Listen up, foodies. Sitting due north of Greece and proximate to Turkey is Macedonia, a yet-to-be-discovered country popping up on the culinary radar thanks to cheese, wine and wild game. Now there’s an opportunity to taste and tour this ancient world that has a 95 percent literacy rate with free internet in most places.
Macedonia Experience has introduced the “Culinary Experience,” a 10 day/9 night sampler with hands-on demonstrations of traditional Macedonian cuisine combining Balkan and Mediterranean characteristics of fresh fruits and veggies, mountain-grown herbs and local wines. Toss in Turkish tastes that prevailed during long centuries of Ottoman rule, a few wild game dishes and gustatory senses will be overjoyed.
This pepper-spiked adventure includes accommodations (guests select the class of hotel they desire); all transfers, tours and activities; ingredients for the preparation of dishes; guidance and tutorials for preparation of the dishes in a traditional setting; and the services of a tour guide. This tour is offered year-round for a minimum of two people or a maximum of 12. An average tour cost for guests booking medium-priced hotels throughout the journey starts at €2000 per person, double based on four participants.
“By traveling with us, we hope not only to nourish one’s soul but to turn guests into the engine that drives our dream of letting the world know about the beauties of Macedonia,” said Jane Josifovski, Macedonia Experience product manager and co-owner.
Guests transfer from Skopje Airport to their hotel in the historic town of Skopje, inhabited since 4000 BC. Here the culinary games begin. Lunch is in a restaurant built in a traditional style with live Macedonian music surrounded by the mystery of the Old Bazaar where wines and spirits (mainly rakija, a typical Macedonian spirit made by distillation of fermented fruits) and cheese are served in bars and eateries. The next day a pre-breakfast visit to a pazar (typical market) introduces foods and spices before a traditional breakfast of pastry with chorba (a minestrone-type soup). Guests learn how to prepare makalo (gravy), pot cheese and proja (preparation of cornmeal into a type of bread). Later comes a wine and cheese tasting before dinner at a winery near Skopje.
Macedonia Experience, www.macedoniaexperience.com