A sample of Bulgarian tastes and sounds made its way to Hart House last Thursday, as the Bulgarian Student Association (BSA) hosted a “Taste of Bulgaria” five-buck lunch in the Great Hall.
Treated to ambient Bulgarian pipe music and a video display of folkdance, students and faculty alike gorged themselves on traditional Bulgarian fare. Surprisingly, the expected dose of meat products that tends to characterize Slavic dishes was hardly to be seen.
“We eat a lot of meat but not a lot of seafood, almost none at all,” explained fourth-year Commerce student Antoaneta Borchoukova.
Along with stuffed peppers, guvech (mixed veggies) and oven-baked pumpkin for dessert, was banica, a popular cheese pie eaten all over Bulgaria.
“We eat banica for breakfast, dinner, desert,” said BSA president Evelina Encheva, laughing.
“She’s just kidding,” said Borchoukova.
Apparently, however, it does wonders for the waist size. “The whole diet is so different than from here, people are slimmer,” explained Borchoukova.
“Most Bulgarian women are very beautiful,” added Encheva.
And what of Bulgarian men?
“Dark hair, dark eyes. They’re social, have a sense of humour,” said Borchoukova.
“They’re enduring,” said a Bulgarian man rather mysteriously, walking away.
Next to the eating patrons was a table display of Bulgarian medieval artifacts and religious iconography. Pictures of traditional Bulgarian life and houses, as well as books and captions detailing Bulgarian politics, were also on display.
Bulgaria, a Christian Orthodox country sandwiched between Serbia, Romania, Greece and Turkey, has a population of 7.6 million. Like many former Eastern bloc countries, Bulgaria has struggled with market reforms as it sought to integrate more fully with the West after communism’s downfall in 1989. Fourth-year economics major Mariana Fukleva recalls queues of 200 each morning at 5 am just to buy bread in the time immediately after 1989.
“That was bad,” she said.
But those tough times have not diminished the Bulgarian spirit for fun. Bulgaria’s pub life is as vibrant as ever.
“The young people there…go out every day,” said Borchoukova.
“The education there is not that stressful,” said Encheva. “You can spend more time on other things.”
A hit with cash-strapped students, the five-buck lunch event is a chance for campus groups to advertise their organizations to the student body.
Recent events include a Caribbean themed lunch, complete with oxtail and fall-right-off-the-bone jerk chicken. And just last month saw a zine-themed event, where, along with burgers and fries, attendees could chat with local artists and peruse alternative graphic magazines.
