Within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation with the public organization "Center for Gastronomic Research", the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine became a partner of the "Independence Pie - 2026" initiative, the goal of which is to launch a new national tradition that unites Ukrainians around a common gastronomic symbol of Ukraine's Independence Day.

The initiators were Olena Braychenko, Larysa Latypova, Yulia Zhmakina, Larysa Mudrak, and Natalia Yemchenko, who ensure the implementation of this project and are the founders of the "Pyrig Nezalezhnosti" trademark.

The initiative includes a national contest "My Independence Pie", which brings together stories about culinary traditions, regional flavors, and homemade pastries of Ukrainians. The contest is aimed at exploring gastronomic practices of different regions of Ukraine, encouraging the study of family history, preserving culinary heritage, popularizing family recipes, and the tradition of baking a pie for the Independence Day of Ukraine.

In 2026, the organizers launched a separate nomination for communities, societies, and teams. Therefore, both individual participants and teams, territorial communities, villages, streets, and other associations can participate in the competition.

To participate in the competition, you must fill out the questionnaire by August 24, 2026 at the link: https://web2.gradus.app/survey/pyrih .

Detailed information about the conditions of the competition and the progress of the initiative is available on the official information resources of the organizers:

- official page of the competition: https://www.instagram.com/pyrih_konkurs/

- official page of the initiative https://www.facebook.com/pyrih.ua/

- a project about the gastronomic culture of Ukraine https://yizhakultura.com/project/24