For the development of tourism, the food plays a huge role, so when we are already talking about that, we would like you to meet Dimitar, the man who as a graduated manager in customs and freight manages to find himself in the gastronomic family of Slow Food Macedonia.
Dimitar says that he never worked what he studied for because he has focused himself on food, especially on the preparation of the famous “Ohridsko Makalo”.
His story began to unfold in the small fishing village of Trpejca, the place where his wife comes from. His wife’s family has its own restaurant located by the beach, which works only during the summer season.
In the summer season, Dimitar works and helps in the restaurant in order to satisfy the guests. He has been doing amateur cooking for 20 years, but he says that he loves to cook for his family and friends. His inspiration comes from the women from Trpejca, who enjoy while preparing the fish and the traditional Ohridsko makalo (the Ohrid’s dip)
At his wife’s restaurant, the main specialty is of course the fish with freshly baked bread and homemade dip (Ohridsko makalo). The everyday encounter with the local food in Trpejca encourages Dimitar to open his own shop where he will sell packaged home-made food instead of classic souvenirs. The purpose of the store, as he says, is to meet the needs of the tourists who instead of magnets or jewelry will decide to buy a homemade Ohridsko makalo ( the Ohrid’s dip) as a gift for their loved ones.
In order for things to remain the same as they were in the past, Dimitar decided to produce the makalo (the traditional Ohrid’s dip) as it should be. Today, in his shop “Papa’s Food Ohrid”, you can find a dip which is made from 100 percent domestic products. Part of the garlic that contains the dip (the traditional Ohridsko makalo) is from his plantations in the village of Kosel, and he buys the rest of the ingredients from domestic suppliers. The Ohrid’s dip is filled into jars as soon as it is made in order to squeeze out the air and maintain the quality. At the moment they do not have a mass industrial production, so for that reason the production of the Ohrid’s dip depends on the harvest and the weather conditions during the year. As Dimitar says, they have never missed a year so far, because they know that Macedonian producers always offer quality products.
In his store you can also find certified Macedonian organic wine, as well as various barricaded wines from small family wineries.
As for the end of this gastronomic story, we shouldn’t forget the homemade cookies and the tarana (a kind of homemade pasta)that can be found in Papa’s Food Ohrid. Just like the traditional Ohridsko makalo(the Ohrid’s dip), these products are made according to a traditional recipe from domestic products.
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