*Our latest collab beer: Beloved Ukrainian Lager.*

A heritage-listed building on Sydney’s Broadway is the new setting to what could be one of our backyard’s coolest hospo stories. Plate It Forward’s new venture - Kyiv Social is set to open to the public in late September with an epic menu, highly-skilled crew and new YH collab beer – all in support of the Ukrainians affected by the war.

For the unfamiliar, Plate It Forward is a Sydney-based hospo brand with social impact at its core. With eight venues in and around Sydney, the group is all about giving back to underrepresented communities.

What does this mean exactly? Since opening their first venue, Colombo Social (conveniently located a few steps away from our Newtown Brewery), the crew have adopted an employment strategy that offers opportunities to refugees and asylum seekers. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, they developed a meal donation program for communities who were doing it tough, and today, they use the proceeds from their venues to continue feeding marginalised communities both in and outside of Australia.

*Plate it forward is a Sydney-based social enterprise/ hospitality group.*

The latest venue: Kyiv Social, was born when Plate It Forward founder Shaun Christie-David was approached with the idea of creating a business for Ukrainians seeking refuge from the war. With a concept already in mind, it evolved quickly.

“Kiev Social's always been something I've wanted to do, but our team just didn't have links into the Ukrainian community. The philosophy has always been that it's got to come from the Ukrainian community and be owned by them.” Says Shaun.

Operating out of a heritage-listed site on the corner of Broadway, the high, open space gives natural Eastern European vibes. A full Ukrainian team of seasoned hospo crew and other professionals is accompanied by Plate It Forward Chefs Julian V. Cincotta (Rockpool, Nomad, Butter); Travis Harvey (Ex-OzHarvest Executive Chef); and Vincent Dyevoich (Michelin star restaurant Dovetail and 3 NY Star restaurant Colicchio & Sons). In partnership with the Australian Ukrainian Council and charitable organisations like Blue Peony, the team have been able to get job ads in front of the Ukrainian community.

“We’ve got people like Nadia, our Restaurant consultant, who has a heap of hospo management experience, and Boris, our executive chef has run good restaurants in Ukraine. But we've also got doctors, lawyers, engineers, software developers, and other people with really high levels of experience in other professions who have recently arrived but haven't had much luck finding employment due to language barriers and non-transferrable skills.” Claims Shaun.

*Restaurant Consultant Nadia with the Kyiv Social mural featuring an image of her late mother.*

Food-wise, Shaun claims that the venue will follow the Colombo Social strategy of capturing the core of Ukrainian cuisine with the addition of native, Australian ingredients to find unique synergies.

“There’ll be traditional dishes like chicken Kyiv, borscht, cabbage rolls and hand-rolled ‘grandmas’ dumplings (literally made by Ukrainian grandmas each day). It's approachable but elevated food, designed by a crew of highly experienced chefs. It’s really cool to have these guys experimenting with those base Ukrainian flavours.”

*Chef Vincent and Chef Boris on the tools.*

Long-time mates of YH, the collaborative beer; ‘Beloved Ukrainian Lager’ was the brainchild of YH Head Brewer Jesse ‘Searlzy’ Searls.

Unbeknownst to most, before his time at YH, our very own Searlzy spent a decent chunk of time in Ukraine, where he developed a deep appreciation for the country and the people…. and the beer. On the experience of working with Searlzy and the team, Shaun states:

“The experience has been amazing. While Jesse knew a lot of the language already, he learned the right way to speak to our crew about the beer and the brewing process. He did a lot of research to make sure our people were really looked after and comfortable. A lot of the team had only just arrived in the country and he was able to talk to them and take them through the brewing process. It was really sweet.”

*The Kyiv Social Tap Lineup ft. Beloved Ukrainian Lager.*

Designed to complement the food, ‘Beloved’ is a Ukrainian-inspired Lager made with all European ingredients and brewed traditionally with a mashing process known as ‘decoction mashing’ and extended lagering period, giving it extra maturity. Pouring clear and pale, the beer is refreshingly bitter with a deep malt flavour. Most importantly, it has full approval from the team – who from all reports, can’t get enough of it!

Opening to the public on October 6th for night service from Wednesday to Sunday, the venue will operate on a ‘buy one, give two’ model. Meaning, everyone that dines on a set menu will be able to donate meals to people from Ukraine in Sydney, and also at home in Ukraine through their relationship with the Ukrainian Ambassador.

Follow Kyiv Social on Instagram for all the venue updates and try ‘Beloved Ukrainian’ Lager exclusively at the venue and our YH Tasting Bar.

All photos by Yeah Rad.