“I have been dealing with chocolate since birth! I have grown up on and under the pastry cooking table and people say I have chocolate and cream in my blood”, Chef Petko Kostadinov says jokingly. He is a second generation pastry-cook and has been helping in the family workshop since he was a child. Today he is heading the firm, which has been on the market for 20 years now. The company also deals in trade of machinery, accessories and supplies for confectionary. Petko Kostadinov brings us more:

“In Bulgaria we are trying to do actually something that has been a trend in other European countries for 10 years now. I am witnessing a certain renaissance in Bulgarian culinary art and confectionary; a growing number of people are using silicone baking forms. They turn to things beautiful and exquisite and use season’s produce in their recipes.”

Unlike large-scale producers, who strictly keep secret about the technologies of production and the recipes of their chocolate sweets, the mission Petko Kostadinov has chosen is quite different.

“Our aim is to promote confectionary production in Bulgaria. The vision, the decoration are our strong points. Most important of all is to develop so that there are secrets that we can afford to make known. And what I am trying to do is to help people, who are not intending to take up sweetmeat making professionally, to reach a high level even if stepping into the job out of curiosity only”, Petko Kostadinov explains. To put his goal through the master organizes courses and trainings where he demonstrates novelties in the craft in a modern way.

“I have been demonstrating very interesting things, such as mousse made of caramelized sauerkraut or pudding with pickled cucumbers and fried bacon, as well as all kinds of mousses with different kinds of cheese. Furthermore, dark chocolate combines very well with blue cheese. The combination between sweet and salty and things that people would often vanguard or extravagant, are also things I try to introduce – people show a growing interest in that type of cuisine.”

In pastry tendencies are so numerous, that it is impossible for a single chef to apply them all, even though Petko Kostadinov admits confectionary is an obsession for him. He wants to share with all wishing to learn about latest techniques in sweets-making, decoration and latest trends in fillings.

“Methods for making chocolate sweets are very interesting. Cocoa butter is melted and then added dye. With a special compressor it is introduced into the form. In this way we can achieve amazing decorations and merging colors”, Petko Kostadinov shares about the technology. “We also use chocolate transfer – special paper is placed in a printer charged with food dies and in this way we can transfer a picture onto the chocolate service. We can also combine several different fillings as well as different textures and tastes.”

As to the fillings, at the moment most attractive are seasonal products. We have demand for chocolates with quince and indris flavor as well as the classical milk caramel and salty caramel. Some of the most curious recent designs are those of chocolates in the form of pills. “For me these sweets are small pills for happiness. They inject pleasure directly into the organism and that is why I call them smile pills, and they really work!” Petko adds.

Chef Kostadinov is the master who represented Bulgaria at the European tournament in confectionary in Italy last summer. On the subject “Child’s birthday” he prepared a big chocolate chair with a teddy bear sitting on it, holding a cake and a chocolate gift. The international jury highly appreciated the unexpected combination of tastes Petko offered.

“I like very much summer tastes and even it may sound strange to some, for me the aroma of summer is in strawberries and cucumber”, Petko Kostadinov explains. “In the tart I included strawberry jam and marakuja, and then I made a sweet “tarator” (yogurt and cucumber with dill) – something like crème freshe with cucumbers in marinade made of sweetened linden tea with sugar and vanilla. I also prepared a strawberry cream and cucumber juice. It turned out very tasty.”

Confectionary is true art. Is it accessible for everyone to learn?

“I don’t think there are people who would not be able to learn to make pastry and sweets. Everyone can become a confectionary maker. It is only up to the particular person to persist and become a master in the craft”, Petko Kostadinov says in conclusion.

English version: Iva Letnikova