Farmer’s Market “Pendara” at the Zhenski Pazar Market will support the start-ups of Bulgarian Farmers and Craftsmen
The new type of farmer’s market “Pendara” will focus on the Bulgarian taste, new products, and producers, as well as innovations based on our National culinary heritage.
On the 12th of October, 2019 the Zhenski Pazar Market will be hosting the first farmer’s market “Pendara,” which is going to support the startups of Bulgarian farmers and artisans, will promote new producers and products, as well as innovations based on our national culinary heritage. In the first farmer’s market, organized by Foundation “LocalFood.bg” and “Markets Vazrazhdane” we could expect the participation of more than 50 small startup Bulgarian farms and craftsmen. The ambition of the organizers is the Farmer’s Market to become traditional and to be conducted every Saturday on the
Zhenski Pazar Market.
“Pendara” is an entirely new type of farmer’s market, which will be presented to the capital citizens for the first time. We strive to show the small farms and the craftsmen in Bulgaria and focus on the Bulgarian taste. We want to introduce the food through culinary stalls and demonstrations of the Bulgarian cuisine from different parts of the world. This will be done by chefs, who will cook with the farmers’ products, as well as attractive guests, who will reveal the secrets of the Bulgarian taste. “There will be an Academy for Teaching Young Farmers as well” – says Gergana Kabaivanova, manager of the foundation „LocalFood.bg“.
The platform of the farmer’s market has got a capacity of over 100 participants, separated in two blocks and three product zones: “Fruit and vegetables,” “Dairy and Meat” and “Other food and beverages”, which will be situated on the Zhenski Pazar Market in the space between the streets “Simeon,” and “Kiril and Metodii.”
There is a good reason for the different farmer’s market to take place here in the heart of the Women’s market. Exactly the oldest capital trade center was and still is a center of the Bulgarian production, so we decided to support in a natural way the starting Bulgarian farms and crafts. The capital residents, as well as guests in Sofia, will be able to buy not only fruit and vegetables and delicious gourmet, but simultaneously we will give them a new experience of the farmer’s market. Our ambition is this market to be held every Saturday since the first edition already gathered more than 30 participants and that happened a month before the end term for entering,” claimed Dragomir Dimitrov, an executive director of “Markets Vazrazhdane”, the municipal association, which administers the Zhenski Pazar Market.
Up to this moment the registered for participation in the Farmer’s Market “Pendara” are the small family farm Green Living Farm, which offers quail eggs and a unique paste made of them. The farm Yarlovo is a producer of farmer’s products from cow milk and the farmer’s dairy “Keffa” offers sheep and cow milk products. “Angus Catering” produces veal and products from it, which will be prepared in place and that is expected to be one of the attractions for the market’s visitors. “Tomkonserv” is a family producer of liutenitsas and vegetable pates by old village recipes, and the farm “Venets” is a farmer’s cooperation, which will present fruit and juices to the capital residents. In the farmer’s zones of the market will be included also producers of traditional candies, handicraft bread with yeast, honey and bee products, bio wines and vinegar and many others.
In the three major zones of the Farmer’s market with priority are included starting up small farmers and craftsmen, who have registered their production not later than the past 3 years. That’s the period during which one of the organizers of the initiative, Foundation “LocalFood.bg” with the support of Foundation “America for Bulgaria,” has developed its educational and mentoring activity for the incubation of micro businesses for local foods. Exactly because of this, among the participants will be included many business initiatives, whose start-up has been supported by the foundation. Except for the starting producers, however, the Farmer’s Market “Pendara” will accept other small farmers and craftsmen as well, who correspond to the conditions to be included – to offer local foods produced in a natural and handicraft way.
The platform of the Farmers market includes a culinary zone as well, in which restaurants, streed food initiatives and chefs will take place, as the purpose is to focus on the restoration of the Bulgarian taste and the native production. They will offer to the visitors of the market foods and beverages, prepared with Bulgarian ingredients, but presented as a variety of cuisines – from the traditional Bulgarian, through the burgers in the American style, to the tendencies in meatless, glutenless, lactoseless and so on. Among the leading participants in the culinary zone will be Andre Tokev with his project ORYZA and the chef Rosen Chakarov, whose show “Zhivodar – culinary stories on two wheels” will present he authentic Bulgarian products, produced by the new participants in the market.
Farmer’s Market Pendara envisages a small art zone as well, in which will be presented creative wares from natural materials but natural, hand-made cosmetics as well.
