Bulgarians have become more exacting towards food and nutrition. The number of the people who prefer organic and homemade food has risen significantly. People try to avoid eating oily sauces, heavy thickenings and sodden bread. It turned out that organic food produced in Bulgaria can be tasty and quite healthy. Some people even prefer to enjoy organic cuisine in exquisite gourmet restaurants. In other words, the culinary culture of the Bulgarians has been improving over the years.

Just like other Bulgarian chefs and owners of gourmet restaurants, Petar Yorgov tours the country in search of unique and traditional food products, in order to impress his customers. “People who dine in my restaurant have high expectations toward food and service”, Petar explains. His meals are inspired by nature and its gifts. Recently he came across green asparagus grown under all organic standards in the village of Oborishte, Varna district. He serves this vegetable with crab salad, or makes asparagus ice-cream served with mature sheep yellow cheese.

His culinary fantasy indulges his clientele which consists of foreign and local fans of gourmet cuisine. Most people find the restaurant with the help of the Trip advisor. Petar's restaurant is not the only place in Bulgaria's seaside capital Varna where fans of fine dining can enjoy elite Bulgarian menu. Recently Varna has attracted many fans of such culinary emotions. There are some exquisite gourmet restaurants in Veliko Tarnovo and Sofia, too. Everyone tries to indulge clients with unique local dishes. This is the culinary strategy of Petar Yorgov himself. In his view, most people prefer dishes cooked with organic ingredients, homemade products and farm produce. His favorite product is a Bulgarian green cheese made under old traditional recipe. He buys this cheese from a bio farm situated near the village of Cherni Vit (in the Balkan Mountain Range). Petar uses this cheese in a series of meals.

“This is the only natural mould cheese in the Balkans”, Petar explains. “It is covered with natural green mould on the outside and is white inside. It smells like mushroom, milk and grass. I use another unique Bulgarian product made under ancient recipes in the Cherni Vit farm. It is similar to the French brie cheese, but its crust has a green-blue color. It is covered with natural mould. However, it is yellow inside and has a flavor of mountain and milk. I often include Elena Leg (dry-cured ham from region of Elena) in my food menu, which is made of pork meat. The producer selects the pork legs and covers them in salt. The meat is kept for 4 to 6 months in a freezer. Later, it is cured for another 12 to 18 months. Petar's latest discovery is a pig from the Eastern Balkan Swine breed. The taste of this pork meat is wonderful.”

Petar buys meat straight from the small pig farm near the village of Vesselinovo, Shumen district. The animals are bred on mountain pastures, eat beechnuts, roots, mushrooms and forest fruit. The meat is later cooked in Petar's restaurant with baby potatoes, thyme and asparagus planted in the village of Oborishte.

What is an exquisite restaurant menu without a glass of wine, preferably Bulgarian? Petar offers in his restaurant over 700 types of wine. In his view his clients prefer Bulgarian wine which keeps them in good mood.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov