Cooking in Poland & Ukraine @WCK for Refugees!

Hello and thank you so much for stopping by!

>>> UPDATE: please continue to click on "Read more" to see the entire message with pictures from cooking and training with WCK and the list of cooking and wine classes and dinners that I am selling. Thank you! <<<

For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Laura Pauli and I’m a chef in San Francisco. I came to cooking in my late 30s but so glad I finally listened to the universe, followed my heart, and grabbed that whisk. I’ve cooked my way around France, New York, and San Francisco, for everyone from movie stars and rock and roll hall of famers, from a lobster boat to a pastry shop, but my most cherished moments were cooking with World Central Kitchen at three activations in 2020 during the Northern California wildfires, feeding evacuees and first responders.

Please take a moment to watch this very brief video about my upcoming volunteer trip to Poland to once again cook with World Central Kitchen, this time feeding refugees.

From the Glass Fire in 2020 (I'm on the left)

 

I recently participated in World Central Kitchen’s Chef Relief Training program this past January and ultimately, the reason for this page, I am headed to the Poland/Ukraine border in June to volunteer with the World Central Kitchen Chef Relief Team cooking and distributing meals for Ukraine refugees.

 

 

I’m also partnering with an amazing woman from DC, Holly Connor, who's an executive at an international NGO funded primarily by the State Department and USAID. Holly's been in Poland for over a month at the border, in refugee centers and in the WCK kitchen, supporting humanitarian efforts to move refugees out of Ukraine with dignity and respect. To date they’ve helped families with flights, transportation, temporary housing, food, and supplies as they navigate to their next destination.

 

I would be so grateful if you would join me in creating ripples of impact (a personal ROI) because enough ripples create a wave and what an honor it would be to bring a huge wave of humanitarian support to these people fleeing their homes with what they could fit in a bag.

 

I'm raising funds to help cover my travel within Europe and hotel in Przemysl, Poland for 6 weeks this summer as this is 100% volunteer – but beyond these expenses, all funds are for humanitarian efforts helping Ukrainian refugees get to their next destination.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Travel: approx $8,000

 

France to Poland:                       approx $2,000

Poland/Ukraine Hotels:         approx $5,000 (50 nights) 
Refugee Supplies:                      approx $1,000

 

Humanitarian Relief: $asmuchaspossible

 

Examples of aid to Ukrainian refugees over the past month through Holly’s fundraising efforts of approx. $5000 include:

- 7 families (35 people) for flights, transportation, temporary accommodations, food, and necessities to help navigate the chaos of leaving their homes and not knowing where they will be sent next.

- coverage for the resettlement of a Ukrainian family of 9 to Ireland

- additional 1 week in Airbnb in Warsaw for family waiting for UK visas to be processed

- 3 families’ relocation, and much, much more

and much much more! As long as funds are flowing in, we will continue to directly help refugees with what they need most in that moment. 

Please see the UPDATES section of this page for more detail on all the people and organization that TOGETHER we are helping. 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

I will send out:

 

- daily updates from the kitchen, beyond what I’ll post on social media, (not sure of the platform yet, stay tuned)

 

- updates on every dollar of humanitarian aid distributed to refugees as it happens so you can truly experience this along with me.

 

- a live zoom after I return to share the many, many stories from this trip, the people we fed, the families we helped, the people we worked with side-by-side, tales from the kitchen and the border, and a montage of the many pictures I’ll take.

 

I hope you’ll join me on this journey so together we can make a huge difference in the lives of Ukrainian refugees.

 

If the situation becomes extremely dangerous at the border, I'll shift to Warsaw or the WCK kitchens in Spain. Hopefully that won't happen but I'll keep you posted! 

 

THANK YOU! Dyakuyu!

Glory to Ukraine! #ChefsForUkraine

Laura

 

lunch bags for sandwiches, chili, salad and fruit that were distributed to first responders on the front lines of the fires

 

Cooking in the WCK Food Truck at the Glass Fire

 

It was 112F in the food truck! 

Cooking at the Napa Lightening Fires in Vacaville

 

 

 

Cooking at the Lightening Fires in Santa Cruz

 

Thank you for visiting my page. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions!

 

Many thanks and bon appetit!

Laura