Chef Sarah Dworak never imagined she'd be preparing for a James Beard Award ceremony when she opened Sudova Restaurant in Cincinnati just over a year ago.
The self-taught chef, whose paternal grandparents immigrated from Ukraine, has built her Eastern European restaurant around family recipes and cultural traditions, a dedication that has now earned her one of the culinary world's most prestigious honors.
"I just feel such immense, immense pride to represent Cincinnati and also the fact that the James Beard Awards are recognizing Eastern European cuisine and culture," Dworak said. "It's wild. It's the best thing ever. Something I never thought would happen."
Dworak is one of three Cincinnati-area chefs nominated for James Beard Awards this year, alongside representatives from Nolia and Baker's Table. The awards ceremony will take place in Chicago this June.
Watch below for more on traditional Eastern European Easter traditions at Sudova:
What makes Dworak's nomination even more remarkable is her unconventional path to culinary recognition. This is her first time cooking in a commercial kitchen, and Sudova wasn't initially intended to be the full-service restaurant it has become.
"Sudova bar was not supposed to be the kitchen it turned out to be, but we still didn't have a gas stove," Dworak said. "Like, we didn't have a fryer. We made all this food on like electric skillets. We had an oven and like some induction burners."
Despite the humble beginnings, Dworak has created something special by focusing on authenticity over equipment.
"I like to just represent what it was like to eat holiday meals at my grandmother's house," she said. "This is what we had for these meals and then there's just staples like our klosi, our cabbage rolls, our dumplings — those are all throughout Eastern Europe."
This Easter season holds particular significance for Dworak as she prepares a special brunch featuring traditional Ukrainian foods. The menu includes Eastern European staples where "eggs are very prominent," along with ham, kielbasa, and vareniki (pierogi) — foods that have deep cultural and religious meaning.
The significance of eggs in Ukrainian Easter tradition goes far beyond the dinner table. Dworak's family collection includes intricately decorated pysanky eggs, a tradition that predates Christianity.
"These are pysanky eggs, and they are traditionally brought out and made for Easter, which is velikden in Ukrainian, and it means 'the great day,'" Dworak told me while showing off eggs from her grandmother's collection. "Easter is welcoming the sun back and spring and abundance — rebirth."
The ornate eggs feature complex patterns and symbols that evolved from ancient pagan traditions into Christian symbolism. Some of Dworak's family eggs bear the inscription "Christos voskres," meaning "Christ has risen."
"These are pre-Christianity, originally pagan symbols," she said. "When Christianity came along, the symbols on the eggs took on more religious meanings, but at the same time it's the resurrection, but also rebirth — bringing the sun back."
For Dworak, the restaurant serves as more than a business — it's a cultural bridge connecting people to their heritage and memories.
"That's the reason why I do this. It's to remind people of the past, the food that they shared with their families, people who are no longer with us," she said. "The food that I want to continue — that means the world to me."
The Easter brunch at Sudova has already sold out, reflecting the growing appreciation for authentic Eastern European cuisine in Cincinnati. Dworak hopes to make it an annual tradition.
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