On June 8-9, Lviv Taste Fair was held for the second time. Ukrainian small and medium-sized producers of certified organic products, cheesemakers and craft producers presented their best products: cheeses and dairy products, cereals, eggs, butter, pastilles, jams, meat products, honey, teas, juices, wines, and more.
The event was attended by more than 50 producers from different parts of the country, including Lviv, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Odesa, Ternopil and other regions.
“It is already becoming a good tradition to hold the Lviv Taste Fair every year. This is a very important event that allows Ukrainian organic and dairy producers to present their products to consumers. The companies participating in the fair once again confirm that Ukrainians can be proud of high-quality and safe products. We are grateful to Switzerland and the Swiss-Ukrainian program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” for their continued support of initiatives aimed at developing the trade potential of small and medium-sized food producers,” said Taras Vysotskyi, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
This event was particularly important for producers. After several years of isolation due to the pandemic, in the context of doing business during the war, such fairs, communication, networking and the opportunity to directly show their best products to consumers are extremely valuable.
Andreas Huber, Director of the Cooperation Program at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, held a master class on making raclette during the fair. Visitors not only learned the history and traditions of eating this dish, but also many secrets on how to make the consistency of the cheese perfectly tender and viscous and achieve that very Swiss taste.
“This year, Switzerland supported the Lviv Taste Fair for the second time. For us, organising this fair is one of the important steps to support organic and dairy producers in the current extremely difficult conditions. This event became a platform that introduces consumers to high-quality Ukrainian products not only from Lviv region, but also from those regions that have suffered the most from the war, such as Kharkiv and Odesa. Switzerland has been actively supporting Ukraine’s agri-food sector for twenty years, focusing on the development of organic agriculture, farmers’ access to finance, food safety, milk quality and trade opportunities for Ukrainian farmers”, he said.
Oleksandr Kulepin, Deputy Head of Lviv Regional Military (State) Administration, thanked the participants, organisers and partners of the fair.
“We are very pleased to welcome all the participants of the fair in Lviv region for the second time: both our local producers who make high-quality craft products and guests from other regions. Our important mission is to support farmers and give them an impetus for development. After all, you — small or medium-sized producers — make really cool, tasty, unique things, so let’s make sure that your products are tasted by as many consumers as possible and that they want to enjoy them every day”, he said.
The Lviv Taste Fair was attended by cheesemakers who won the ProCheese Awards 2021 and World Cheese Awards 2022-2023: Stanislavska Cheese Factory, Doobra Farm, Staryi Porytsk, Harbuzovyi Rai, Jersey, Syroman, Zinka, Lel’, European Cheese Factory. As well as cheese producers Lemberg Cheese, Chesnyi Cheese, Chesnykivskyi Cheese, Budz Baran.
In addition, the event featured a master class on food pairing with Ukrainian cheeses by Oksana Chernova, ProCheese cheese expert, founder of the ProCheese Academy, and judge of the World Cheese Awards, whose taste surprised even the most demanding cheese connoisseurs.
According to Oksana Chernova, over the past 2 years, Ukrainian cheeses have received 26 awards at the World Cheese Awards in various categories, which testifies to their high quality and unique flavors.
“This year, the interest in participating in the Lviv Taste Fair from cheese producers was much greater than last year, as this is the second such large-scale project that brings together producers from different parts of Ukraine. The fair featured 17 cheeses with awards from the World Cheese Awards, which is a unique opportunity for consumers to taste internationally recognized cheeses in one place”, the expert said.
Natalia Cholovska, President of the Ecoterra Lviv city non-governmental organisation, emphasised the importance of such fairs for supporting small and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Ukraine.
“Certified organic producers, like the agricultural business in general, are feeling the negative impact of the war. Participation in the Lviv Taste Fair gives us an opportunity to present our products, communicate with consumers and once again declare that such products are produced in Ukraine in compliance with all the requirements of the EU and Ukrainian organic legislation. We invite everyone to look for the organic Ukrainian leaf, which is the state logo for organic products in Ukraine”, she said.
Among the producers of certified organic products were:
- Galeks-Agro: cereals, honey;
- Dary Hutsulshchyny ( GSASC): mushrooms, berries;
- Danube Agrarian: baked eggplants, sun-dried tomatoes, jam, honey, pastille, herbs, essential oil;
- Ecorod (Organic Original, LLC): corn sticks, coffee, flour, oil, cereals, flakes;
- Zhyva zemlya Potutory: herbal teas, spices, vegetables;
- Zhyva Organica (Kostiv, FE): cereals;
- Organic AF-Svitanok ( Farming company Svitanok, SPF): nuts;
- Staryi Porytsk: dairy products, particularly cheeses;
- Terlych: pasta;
- Meetty Chocolate ( Kolchanov Dmytro Sergiovych, PEI): chocolate;
- Mol’far (Molfar Eco, LLC): teas;
- Organic Chicken (Home chicken, FE): eggs;
- Organic Meat (Organic Meat Product, LLC): meat products;
- Organic Milk: dairy products, including cheeses;
- Travka (Shans Vik, LLC): herbal and berry teas;
- Stodola: canned vegetables
The master classes area emphasised the unique gastronomic character of this year’s event, which included:
- master class with tasting of Swiss raclette and tet de moine cheeses;
- master class with tasting of Ukrainian wine and cheese;
- master class on the rules of creating a cheese plateau and tasting;
- master class on cooking and tasting Yavoriv pie made from organic products;
- master class on combining cheeses with organic products and others.
The organisers report that they plan to make the Lviv Taste Fair a traditional annual event and continue to support Ukrainian producers and introduce even more consumers to high-quality and tasty products.
Organizers and partners
The Lviv Taste Fair was organised by the Lviv Regional Military (State) Administration, Ecoterra Lviv city non-governmental organisation, ProCheese cheese connoisseur community from Ardis Group, under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
Media partner: OrganicInfo.ua
