We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Asia Gonczar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Asia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

Like many Americans, I have been moved to find something useful to do to help the refugees who are fleeing their homeland, Ukraine, A very specific opportunity has appeared. My Austin friend, Oksana, originally from Odessa, Ukraine, had family that has made it from Ukraine to Romania. Everything they own had been left behind and they were living on donations. Last March, our company decided to donate all proceeding from Potato and Farmes Cheese pierogi sale to my friend’s Oksana family: Mama Zoya, sister Nina, Sasha (15) and Dima (11). Oksana, tried to bring her loved ones to the United States. The family had applied for Visas to the US and they needed money for travel and daily necessities. Unfortunatelly, they found out that the paperwork was done incorrectly and had to re-do it. They appointment was scheduled for August 16th (they applied in March) so Oksana had to crete a plan B, which was to fly them to Mexico, so they can seek asylum at the American Boarder. President Biden announced that the US will receive 100k Ukrainian Refugees ,so our hope was that they would fall into that category….April 20th, was one of the happiest days in my life. Oksanas family made it across the boarder at Brownsville. My company, Apolonia Catering, in March was able to collect almost $3000 from pierogi sales. All money was donated to our friend Oksana family. I was so grateful to be a part of this incredible journey.

Asia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always been fascinated with food and had my first memorable culinary experiences at the age of twelve. I made my first pierogi and pickles when my parents were at work, as I helped to take care of my younger siblings. I believe that sometimes it’s not formal training that sets apart a chef, but constant improvement and trying to create better artistry in one’s food. It is love of the trade that makes one exceptional. My education background is in IT and computers, but my job did not bring the spark in life that I hoped for. I discovered that doing what you love is a much more fulfilling way of life than just grinding through a career path. When I came to the U.S.,I wanted to follow my dream, my path, my calling. I needed inspiration, which I got from family and friends who experienced my cuisine. Then I met Izabela. She was exceptional at baking, and we clicked. We had a few amazing years until Spring of 2020 when our business was hit hard by the economic downturn brought on by Covid 19. In January 2021, Izabela decided to leave as she could no longer deal with the stress related to the pandemic. Izabela’s leaving had a big impact on me because I was losing a great business partner, however, I saw this as an opportunity to do something different. In April 2021, I opened my new kitchen in Pflugerville with almost 2000 square feet of space and a walk-in freezer and cooler. I qualified for a loan from the government that will have to be paid back but I truly believe that my business will thrive. My new kitchen is a dream come true – it has everything I was dreaming of before. This is my place, my second home, and the new home to whomever will work there with me. I have an amazing team and people who believe in me. COVID made a big revolution in my life; it was like a big storm, but after the storm came nice and calm weather. I am a lucky woman!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Looking back, March 2020 seems like a bad dream. We had a few months planned ahead and our calendar was full: business lunches on a daily basis, dinner parties, weddings, big business events in May, smaller family events, and all of a sudden we were getting cancellations. Every single day something was canceled. Just like that. Nobody knew what to expect or what to do. I knew that I did not want to close the business and that we would find a way to survive. Our goal was to pay the kitchen rent on time (back then I was using a commissary kitchen in Cedar Park) and to pay our employees. After many sleepless nights, we decided that the only way to survive was to offer family meals weekly. Another big challenge was to find ingredients. There were shortages of meat and vegetables. We were driving from store to store to try to buy chicken breasts or potatoes. It reminded me of my Polish childhood under martial law and communism. Although I was very young, I still remember those crazy times.

Facebook Foodie Groups saved us because I started to advertise my company more on social media than I had been before COVID. Currently, I am a part of at least six food groups, including EuroCircle and several others. We were delivering food all around Austin. We also started to think about selling pierogi, which we were already famous for, at the Farmers Markets in Austin. During the beginning of COVID, the Borderless European Market really helped us sell pierogi and they continue to do so. In November 2020 we started to sell pierogi at the Texas Farmers Markets at Lakeline and Mueller and this was a big hit; especially our ready-to-eat pierogi at Mueller.

Because of the past two years, I am stronger than ever and have gained new clients and new friends.

How’d you meet your business partner?

One of the most important people that met in my professional life is Chef Heath Young. Heath is not only my kitchen manager, but also my friend. We have been working togehter for many years and I have a full trust in him. We have met at the commercial kitchen that we both were renting. One day I told hime that I needed an extra help and he said that he will gladly help us and he stayed with us….Next summer, we all are planning a trip to Poland as I want to show him a place where I was born and spent 23 years of my life. Heath is an amazing person.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.apoloniacatering.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apoloniacatering/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apoloniacatering/

Image Credits
Tishy Bryant