Food is a fundamental element in the travel experience – eating a local dish can evoke ancient traditions stirred into age-old recipes or bring to light new cultural movements whipped into modern fusion cuisine. Today, many of the world’s most food-obsessed countries are making their culinary culture all the more accessible through hands-on time with local cooks, open tasting rooms and behind-the-scenes tours, Lonely Planet writes. 

Moreover, the selection of some of the most mouthwatering food-touring experiences from around the world also includes Macedonia. 

Fascinating, micro food-producing communities exist all over this Balkan state, where home-cooking, home-growing and local foraging are simply part of village life. Mountain herbs, paprika, porcini mushrooms, walnuts and fruit rakija are stockpiled in markets; and local cheese is central to meals thanks to celebrated traditional cheese-makers that produce salty, raw-milk sheep’s cheeses in the Mavrovo National Park. Unsurprisingly, restaurant menus are effortlessly locavore and farm-to-table. The elevated old-stone village of Dihovo at the base of Pelister National Park makes a bucolic base for tasting the regional cuisine. Here, local man Petar has helped pioneer community tourism, reimagining his family home into a pay-what-you-think guesthouse starring home cooking and food, wine and beer tastings. Visit the village’s apiary, kitted out in protective gear, for tales of bear sightings and tastings of woodland honey with the resident beekeeper. 

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Ask any Macedonian to elaborate on the goings-on at local festivities and they’re likely to begin by reeling off the delicious dishes that accompany the party. Feasting is ingrained in the culture of this small Balkan nation, and a reliance on agriculture and home producing means that Macedonia has been a haven of organic bounty and slow food long before these became buzzwords for gourmands.

In this fertile pocket of southeastern Europe, Mediterranean influences have intermingled with centuries of Ottoman rule to create a rich menu of local specialities, many of which you won’t find elsewhere. Today, food-loving rural communities are developing grassroots tourism initiatives to offer excellent culinary experiences for travellers. Often they are set in delightful stone villages rooted to the slopes of Macedonia’s mountainous national parks, and many cater for overnight visitors. Here are five of our favourites – make sure you pack your stretchy pants!

Home cooking in Brajčino

So revered is Milka’s home cooking at bucolic Vila Raskrsnica that bigwigs based in the capital Skopje (3.5 hours away) are known to make pilgrimages out here for lunch. But it would be a travesty just to come for lunch; the five-room guesthouse sits regally at the top of the rural village of Brajčino, a wall of mountains to one side and unexpected views of dishy Lake Prespa on the other. And what’s that sprawled across the lawn? It’s an ambitious fruit and vegetable plot – hello dinner.

The village itself, on the boundaries of Pelister National Park, is a delight. Daily life is played out to the rhythm of rushing mountain streams, cherry trees flash their bright rosy hues in summer, and traditional stone architecture makes Brajčino a fascinating place to wander. Back at Vila Raskrsnica, Milka lives by a garden-to-table philosophy and produces as much as she can herself, with the help of her son. Expect offerings of homemade wine or seasonal fruit liquor as soon as you drop your bags, and freshly baked mekici (fried doughnuts) with berry jam at breakfast. For dinner, ask to try her version of lukanci (paprika-laced pork-and-leek sausages – a Brajčino speciality).

Slow food in Janče

High in the hills of Mavrovo National Park, within foraging distance of porcini mushrooms, walnuts, berries and mountain herbs, Tefik Tefikovski is another local culinary champion responsible for opening Macedonia’s food scene to tourists. In the crumbling Mavrovo village of Janče he runs Hotel Tutto – a must for any hungry traveller. Tefik switched on to the Slow Food movement during 20 years spent living in Germany and Italy, and he was instrumental in launching Macedonia’s own Slow Food organisation in 2009.

Tefik can offer a handful of different sleeping options around the village – from hotel rooms to quaint cottage quarters – but the centre of the community is his restaurant, where diners get front-row seats for sweeping valley views. Grab a menu as soon as you check in, because there are several local specialities that need to be pre-ordered half a day ahead. Particularly yummy are the pita (a flaky, coiled pie stuffed with tangy local cheese and spinach or leek) and the slow-roasted lamb. Also don’t miss the local-produce shop in the foyer, enthusiastically piled with fruit-based rakija (Macedonian firewater) and paper bags of dried goodies plucked from the mountain passes.

Culinary tourism in Dihovo

It might seem an unlikely tale that a former professional footballer spurred a local culinary tourism movement, but so it goes in food-loving Macedonia. Petar Cvetkovski was a pioneer of the country’s blossoming community tourism scene and his local village, Dihovo, is now one of the top places in Macedonia to arrange honey-tastings with a local bee-keeper, cheese sampling and homemade-wine nights. The latter take place inside his family home and now guesthouse Villa Dihovo, with three rooms and a delightfully rustic booze cellar where bottles are planted in the walls. Unusually, guests are asked to pay what they think the stay is worth – there are no set prices here.

The village itself is another comely bolthole tucked into the lower folds of Pelister National Park, and within striking distance of one of the country’s top hikes up to the top of Mt Pelister (2601m), where two glacial lakes – ‘Pelister’s Eyes’ – pierce the lofty summit. Ask Petar about his new cooking classes, which he intends to offer from 2017, and tuck into his mum’s kebabs and sarma (stuffed vine leaves) in their country garden.

Cheese tasting in Galičnik

Within hiking distance of Janče, the timber-framed village of Galičnik is famed for two things: its annual wedding festival and its coveted raw-milk hard cheeses. The latter are produced using age-old methods with animals reared on mountain pastures; one of the cheeses, sirenje, is the star of Macedonia’s national šopska salata – a simple fuddle of tomatoes, cucumber and onion enriched with sharp, crumbly white cheese (not unlike a Greek salad).

It’s not that easy to drop by local producers on a whim, but Horse Club Bistra Galičnik offers daily horse-riding sessions accompanied by a stop for cheese tasting, which allows foodies to combine having a nibble (with a translator) and marvelling at the voluptuous mountain views. If you wish to stay in Galičnik there are a couple of guesthouses here, or you can amble over from neighbouring Janče.

Wine pairing in Tikveš

Winemaking is a ubiquitous cottage industry in Macedonia’s villages and backyards, as it is across much of the Balkans, but it’s only in the past 20 years or so that the commercial practice has found its feet in this country. Touring the vines independently can be difficult without a guide, but winery hotel Popova Kula in Macedonia’s Tikveš wine heartland – a 90-minute drive south of Skopje – is one place that you really must stop by.

Its tasting space in a 19th-century-inspired tower, grape-themed rooms and extended 22-hectare petticoat of vines are reason enough to stay here, but the elevated restaurant and wine-pairing menus make Popova Kula a unique food experience too. The vineyard prizes a little-known grape called Stanushina; it’s used to produce a signature dry blush rosé seemingly custom-made to slice through the acidity of Macedonia’s national salad. The country’s unique grape varietal Vranac (a full-bodied red) is an ideal match for the traditional lamb dishes.

SOURCE: LONELY PLANET

German Arte channel broadcast a documentary on the popular crushed pepper from the Bitola village of Bukovo. The short film about the famous Bukovka spice is focused on Ilinka Glavevska and her family, who explains the procedure on preparing the spice, and the main dishes it is used in.

Bosnian born German movie maker Mirjana Momirovic produced and directed the film that is presented Bukovka as a slow food specialty on Arte. Momirovic already worked on projects aimed to present the Macedonian ruby stone and on wines from the Vardar region. The Bukovka short film is part of a series of 200 episodes produced for Arte.

Full text on our German Tourism Blog

Bulgarian newspaper "24 Casa" published an article about the beauties of Macedonia titled "Macedonia - Country of gourmets and hospitality".

Macedonia is a country of flavor. If you sit down to eat your appetite will increase even after the first bite of food. If you only drink a sip of wine, you will never again beat your thirst.

These people know how to enjoy the food and eating is a kind of ritual.Many sunny days are a source of rich tastes and flavors in Macedonian cuisine. The region is characterized by a climate that is suitable for growing fruit, vegetables and various herbs and spices.

Each year, orchards and gardens are filled with amazingly delicious frui, vine is here, and the meat is natural and with extraordinary quality. In Macedonia it is easy to answer the culinary desires of everyone - those who want specialty of meat or fish, and those who prefer diverse vegetarian food.

Each season has certain seasonal food, and each region has its own specialty. Simply, you have a selection of food and you cannot be wrong. Valley flavors satisfy the thirst of every tourist who comes to try the highest quality Macedonian wine. There is a legend for once the driest region in Macedonia.

- Tikvesh had more wine than water, the text reads. Macedonian wineries fully open the doors to all visitors. Together with a team of sommeliers, in a light, informal and relaxing way can taste wines in combination with different foods.

We invite you to deli and wine tour that will help you learn the secrets of undiscovered Macedonia, reads the text of Bulgarian "24 Casa".

The Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism of the Republic of Macedonia for a second year in a row is promoting active tourism at the International Natour Alpe-Adria Fair in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The agency also promotes traditional Macedonian food and wine, and visitors have the opportunity to taste Macedonian ajvar and cheese.

Agency’s delegation holds meeting with representatives of Slovenian Airline Adria Airways who showed interest in increasing the number of passengers from Ljubljana to Skopje.

The Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism underlines in a press release the meetings with tour operators Compas, Oscar, Elephant travel, Slovenia Experience and Association of Slovenian Guides with which they agree cooperation in sharing expertise and professional experience for the establishment of ethical code of tourist guides.

The Association of Travel Journalists of Slovenia, FIJET, also expressed interest in the wine route and mountain tourism, expressing a desire to promote the tourist offer of Skopje and Ohrid.

More than 330 tourism providers from 15 countries take part at the International Natour Alpe-Adria Fair which is held from 1 to 4 February. 

Macedonia – A Heady Mix of Food Flavours, Wine and Culture Macedonian cuisine is very simple to prepare, very rich not only in taste and smell but also in colour. 

Macedonian cuisine is a colourful fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. Thanks to an abundance of sunshine and fertile soil the national dishes are rich in flavour and the climate is also perfect for growing an array of exquisite wines.

Find out which special dishes are being served up in this Balkan country on “Macedonian Life” as we embark on a culinary adventure, Euronews says in its article.

It’s busy in the kitchen of one of Skopje’s finest restaurants. Chef Natalie Bojadjievska prepares traditional dishes like the Macedonian Pan, a mix of pork, beef, courgette and eggplant. She sums up what’s good about the food:

“Macedonian cuisine is very simple to prepare, very rich not only in taste and smell but also in colour. Our cuisine is our way of living, you know. It’s not just a meal.”

Over at Alexsandar Palace, head chef Gievski Ljupčo identifies why Macedonian food is so different:

“Our kitchen is different from those of neighbouring countries because we use more vegetables – both fresh and cooked – and salads and we concentrate more on healthy food.”

Ljupčo has been working as a chef for more than 30 years and is a dedicated ambassador of home-grown gourmet cuisine. On tonight’s menu is a typical dish: stuffed peppers with minced beef.

During the day and out in the streets, locals flock to the Green Bazaars, fresh food markets which exist in every city. They’re loved for their locally grown and seasonal foods. An abundance of sunshine and rich, rocky soil create ideal conditions for many different fruits and vegetables.

The influences on Macedonian food come from far and wide – it’s a melting pot of cultures which has evolved over the centuries.

Nebojscha Vukovich is the President of the Gastronomy Association. He spoke to us about the formation and origins of the country’s cuisine:

“Macedonian cuisine is a mixture of a lot of cultures from people who came from abroad to Macedonia and left their mark, as well as Macedonians who lived abroad and brought back the habits from the culture they had experienced. We can say that countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have had a historic impact on our food. In recent times we have had influences from cuisines such as Austrian, Hungarian, Italian and French cuisine.

Cooking together is another big part of the country’s tradition. Feasts at weekend country houses are particularly popular. The Jovanovski family spends every weekend at their getaway near Skopje and their children often stop by with friends.

Nina Jovanovski is an English teacher and told us about the country’s culture of dining in company:

“Macedonians often come together at weekend houses. We want to be together and to prepare food of course because Macedonians are usually well known as good eaters.”

But not only does Macedonian cuisine have a rich history, wine too has a long tradition. It dates back to at least Roman times.

The country’s wine heartland is the Tikveš region. Vineyards huddle around the Vardar River, the Popova Kula winery among them.

Founder Jordan Trajkov was a banker who visited California’s Napa Valley. It changed his life. The experience inspired him to go back to his roots and to continue the family’s tradition of wine growing.

He planted his first grapes over ten years ago and takes particular pride in one of the varieties he grows, one of the oldest in the world: Stanushina also nicknamed “Macedonian Girl”. He spoke about the difficulties involved in saving the variety:

“We saved the Stanushina variety from extinction. Its a local variety, it was a forgotten variety, nobody was producing wine out of it. I went with my father to remote locations, to remote villages into the backyards of old houses, abandoned houses, we took the plants and we planted them there behind us. Our mission is to save the local and regional varieties and to show them to the world, to the wine world.”

From rich flavours to breathtaking monuments: in the next edition of “Macedonian Life” we travel to Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage city that lies on the shores of the oldest lake in Europe. We’ll discover Byzantine masterpieces and archaeological treasures that reveal the story of a city rich in history.