How disaster experiences in Japan helped keep Ukrainian people cooking during conflict

“Microwave roast potatoes with pork and garlic” “Coleslaw using a can of tuna” “Muffins without milk and eggs” — these are just some of the recipes which people in Japan shared with Ukrainian victims during the conflict.

Cookpad, the global recipe-sharing service, asked users in Japan to come up with recipes that people in Ukraine could use despite food and electricity shortages. Within just three days, over a hundred users had uploaded their recipes to Cookpad — and key to the success of the project was the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011.

11 years ago, the quake-hit area in Japan was in a similar state to that of Ukraine — people had limited access to electricity and food. While some people helped by sending food directly to victims, Cookpad also looked for ways to support them in their daily lives. As Cookpad’s mission is to make every cooking fun, the team realised that everyday cooking for earthquake victims at that time was far from enjoyable. With 55 million monthly users in Japan, the team asked Cookpad users to create and share recipes that victims could prepare with limited food and electricity.

Based on this experience, Takako Kotake, the leader of the project, came up with the idea of supporting Ukrainian people in a similar way. Today, Cookpad’s recipe-sharing service is available in more than 74 countries and 32 different languages, and Ukraine is one of them. “The conflict in Ukraine might deprive people living there of the enjoyment of daily cooking, as we experienced in the past,” she believed.

Speaking to Cookpad team members in Ukraine, Takako tried to understand the problems facing the Ukrainian people. When the earthquake hit Japan, victims were looking for a way to cook rice in a pot as they couldn’t use rice cookers due to the electricity shortages. Similarly, people in Ukraine were looking for ways to make bread without dry yeast due to the food shortages. Lots of victims in Ukraine were also looking for ways to cook sweets for their children, similar to many mothers in Japan.

However, fewer Ukrainian people use Cookpad compared to Japan, meaning that it was more difficult to ask users in Ukraine to create and share recipes for each other. To gather enough recipes for Ukraine’s victims, Takako asked Japanese users to come up with recipes that would satisfy their needs, based on her understanding of the challenges they faced. These recipes were translated into Ukrainian and shared with victims via the Cookpad Ukraine website.

“I did not imagine that I could support Ukrainian victims by uploading recipes on Cookpad,” one user who participated in the project said. The project not only supported Ukrainian people but also provided opportunities for Japanese users to connect with people in Ukraine through cooking.

Cookpad offers a feature in the website and app where users can share their cooking experiences via photos [Cooksnaps] and comments to the people who shared the recipes they used. Thanks to this feature, Ukrainians could express their gratitude to Japanese users. One Ukrainian who used a cookie recipe commented: “Thank you for sharing the recipe! The good thing is that I can bake the cookies easily with foods that are readily available right now.”

Through this project, Cookpad became a bridge between people in Ukraine and Japan, enabling them to share recipes and experiences beyond their borders, even amidst the conflict.

Words by Ryuichiro Kikuta (Ichi)