Teaching people to cook healthier, one technique at a time
We started because too many people thought healthy cooking meant bland food and complicated recipes. It doesn't.
How this started
Two people who got tired of seeing students struggle with basic cooking skills that should've been simple.
Lesia spent years teaching culinary courses in Mykolaiv. Every semester, she'd watch students overcomplicate things. They'd read recipes that called for specialty equipment they didn't own, or ingredients they couldn't pronounce. Most gave up before finishing the first week.
Bohdan was running a tech education platform. He kept hearing the same complaint from users scattered across Ukraine: "The content is good, but I can't get to the physical classes." Geography was the problem. Quality instruction existed, but only if you lived in the right city.
They met at a local business meetup in 2019. Lesia mentioned her frustration with students dropping out. Bohdan said he had the infrastructure to reach people anywhere in the country. Six months of planning later, QurDavel went live in early 2020.
The timing was accidental but turned out to matter. When people suddenly needed to cook at home more often, they realized they didn't actually know how. Our first masterclass on steam cooking filled up in two days. We ran it three more times that month.
Now we focus on techniques that work in any kitchen. No fancy gadgets. No hard-to-find ingredients. Just practical methods that make food taste better and keep more nutrients intact. Students from Lviv to Kharkiv can log in and learn the same skills, at the same time, from instructors who've actually spent years in professional kitchens.
Who runs this
Lesia Kovalenko
Co-founder & Culinary Director
Spent 12 years teaching at culinary institutes before starting QurDavel. Specializes in making complex techniques accessible to beginners. Still teaches the grilling masterclass every month because she refuses to hand it off to anyone else.
Bohdan Shevchuk
Co-founder & Technical Director
Built the platform infrastructure and manages all technical operations. Previously ran an online learning company serving 8,000 students across Ukraine. Handles everything from video encoding to server optimization so instructors can focus on teaching.
Oksana Bilyk
Lead Instructor - Baking & Fermentation
Worked in professional bakeries for 15 years before joining the team. Teaches sourdough fundamentals and fermentation techniques. Her students consistently report that her instructions are the clearest they've encountered anywhere.
Dmytro Hrytsenko
Instructor - Knife Skills & Preparation
Former restaurant chef who transitioned to education after realizing most home cooks were wasting time with poor cutting techniques. His knife skills course is the most replayed content on the platform because people keep going back to check their form.
What we actually care about
These aren't aspirational values printed on a wall. They're the decisions we make when building courses and choosing what to teach.
Show the actual process
No jump cuts. No sped-up footage. If a technique takes 8 minutes, the video shows all 8 minutes so you can see what's actually happening.
Explain the why
Instructors don't just demonstrate. They explain why the technique works, what happens if you skip a step, and how to fix it when things go wrong.
Test before teaching
Every course gets tested by at least 5 people with different skill levels before we publish it. If beginners can't follow along, we rebuild it.
Real kitchens only
No studio setups with equipment most people don't own. Courses are filmed in actual home kitchens with standard appliances and tools.
Accessible ingredients
If an ingredient is hard to find in most Ukrainian cities, we don't use it. Every recipe works with items from standard grocery stores.
Realistic timing
Course descriptions include actual prep time, active cooking time, and total time from start to finish. No misleading "30-minute" claims for dishes that take 90 minutes.
Direct instructor access
Students can message instructors directly through the platform. Response time averages under 6 hours during weekdays.
Lifetime access
Once you enroll in a course, you can access it forever. Come back and rewatch sections whenever you need a refresher.
No upsells mid-course
The price you see is what you pay. No premium tiers, no locked modules, no surprise charges for "bonus content" halfway through.
Ready to improve how you cook?
Browse our current masterclasses and see which techniques fit what you're trying to learn. All courses include full video demonstrations and direct instructor support.