A Family Borscht Recipe Brings The Bear Duo Back To The Kitchen
Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are back in a kitchen together, but nobody is screaming “corner,” a ticket printer is not ruining the day and the only real pressure comes from peeling beets without taking off a fingertip.
The Bear co-stars reunite for NYT Cooking to prepare a vegetarian borscht recipe from Ebon’s mother-in-law, Lydia. It is equal parts cooking lesson, family tribute and two old friends distracting each other with Massachusetts movies, restaurant memories and strategically timed shots of potato vodka.
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Head to NYT Cooking for more recipes, then stock the kitchen for your own deeply magenta soup moment.
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Ebon Married Into The Recipe—and Wants His Daughters To Keep It
Ebon explains that the savory soup is built more around cabbage than the sweet, beet-heavy jarred versions many Americans may recognize. The beets bring color and nutrients, but much of the flavor develops while the onions and cabbage soften and caramelize in the uncovered pot.
“Cabbage, like humans, is mostly water,” he offers, casually dropping the kind of kitchen philosophy that deserves to be printed on a tea towel.
The recipe carries more than dinner value for him. Ebon says he did not grow up with a strong national or culinary identity of his own, but married into this Ukrainian family tradition and wanted his daughters there to learn it. He speaks warmly about Lydia, the way she cut potatoes directly in her hand and the emotional history that now lives inside the soup.
Ayo Brings Real Restaurant History To The Cutting Board
Ayo may play a chef on television, but her food-service résumé began long before The Bear. She recalls working as a dishwasher at a nursing home before moving through reservations, hosting and serving at ABC Kitchen. She later pulled barista shifts at V and occasionally covered at Cocina.
That experience makes her look perfectly at home with the knife work—even while admitting that beets are not exactly part of her “cultural food pyramid.” Ebon coaches her through his preferred cutting method, while Ayo explains that years of professional greeting voices once earned her a memorable $100 tip from Steve Buscemi and Paul McCartney.
She also shares the nervous celebrity encounter that left her telling Tony Shalhoub, “It’s so nice of you to meet me.” Months later, she learned he had been retelling the story.
The Bear Taught Them Mise En Place, Patience And The Power Of A Scraper
The pair naturally drift into what the FX series changed about their real cooking. Ayo points to mise en place: understanding the order of operations, keeping the workspace clean and preparing ingredients efficiently. Ebon says the show taught him to stop constantly fussing with food in the pan and simply let it interact with the heat.
Ayo’s favorite practical discovery is the humble bench scraper. “I love a scraper,” she declares before Ebon immediately produces one like a kitchen magician.
They also revisit the potato-chip omelet from The Bear. Ayo helped develop and repeatedly ate the dish while filming, while Ebon stayed on set just to watch the technique because his own attempts at a French omelet had never quite cooperated.
The Soup Turns Magenta—And Ayo Was Not Ready For It Cold
After the soup rests overnight, the finished borscht returns cold and ready for sour cream, dill, cucumber and an optional egg. Ayo’s first reaction is wonderfully honest: she was not emotionally prepared for the temperature.
She quickly clarifies that it is good—just outside her usual food Rolodex. Once the sour cream mixes into the beets, the bowl transforms into what they agree is a gorgeous magenta. Ebon gets to share a recipe he loves, his daughters help finish it and Ayo gives the unfamiliar dish a fair, if mildly startled, welcome.
Ayo Edebiri And Ebon Moss-Bachrach Cook Together
From beet-stained hands and vodka breaks to restaurant jobs and lessons from The Bear, see the friends prepare Lydia’s vegetarian borscht for NYT Cooking.
Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach prepare, taste and share a Ukrainian family borscht recipe. Images via NYT Cooking.
Watch Ayo And Ebon Make Vegetarian Borscht
Watch the complete NYT Cooking episode as Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach cook, trade stories and bring the family recipe to the table.
Source: NYT Cooking.
