready smile, has a reputation as the mischief maker of the group, which is known here as “the Marik brigade” after the city’s nickname.
– ‘Almost like a holiday’ –
But even while he teases his co-trainees relentlessly, his attention is always firmly on the food he prepares, in this instance beef tataki, a Japanese fusion dish.
“These two months in Toulouse did me a lot of good, it was almost like a holiday, even though we’re working,” Aheyev said.
“We’ve discovered a different culture. The association of ingredients in French cooking is strange, but the result is very good,” he said.
Blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon and magret de canard are staple recipes on the menu for the trainees, as are the classics of French dessert art, such as the Paris-Brest, a baked ring of pastry featuring almonds and lots of cream.
“These recipes require practising fundamental skills,” said Claude Resimont, one of the school’s instructors. “The idea is to teach them the 80 basic techniques of French cooking.”
Trainee Juliya Kurnalyeyeva, 38 — who has been working in a restaurant in Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukrainne’s east after fleeing Russian bombs in Mariupol — said is happy to acquire such skills.
She also discovered a real passion for French pastry, such as eclairs and croissants.
“Cooking is important, it brings joy,” said the mother of two.
But when the conversation turned to the war, her expression darkened. “I dream of the war being over so I can open a restaurant in a country at peace.”
Most of the trainees will be able to employ their new skills in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, where they are now based after leaving their home town.
A renovated student housing complex sheltering 1,400 displaced people there features a restaurant dubbed “the Mariupol canteen”.
Edward Mayor, president of the Stand with Ukraine NGO — which is behind the restaurant and the Toulouse training programme — said his organisation had wanted to do “something useful and reassuring” with the initiatives.
“Those staying in Ukraine need safety, but also a home and a job,” he said. “Cooking is a way to rebuild after trauma.”
Once back in the “Mariupol canteen” the freshly trained chefs will cook “for their community” and “teach other Ukrainians”, said Marx, who is planning to give a masterclass there.
“They’re ready to run the Mariupol canteen,” said instructor Resimont.
“I was impressed by how motivated and diligent they are, despite everything they’ve been through,” she said. “I’m going to miss them.”
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