Tutta Bella Launches Ukrainian Aid Fundraiser At WA Restaurants

SEATTLE — A Seattle-based pizzeria is helping raise funds for Ukraine, in a show of support for several Ukrainian employees who have families directly impacted by the Russian invasion.

Tutta Bella, a Neapolitan-style pizza chain, has dozens of locations across Washington, including numerous Puget Sound outposts around Seattle, the Eastside and Pierce County.

"Tutta Bella stands with our Ukrainian employees and the people of Ukraine," said Joe Fugere, Tutta Bella's founder and CEO, in a statement this week. "Our lead gnocchi maker, Iryna Mykhalchuk, and two of her fellow team members are from Ukraine. Like so many around the world, we have felt utterly helpless and filled with deep despair for what the Ukrainians are enduring."

To help kickstart the fundraising effort, Tutta Bella created the Peremoha cocktail, which means "victory" in Ukrainian, and will donate all proceeds from the drink to Razom for Ukraine, described as a non-profit "supporting the people of Ukraine in their pursuit of a democratic society with dignity, justice, and human and civil rights for all."

For those who can't grab a drink, the pizzeria also shared a Facebook donation link for the same organization and posted directions for making the cocktail at home. The garnish is a lemon slice with blueberries on either side — a nod to the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

"I am equally terrified and devastated," Mykhalchuk said. "My family is now hunkered down in a small house on the outskirts of town. There is no restroom and no kitchen. The only thing sustaining me right now is the gratitude in my heart for the solidarity people are showing for my homeland."

Fugere said he will continue to donate 100 percent of the cocktail's proceeds to Razom for as long as the war lasts.

Here is the recipe to make the cocktail at home, courtesy of Tutta Bella:

1 oz Chopin Vodka
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Ginger Beer
¼ oz Simple Syrup

Garnish: Lemon Slice Sandwiched by 2 Blueberries on a Bamboo Skewer

1. Fill pint glass with ice.
2. In a shaker pint, add Vodka, Amaro Montenegro, Lemon Juice, Ginger Beer, and Simple Syrup.
3. Using a stainless-steel shaker, shake all ingredients together for 15 seconds.
4. Double strain ingredients into a rocks glass with a jumbo ice cube in it.
5. Garnish with a Lemon Slice Sandwiched by 2 Blueberries on a Bamboo Skewer.
6. Prop Bamboo Skewer horizontally over the glass.