Scolar in Residence

INDEX - Summer 2025 1 – 29 August 2025

In spring 2022, Maria Banko founded the project War Cookbook, which explores how food and the refusal of food become tools of resistance, help integrate internally displaced persons, serve as markers of identity, and function as instruments of cultural diplomacy and commemoration. For the project, she conducted over 200 interviews, with excerpts from 75 already published. After presenting the project at the conference "Food in History", Banko decided to deepen her academic knowledge so that War Cookbook could become the foundation for a comprehensive study of the impact of war on Ukrainian society through everyday practices and relationships with food.

She studied in the master’s programme in "Public History and Memory Studies" at the Kyiv School of Economics, gaining knowledge in memory studies, heritage studies, public history, oral history, and food & memory studies. Maria Banko is also part of a research group working on the Atlas of Memory and conducted a study on food and memory within the Crimean Tatar community.

During her residency, Banko continued working on War Cookbook, systematising and archiving collected testimonies, developing the manuscript for the book, and collaborating with artists to create projects based on these materials.

Maria Banko

Mariia Banko is a food journalist, author, and researcher of culinary culture. For over 15 years, she has worked on initiatives connected to the hospitality industry and food culture.

In 2022, Banko launched War Cookbook — a project that documents and explores how the war has shaped the food practices of Ukrainians. In 2025, she completed a master’s degree in Public History and Memory Studies at the Kyiv School of Economics. Her research interests include food and memory studies as well as the history of everyday life. Mariia is also the author of numerous public lectures and popular articles in the field of food studies.