KIEV – Italian chef Stefano Antoniolli and his family decided to remain in Ukraine despite the immediate danger posed by the Russian invasion, he told Il Fatto Quotidiano during an interview in the war torn capital.

 The meeting with chef Antoniolli took place in Shota Rustaveli street, a stone's throw from the Olympiyskiy stadium, where the Ukrainian national football team plays. “As you can see in Kiev, the situation is quite livable even if the city is deserted,” he said. “But the real conflict is a few kilometres away."

 Antoniolli’s business already survived against the odds during the two years of the pandemic and before Russia invaded, the chef's professional life was thriving. The Fenix has just received an award - two Golden Forks from the Gambero Rosso Italian restaurant guide - and his cookbook had just been published. Then sirens sounded and bombs fell over Kiev.

 “Some premises on this street reopened a couple of days ago, and this is a good sign, but reopening my restaurant is now unthinkable. It is one thing to reopen cafes for young people to drink a coffee, another thing would be a place structured like the Fenix ​​with 320 seats and a clientele that no longer exists in Kiev.”

 The option of going to Italy, perhaps for a few months, is always there, but the Antoniolli family have said will only do this if the situation gets even worse.

 The chef said he is not afraid of the war, but that he is scared for his business and that things won’t be able to go back to how they were. “In Ukraine there are no statutory social 'parachutes', there are no layoffs and other social safety nets,” he said.

 “In the first weeks of the conflict, I cooked for Territorial Defense volunteers, civilians who gave up their normal clothes to help Ukraine in the war.” He said now that his thoughts go to his collaborators, especially the young people.

 Viewers of the Rai 3 program 'Che Succede' started a fundraising drive for Antoniolli. “All the money that arrives,” he said, “I divide and pass it on to my boys - the 30 cooks, the 20 waiters, five barmen and so on. A good part of these have joined the Territorial Defense."

 “Now we are all waiting to understand the events, but I am not leaving," said Antoniolli.

ln