site.btaFirst-ever Culinary Festival Dedicated to Gorna Oryahovitsa Pot Held in NC Bulgaria

The Gorna Oryahovitsa pot, one of the emblems of the culinary art in the north-central town, gathered hundreds of people at the first festival dedicated to the dish here on Saturday. The three-day programme began with the screening of The Vitality of Traditions, created by the team of the Historical Museum in Gorna Oryahovitsa, and a reenactment by the students of the Georgi Izmirliev Secondary School. 

Mayor Nikolai Rashkov said at the opening of the festival that this culinary creation of the people of Gorna Oryahovitsa has a long history and is a symbol of the grit, ingenuity and practicality of their ancestors. "We are organising this first festival with the intention that it will become a tradition," he noted. He recalled that the Gorna Oryahovitsa pot came to be so that none of the animal's raw material would be thrown away. The locals used the good meat to make dried sausage and turned the leftovers into a meal worthy of a royal table, because the dish was rich in collagen and gave strength, Rashkov added. 

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Deyan Stratev congratulated the initiators who organised the festival.

Local collector and culinary expert Hristo Dimov gathered connoisseurs of the Gorna Oryahovitsa delicacy at his stand. Chefs Ivaylo Ivanov and Tsarina Tsaneva prepared eight pots of the dish, roasted over a slow fire overnight, of which over 250 portions were distributed. Chef Stanimir Radichev also presented masterly appetizers.

The festival's programme also includes performances by amateur folklore groups from the region,the Big Bagpipes formation, and a concert by Petya Paneva and Mitko Denev.