Ukrainian bakery in Royal Docks’ Expressway offers printed biscuits and a full range of cakes and desserts as staff look to rebuild their lives
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Payava is the story of courage in the face of adversity.
Valentyna Vierovkina and Olesia Lutsenko never expected to be in Royal Docks.
But when Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine almost exactly three years ago, they made a decision.
“We were living in the northern part of the country, which borders Russia and Belarus,” said Olesia.
“On the third day of the most recent invasion, our city was surrounded – there were Russian tanks just 20km from our houses.
“We were bombed by Russian planes.
“It really wasn’t pleasant and we decided to leave – we both have daughters who are 10 years old and it was for their safety.
“That was our priority. Valentyna left first with friends and we stayed in touch. I followed a little later.”
Both women were bakers in Ukraine and had successful businesses which the war forced them to leave behind.
They’d long been friends and supporters of each other, while serving different sectors of the market.
So when Valentyna decided she wanted to do more with her time in the UK than just work as an employee in a bakery, further collaboration was a natural next step.
Payava means “existence” in Ukrainian – but spelt to honour its three owners, Pavlo and Yana Kovalenko and Valentyna.
With Olesia in the role of head baker – bringing with her a wealth of expertise in cakes and desserts – the team was complete.
“My first thought in all this was to bring my daughter to safety,” said Valentyna.
“Then, a year after coming to the UK, I decided to go back to the Ukraine to see what was left of the business I’d invested 11 years of my life creating.
“I’d still been paying to rent the industrial space for the bakery despite the fighting but the building had been bombed and there had been looting.
“Nevertheless, I managed to get inside and salvage some of the equipment, which I brought back to the UK to help start Payava.
“It was difficult to find premises, but we found a unit at Expressway.”
rebuilding with Payava
Having sunk savings into the startup, Pavlo and the team worked tirelessly to bring the space up to Valentyna’s exacting standards.
Today it’s a light and functional bakery, all stainless steel with wood and marble counter tops, ready and waiting to produce sweet treats for customers.
“The main focus of our business is printed biscuits,” said Olesia. “These are Valentyna’s speciality. We have the technology – special food grade printers that work with edible inks – to put any design, picture or text on these biscuits.
“Customers can order just one, a box or 100 online. In fact in Ukraine, Valentyna’s biggest order was for 140,000.
“Companies can put logos on them or people can use then as business cards, with QR codes that can be scanned.
“We already have sign-off that these have a shelf life of three months and we’re currently awaiting a decision from the lab on six months.
“They’re tasty, they look fantastic and they don’t need any kind of special storage so they’re easy to order and keep for when they’re needed.
“We can make these with a traditional sugar biscuit, but we’ve found our Ukrainian recipe is also very popular with English customers.
“This is a honey biscuit with a touch of spice – cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger – but it’s delicate. It’s soft and mild. We use honey and spices not only for taste, but also it ensures a long shelf life.
“Children love them and we did some samples for people when we launched it.
“We’ve had amazing feedback on the new recipe – the cookies themselves are soft, while the icing is quite crunchy, which is a special texture in the mouth.
“The spice is there, but it’s not a crazy, strong taste.”
building up the business
Despite the years of experience behind it, as a startup, Payava faces the tough trading conditions experienced by new businesses.
“In Ukraine, we’d been established for more than 10 years,” said Valentyna.
“Here we’ve been open for six months so it’s tough.
“We’ve been knocking on doors but it’s hard to get clients because we’re still a new business, although we have been very successful within the Ukranian community.
“We never planned any of this, but we’ve had to adapt and we’re ready.
“Before all this, I was looking at expanding into Europe and I would love the business to grow here, to take on more employees and to make that happen.”
It’s perhaps that resilient drive that shines through here. Valentyna and the team seem clear.
It’s not enough for Payava to simply exist – it needs to thrive too, which explains the bakery’s plans to further use its space for cookery classes, children’s parties and to introduce a small shop so customers can order its more perishable goods through the likes of Uber Eats.
While it’s not born of a situation of the owners’ choosing, Expressway could well end up being the starting point for sweet success.
And if that involves the likes of Olesia’s honey cake, richly layered with plums and cream, becoming a more common sight on British tables, then it’s only to be welcomed.
this article features translation from Natasha Hart of NASSA
key details: Payava
Payava sells a wide range of baked goods from its Royal Docks base at Expressway including bespoke printed biscuits, cakes, cookies, brownies and desserts online.
The bakery is open weekdays from 9am-6pm and from 11am-6pm.
Contact via WhatsApp to +44 7443 440 137 or email info@payava.co.uk for enquiries.
Find out more about the bakery’s range or order online here
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