Interview with the founder of Wine & Food Society George Ganchev – Hedonique

By: Journalist Margaux A. Cintrano
Photo Copyright:  Wine & Food Society

Margaux: Tell us, how did you get involved in the wine and food industry.
George: My grandfather had a restaurant in Bulgaria before the time of the U.S.S.R. Communist takeover. Over the time, my passions have grown and approximately 10 years ago, I created The Bulgarian Wine Society, and from 2014, Wine & Food Society as an independent trade channel, through which the production of small producers of quality wines and food to reach the connoisseurs on the market of the European Union for now, nonetheless by the quantity they are making.
Margaux: What are your planned projects and goals for Wine and Food Society in 2020 ?
George: We are going to create wine and food selections and make these treasures accessible to the connoisseurs in Europe by placing electronic stores for each country. Due to the scale and the specifics of the regional productions and the policy of the large commercial structures, there is no way oil of high quality, produced in Italy or Greece, to reach the final connoisseurs in Denmark for example…., Wine & Food Society offers a solution to this problem. We start with Italian, French, Spanish and Bulgarian selections, in which will be offered unique products from these countries for the European market for now.
It’s not just a store like those you already know. If you choose a product you get a recommendation with which wine to enjoy it, as well as a recipe for its preparation. For this the chefs are an indispensable part of this project. Our tendency is to recommend recipes from the regional cuisine.
Margaux: If money were not an issue, what is your gastronomic dream trip and why ?
George: Everywhere where there is still regional cuisine, because it is the cultural memory of the mankind.
Margaux: Who are your food icons?
George: My friend – Du Chef Radichev, who produces an unique goat cheese with truffles.
Margaux: Tell us briefly about some of grape varieties cultivated in Bulgaria.
George: In the Bulgarian lands wine has been produced for millennia, but what the modern ones can taste is Mavrud, typical Melnik Vine /the so-called “Shiroka Melnishka Loza”/, Gamfor. From the later created varieties Rubin is my favorite.
Margaux: What are your favorite Bulgarian dishes?
George: Chomlek, it is a dish of meat and vegetables splashed with a red wine, which is cooked very slowly in a crock.
Margaux: Last but not least, what is your favorite food product and how do you enjoy it ?
George: What in Italy is called Prosciutto, in Spain – Hamon, in Bulgaria is Salted Pork Ham from the area of the town of Elena. I like to combine it with Mavrud.

Publisher Margaux Cintrano of Beyond Taste, Oltre il Gusto Magazine