La Cantine De Marioupol

A culinary training and social reintegration program, initiated by Stand With Ukraine, that uses cooking as a tool to rebuild lives, create new jobs for veterans and internally displaced people, and contribute directly to the economic recovery of Ukraine.

Opening in Dnipro in 2026

In 2026, La Cantine de Marioupol will open permanently in Dnipro: a 450 m² bistro-school and bakeryinside a 15,000 m² housing complex rebuilt with French support, home to 380 displaced families.

Every two months, a new class of 12 trainees will begin — six sessions per year, 72 trainees annually. They will cook for the bistro at lunch and operate the bakery. Veterans, women, and young people will learn together, heal together, and rebuild their future together.

Together with our partners, we have developed a model that is inclusive, replicable, and co-financed — designed to be scaled across Ukraine as the country rebuilds. Today, we are looking for partners ready to scale this impact in Dnipro.

The Human Crisis Behind the Program

In 2025, almost 4.5 million Ukrainians remain internally displaced. Most of them are women and children who fled occupied territories such as Mariupol — a city almost erased from the map by the Russian army, where they lost everything: their homes, their jobs, their community.

Among them are also veterans and defenders returning from the front, seeking new ways to rebuild their lives.

Our project, La Cantine de Marioupol, was created for them: not only to rebuild destroyed walls, but to restore lives and help heal the human soul.

Cooking as a Tool for Human and Economic Reconstruction

We started with one idea: cooking can heal, train, and rebuild.

Real cuisine is an art. It is a gift to others. And you cannot cook if you do not care about people.

Cooking and craftsmanship reduce anxiety, rebuild confidence, and restore social bonds. For veterans from Mariupol, cooking is rehabilitation and an act of resistance. One of them told us:

“In the kitchen, my hands create again — not destroy.”

But it is also a concrete economic opportunity.

In Ukraine today, the HoReCa sector — hotels, restaurants, cafés — is rebuilding fast. Thousands of qualified workers are needed to reopen restaurants and kitchens across the country. At the same time, the school food reform led by First Lady Olena Zelenska is transforming canteens in schools and hospitals nationwide. Tens of thousands of new kitchen professionals will be needed to feed Ukraine’s children and to build a healthy, modern food culture.

These are local, non-delocalisable jobs — in every region of Ukraine.

Our Partnership

La Cantine de Marioupol was created through a unique partnership with Chef Thierry Marx — a Michelin-starred chef and former French army paratrooper who served in Lebanon, where he was wounded by shrapnel — and with his schools network, Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s).

Chef Marx knows both the discipline of professional kitchens and the weight of what soldiers carry. Working with Ukrainians who endured the horrors of war, this partnership offers more than training — it offers a pathway to rebuild themselves and to contribute to the rebuilding of their country.

What we have already accomplished

To date, 22 veterans and displaced people from Mariupol have been trained in France:

11 in Toulouse in autumn 2024
11 in Le Havre in summer 2025

80% are now employed in Ukraine — in cafés, bakeries, and restaurants, or have started their own small businesses.

Some are veterans. Some defended Mariupol. A few were held captive in Olenivka, a prison bombed by Russians, where 53 prisoners were killed.

The skills gained in France become a catalyst for personal renewal. Our trainees carry trauma, but they recover, move forward, and think about how to contribute to a better future for Ukraine.

Their Stories

Mykola Kokhan

Veteran. Defender of Mariupol. Former prisoner at Olenivka.

During the first week of training, Mykola almost left. He struggled to integrate. He had anger outbursts and panic attacks. But the trainers refused to give up on him. They helped him regain confidence. Week after week, he transformed.

Today, Mykola works full-time in Kamyanske. He says:

“Cooking helps me build again what war destroyed.”

Serhii Mykhailenko

Defender of Mariupol. Demobilised in 2023. Now 23 years old.

Serhii joined the Ukrainian army at 18, served as a defender of Mariupol, and was demobilised in 2023. His discipline and precision in the kitchen impressed Chef Marx so much that he was personally invited to undertake a one-year apprenticeship in France — half at school, half in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

But Serhii’s goal was never to stay in France. He wants to help rebuild Ukraine’s culinary and hospitality sector.

Key Milestones

Date	Event
Sept–Nov 2024	First cohort training — Toulouse
Nov 12, 2024	Graduation dinner with Chef Thierry Marx, Mayor Vadym Omelchenko & Jean-Luc Mouden
June–July 2025	Second cohort training — Le Havre, Halle aux Poissons
July 25, 2025	Graduation dinner with Chef Thierry Marx, Mayor Vadym Boychenko & Édouard Philippe
Nov 14, 2025	Presentation at Rebuild Ukraine, Warsaw
Dec 22, 2025	Event at BNP Paribas HQ, Kyiv — with Chef Thierry Marx, Chef Yevhen Klopotenko, Ambassador Gaël Veyssière & Expertise France
Summer 2026	Opening of La Cantine de Marioupol in Dnipro