An Evening With Olia Hercules - Putney

Join us for an evening of conversation with award winning food writer Olia Hercules to celebrate the release of her new book, Strong Roots. A breathtaking mix of memoir, family history and recipe guide, Strong Roots is an intensely personal volume from that chronicles the spirit and resilience of the Ukrainian people through four generations.

I was completely pole-axed by this. It’s a breathtaking achievement to depict such pain so exquisitely. And it’s strikingly sui generis. Olia Hercules deftly fuses war reporting, food memoir, an investigation into identity and an act of resistance to create what I feel compelled to describe as a painting out of words. An instant classic - Nigella Lawson

It is the roots that keep the trees from falling during a storm. Olia Hercules tells us that the same is true for people and nations. It is the roots of culture and dignity that make them unbreakable at the time of war and peace, in Ukraine and beyond - Serhii Plokhy, author of CHERNOBYL ROULETTE: A WAR STORY and THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR

Olia Hercules is a beautiful writer. So attuned to the sensual details of the world. Very raw, very honest, in a way I appreciated a lot. And all the ingredients – personal stories, historical context, trauma and hope are so finely balanced. It deserves to be read and admired far and wide - Charlie Gilmour, author of FEATHERHOOD