Yurii Kovryzhenko, a Ukrainian chef, has been championing his home country’s cuisine around the world for years, and was announced as an Ambassador of Taste for The Global Gastronomy in 2021.

Recently Kovryzhenko has worked with Tom Sellers and Jason Atherton to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, after being forced to stay in the UK following the Russian invasion. This year, together with his partner Olga Tsybytovska, he's set to launch his Ukrainian bistro, Mriya (meaning ‘dream’), and plans to staff the restaurant with refugees forced to leave Ukraine.