An Evening with Olia Hercules: The Story of Strong Roots at Stamford Town Hall

📅 Date & Time

Thursday 4th December, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
📍 Stamford Town Hall – Court Room

🤝 In Partnership With

Ink & Ember, The Mayor of Stamford, Anglia Ruskin University, and Stamford Diversity Group — united in celebrating food, story, and the strength of community.

🪴 Event Description

Join us for a moving and inspiring evening with Olia Hercules — celebrated Ukrainian chef, food writer, and activist — as she discusses her remarkable new book, Strong Roots.

Through recipes, memories, and family stories, Olia weaves a century of Ukrainian history — from her grandmother’s deportation under Stalin to her parents’ flight from their occupied hometown in 2022.

This is a story of resilience, belonging, and the strength that comes from knowing who you are — and where you come from.

“I am writing this story without knowing its end: it begins long before I was born and will continue long after I die.”
— Olia Hercules, Strong Roots

📖 About Olia Hercules

Olia Hercules was born in Kakhovka, in the South of Ukraine. She trained at the renowned Leiths School of Food and Wine, then worked as chef de partie in restaurants, including Ottolenghi, and as a recipe developer. Her first book, Mamushka, went on to win the Fortnum and Mason Award for best debut cookbook and was followed by Kaukasis, Summer Kitchens and Home Food. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Olia co-founded a global initiative to raise money for Ukraine through cooking, #CookForUkraine, which has raised over £2 million pounds to date. Olia was featured in Vogue UK’s list of top Most Influential Women of the Year 2022. Olia and her friend and #CookForUkraine co-founder Alissa Timoshkina won awards from 50 Best Restaurants (Champions of Change), Guild of Food Writers Special Award, as well as the OFM special award for their work on the initiative.

📖 About Strong Roots

'An instant classic' - NIGELLA LAWSON 'Sweeping, intimate, defiant and brimming with love' - LOUISE KENNEDY

Strong Roots is an ode to Ukraine — to its land, its people, and its flavours.
From the tang of sour cherries to the warmth of borsch shared between generations, it is both a love letter and a historical tapestry — rich with hope, grief, and humanity.

🕯️ Evening Schedule

6:30pm – Doors open 
6:45pm – Welcome & introduction
6:50pm – In Conversation with Olia 
7:30pm – Drinks, A Taste of Ukraine, and book signing
8:30pm – Event close

✨ There will also be a pop-up bookshop and raffle on the night.

🎟️ Ticket Options

• General Admission – £10
  Includes entry to the evening talk, drinks, and canapés.
• Ticket + Book Bundle – £30
  Includes admission plus a signed copy of Strong Roots (RRP £22).

🌻 Perfect For

• Fans of cookery, memoir, and storytelling that feeds the soul.
• Readers inspired by resilience, heritage, and human connection.
• Food lovers who see recipes as memories, and meals as history.
• Anyone who believes food can be an act of love and resistance.

💛 Book Your Place

• Spaces are limited to 80 guests and will sell quickly.
• Join us for this unforgettable evening of food, conversation, and hope.

👉 [Book Tickets Now]

All profits from this event to be shared between HOUF (Helping our Ukrainian Friends) and Stamford Diversity Group supporting local Ukrainians