Gradus becomes research partner of the “My Independence Pie” competition

Gradus has become the research partner of the “My Independence Pie” competition, which officially launched on 3 July. The initiative invites people to share pie recipes and personal stories that reflect Ukraine’s culinary traditions, regional flavours, and baking heritage.

Now in its third year, the project continues to build a new national tradition: baking an Independence Pie on 24 August, Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The initiative aims to unite Ukrainians around a shared symbol of the holiday—one that is created through the participation of thousands of families, communities, businesses, cultural institutions, and Ukrainian communities around the world.

As the competition’s research partner, Gradus invites Ukrainians to nominate their Independence Pie and contribute to establishing this new Independence Day tradition.

The competition welcomes participation from:

• Government institutions—to support the initiative at the national and regional levels by engaging educational institutions, cultural organizations, diplomatic missions, and public sector bodies.
• Local governments and communities—to organize local celebrations, festivals, fairs, competitions, and community baking events and to involve schools, museums, libraries, and cultural centers.
• Businesses—to become official partners of the initiative, organize themed activities for employees and customers, and help promote this emerging Ukrainian tradition.
• Ukrainian communities abroad—to host community baking events, bring Ukrainians together to celebrate Independence Day, and promote Ukrainian culture internationally.
• Every Ukrainian family—to become a co-creator of a new Independence Day tradition.

This year’s competition features several categories, including pies created by military personnel, young people, women entrepreneurs, community collaborative pies, and family or regional recipes.

Applications are open until 24 August 2026 via: https://web2.gradus.app/survey/pyrih

To participate, applicants should:

• select a competition category;
• describe their pie recipe;
• explain why they chose this particular recipe;
• upload a photo or video of the pie.

The “My Independence Pie” project was co-founded by Olena Braichenko, researcher of gastronomic culture and founder of the їzhakultura project; Larysa Latypova, finance professional, founder of the Girls Gastro Club and the Gastrosenses charitable initiative; Yuliia Zhmakina, Director of the Morning Broadcasting Department at 1+1 Media; and Nataliia Yemchenko, Director of Public Relations and Communications at SCM and member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.