Every Tuesday, chef Thiriako Vicente turns his seaside restaurant in Valencia, Spain into a dining room with more than 100 Ukrainian refugees can enjoy a free rich meal with paella.
“They have lost everything,” Vidente, 47, said as his restaurant waiters distributed generous portions of paella to Ukrainian refugees.
“We are here to offer them a little love and affection through gastronomy,” he added.
More than 4 million Ukrainians have fled their country after the Russian invasion on February 24, according to the UN. About 80,000 have gone to Spain, according to an interview with Immigration Minister La Vanguardia on Sunday.
The dining room of Las Torres de Ciriaco is filled every Tuesday with the happy chatter of the families who enjoy their food, although the memories of the ordeals they went through never leave their minds.
“The situation is difficult all over Ukraine,” said Alina Zahizeta, 28, who was the director of a branch of the Intersport sportswear chain in Kyiv.
After a difficult five-day journey to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, she and her family finally managed to reach Spain.
In addition to food, the Vidente restaurant offers a meeting place for Ukrainians where they can share their stories and ask for help gathering the documents they need.
“People are very supportive,” said Bohdan Turinska, a 24-year-old English teacher from Kyiv.
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