Ohrid's Makalo Made Exclusively from Macedonian Homemade Garlic

Recently, the team at Kajak.mk launched a new category called "Gastronomy." The goal of this new section is to gather all the unique places across Macedonia where you can taste products made with much love.

As supporters of local food, we have always been eager to meet new local heroes who are doing small things of great significance for the development of tourism in Macedonia.

For the development of tourism, food plays a huge role, and since we’re on the topic, we’d like to introduce you to Dimitar, a man who, despite being a graduate manager in customs and forwarding, found his place in the gastronomic family of Slow Food Macedonia.

Dimitar tells Kajak.mk that he never worked in his field of study because he redirected his career towards food, with a particular focus on the well-known "Ohrid's Makalo."

His story began to unfold from the small fishing village of Trpejca, the hometown of his wife. His wife’s family owns a restaurant located right on the beach, which operates only during the summer season.

During the peak season, Dimitar is a huge help at the restaurant to ensure guests are satisfied. For the past 20 years, he has been involved in amateur cooking, which he says he loves doing for his family and friends.

His inspiration comes from the women of Trpejca, who, according to him, enjoy preparing fish and Ohrid’s Makalo in the traditional way.

In his wife’s restaurant, the main specialty is the fresh fish caught from the shores of Trpejca, along with freshly baked bread and homemade milk. His daily encounters with local food in Trpejca motivated Dimitar to open his own shop, where instead of traditional souvenirs, he would sell packaged homemade food. The purpose of the shop, as he says, is to meet the needs of tourists who, instead of magnets or jewelry, choose to buy homemade Ohrid’s Makalo as a gift for their loved ones.

To ensure things remain as they were in the past, Dimitar decided to produce the makalo in the way it deserves. Today, in his shop "Papa’s Food Ohrid," you can find makalo made from 100% domestic products.

Part of the garlic used in the makalo comes from his own plantations in the village of Kosel, while the rest is sourced from local suppliers.

The makalo is filled into jars at the moment it is made, in order to expel the air and maintain its quality. Currently, they do not have mass industrial production, so the makalo depends on the harvest and weather conditions throughout the year. As Dimitar says, they have never had a bad year because they know that Macedonian producers always offer high-quality products.

In addition to makalo, the shop also offers certified Macedonian organic wines, as well as various barrel-aged wines from small family wineries.

To conclude this gastronomic story, we must also highlight the homemade gubeci and tarana that can be found at Papa’s Food Ohrid. Just like the Ohrid makalo, these products are made using traditional recipes with homemade eggs and milk.

If you want to contact Dimitar, click HERE.