Buy & Sell Bulgaria Insight Newsletter

Marks & Spencer Group Plc is the largest UK clothing retailer.

Photo by www.marksandspencer.com

Marks & Spencer Group Plc, the largest UK clothing retailer, announced it has entered a joint venture with Marinopoulos Group to expand in the Balkans, Bloomberg agency reported.

The retailer bought 50 % of Marks & Spencer Marinopoulos BV, which operates 38 Marks & Spencer stores under franchise across Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and also in Switzerland, for EUR 50 M, the London- based company said in a statement.

“Our joint venture with Marinopoulos will mean we can really put M&S on the map in this part of the world,” Carl Leaver, the retailer’s director of international business, said in the statement, as cited by Bloomberg agency.

Ingredients:

1 pc of chicken chest
1 cucumber, 200 gm
2 carrots
Sesame
Vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Dill

Cut the meat and vegetables in stripes and sprinkle the sesame and dill on top. Add the vinegar, oil and salt according to your taste preference. Serves 2. Enjoy!

The fish restaurant Villa Burov is located in the most picturesque part of the Sea Garden in Varna. More than 100 years ago, the area was the place where ministers, bankers and diplomats would choose to spend their holidays and vacations. Nowadays, the restaurant’s guests can enjoy the symbiosis of nature, the architecture, the luxurious interior and exquisite cuisine. The menu includes fresh fish’s fillet, wild fishes, octopus, squids, Black Tiger shrimps, many salads, pork fillets, beef fillets and a long wine list.

Villa Burov has outside seats in the beautiful garden and inside seats, situated in 4 guest halls on two floors, with 3 bay-windows, air-conditioner, parking lot, kid’s corner in the garden, exquisite interior and background of mainly retro or Italian instrumental music.

Rating of 9/10

There are many birthday boys and girls in April. Our dear colleagues Ginka (making sure that all offices and apartments of the Group are nice and clean), Nevin Halil (Legal Department, Buy & Sell Bulgaria) and Jessy Karaivanova (Legal Department, Eurolink Investment Group), and our clients and good friends Stephen Day, Darren Finch, Kristina Trodden, Latesha Tuck and Antonis Konstantinidis, have their special day this month. We would like to wish them all Many Happy Returns and the best of luck!

It is our company policy to celebrate all Great Events!!!

You can prepare patatnik as a main course. In the old times during cold winter months potatoes used to represent one of the main foods of the Bulgarian diet. They have even been used to make bread. Here are the ingredients:

6 tbsp flour
1/2 cup oil
water
1 tbsp butter - melted

For the filling:
3 lbs potatoes, grated - around 10 big ones
4 onions, grated
3 eggs, beaten

1 spoonful of fresh mint (or dried oregano)
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Make a soft paste of the flour, 1/2 cup oil and as much water as necessary. Leave it for 15 minutes at room temperature, and then divide it in two parts, one a little larger than the other. Spread the smaller mass to form a sheet 4-5 cm wider than the bottom of your baking dish. Mix together the grated potatoes and onions, the beaten eggs, the mint and the salt. Place the bigger part of the paste in a buttered baking dish, spread around to form a sheet in a way that it covers the baking dish and sticks out at all ends. Add the filling and cover with the smaller sheet you already prepared. Turn the ends of the first sheet inside and pinch the two sheets together to prevent the filling from coming out while baked. Bake the meal at 375º F for about 25 minutes or until it turns rosy.

The restaurant is in the center of Varna, near The Archeological Museum and The Municipality. Old residents know the house with the sun and its unique architecture and the four mythological ornaments on the frontage, which is why they have given such a name to the restaurant.

The cozy classic interior reminds of the typical French and Italian restaurants. The separated halls are a perfect place for family and business celebrations. The restaurant is famous with its classic international cuisine. Ask about turbot fillet with smoked salmon souse or about tender veal fillet. Connoisseurs are flattered by a large selection of more than 80 wines. Don’t miss the restaurant in the summer. The gardens are a favourite place of the locals and the guests in Varna.

Rating of 9/10  

Easter is the greatest holiday in the Orthodox Church. It is fixed according to the moon - that is to say, it is lways celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon of the spring equinox. To celebrate Easter everything should look clean and new, so houses are cleaned, painted or white-washed, and new clothes are a “must”, especially new shoes. Holy Week is edicated to church-going and to baking, etc.

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“The most important in this life, is not to know where one is, but where one is
going”

Goethe

Said to have been introduced with the adoption of the new Gregorian calendar in place of the old Julian calendar in 1582, April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day, was once used to be celebrated as the New Year’s Day. It evolved into its present form through several centuries and influenced by several cultures and has limited itself to be the fun and hilarity associated with Spring. Practical jokes and pranks are the order of the day. Sober and upright media organizations such as BBC have also participated in fooling and tricking people in its own way.

The soul of April Fool’s Day lies in the funny pranks that are played on that day. The real good prank is the one that makes the victim laugh and enjoy as much as the other people who witness it. It’s not nice to harm someone while pranking people and keep it safe. It is also necessary not to go overboard. However, small revengeful pranks that may be pardonable can be used to get back at someone who really deserves it. So let out the latent spirit in you with these devious hilarious pranks.

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How people celebrate in Sweden?

Like in many Scandinavian countries, Easter in Sweden is devoid of its religious connotations and is mostly looked upon as an occasion for festivity. People do attend church prayers but most of them look forward to the long Easter weekend as an opportunity for family reunion or a vacation in the mountains.

Påskkärringar or Easter witches is a unique Eastertime tradition in Sweden. Children dressed up as Easter witches with long skirts, colorful headscarves and painted red cheeks, go from house to house in the neighborhood and present the occupants with Easter eggs and well wishes in hope of getting sweets in return. According to Swedish folklore, during Easter the witches fly to Blåkulla (Blue Mountain) to meet the devil.

The traditional Easter brunch consists of different varieties of pickled herring, cured salmon and Jansson’s Temptation (potato, onion and pickled sprats baked in cream). The table is often laid like a traditional smörgåsbord. Spiced schnapps is also a must at the Easter table. At dinner, people eat roast lamb with potatoes au gratin and asparagus or some other suitable side dish.

Decorated birch twigs are a common sight in Swedish homes during Easter. As a reminder of Christ’s suffering, young people would lash each other with silver birch twigs on the morning of Good Friday. These silver birch branches, decorated with brightly colored feathers, were the originator of both the Lent and Easter decorated branches.

As the earth is refreshed and the silver of winter blossoms into Spring…
wishing you all the happiness and blessing that Easter brings! Happy Easter!

• 2-3 cucumbers, finely diced
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup walnuts, ground
• 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
• dill, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• salt

Beat the yogurt, add the crushed garlic, ground walnuts, finely diced cucumbers, oil and salt. Stir and dilute with cold water. Serve sprinkled with finely chopped dill. Makes 3-4 servings. Light - easy - quick - tasty.

Orient restaurant opened in 1992 initially as a fast-food restaurant. This is the first place in Varna that offered duner kebab and genuine charcoal grill. Later the restaurant was extended and modernized to turn into a popular favourite place. At present the restaurant has 60 seats and a summer garden. Here you can try out very delicious, traditional and interesting salads (Turkish salad, Tabbules and Homs), Hors D`oeuvres (Felafil, Rolled dough list with cheese and Egg plant pane), special cook (Liahmadzhun, Pide with meat, Ballon ekmek and Lavash), coal grill (Chicken Duner, Beef Skewer Kebap and Lamb Chop), fantastic sweets (Kemal Pasa, Turkish Sweet and Kunefe) and many other offers. I strongly recommend it.

Rating 9/10

In just three years time, 2011 will see IWD’s Centenary - 100 years of women’s united action for global equality and change. Organizations around the world have already commenced planning for their celebrations.

The first International Women’s Day was launched on 8 March 1911 in Copenhagen by Clara Zetkin, Leader of the’Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany. This followed many years of women’s campaigning dating back to British MP, John Stuart Mill, the first person in Parliament calling for women’s right to vote.

IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women’s Day.

Baba (Grandma) Marta is one of the most observed traditions, and marks the end of winter & the beginning of spring. In the North, the winter seasons are personalised as a family of two brothers Golyam Sechko (Big Axe — January) and Malak Sechko (Small Axe — February) who wreak havoc in people’s lives by stopping all normal activities. Their grandma Marta is known to have a rather volatile temper — laughing one day (and then it’s sunny & warm) and fuming & angry the next (cloudy & cold). On 1 March everyone wears a ‘martenica’. The traditional martenica is a bracelet made of interlaced red and white cotton/wool strands. “Red & white” is the traditional desciption of a healthy person, red is for rosy cheeks, white is for unblemished skin. So by giving you a martenica, people wish you health and prosperity. An interesting note is that in BG psyche health & prosperity are the two sides of the same thing; you can’t have prosperity without health. There are many popular shapes of martenici as two cherries or a man and a woman (called Pizho and Penda respectively), while kids wear plastic figurines that have red and white strands. You do not buy yourself one, you receive from & give to other people (family, friends, colleagues and neighbours), and end up with a lot of bracelets & lapel buttons. The tradition says we should wear them until we see a stork (as a migrating bird, this is the true sign the weather has turned). Undoubtedly, the child delivering fame of the stork plays a role in its selection (the allusion of children as the new spring in the life cycle). Once you see a stork, you tie your martenica to a fruit tree (again, the perpetuation of the idea of harvest & riches). More practically, we wear martenici until about 1 April. This is a unique custom. If you see a person with martenica, he/she is either Bulgarian or received it from a Bulgarian. Ask them!

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. The legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine”. Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

Valentine Traditions

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine’s Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine —
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!”

In the middle ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling. In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have. If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will once again know how many children you will have.

Ingredients:
Serves 2

2 medium size onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves - chopped
3 medium tomatoes peeled and chopped (or half tin chopped tomatoes)
chopped parsley
2 cleaned and boned mackerels or 1 carp
1/2 cup white wine
2-3 tbsp oil

How to cook:

Sauté the onion in oil for 5 minutes, add the tomatoes, wine, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Spread 1/2 of the sauce evenly in a baking dish. Place the mackerels on top. Cover with the remaining sauce. Preheat oven to 190C and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

13/1/08, by Richard Payne

I had a wonderful festive Xmas and New Year with my friend in Sofia, Varna and my family in UK, which consequently lead to too many festive dinners, Xmas pudding and chocolates. With this behind us, it is time for a dreaded diet session.

On the last day in Sofia I had a meal in a restaurant with my good friend. He refused to believe I can diet to a target weight, so I wrote it down on a 50 Lev note and gave it to him. If I fail to achieve the target weight before next Xmas, he can keep it. This meant I had to keep away from nice restaurants around Varna until I discovered the Le Bacon Restaurant.

Le Bacon Salad Saloon is a new restaurant, recently opened, just before Xmas. As the picture shows: a stylish modern restaurant with comfortable atmosphere and large window facing. It is behind the blue tourist information office on a street which you can’t miss because it has a very attractive red light show outside.

While the menu is in Bulgarian, it offers a very wide selection of salads (about 40 of them) at a reasonable price. It includes pizza and pasta as well. My good friend ordered a pizza while I ordered a custom salad (chicken, bacon, cheese, etc). Taking a great care of my diet, I tried out his pizza slice and yum! yum!…it was most excellent! I was generally surprised how much I enjoyed the well presented fresh salad dish. The menu offers choices of roughly 50 different add-on bits which makes up custom salads of your desire. The wine and drink selection is comprehensive. I had a discussion with the restaurant’s friendly supervisor who promised to provide English menus in a few weeks time.

If you’re bored with the Happy restaurants or other fast food chains, I would certainly recommend this place as it offers much more choices. They’re of good value due to a balanced combination of presentation, price and low energy healthy food, which gives your diet a better chance to succeed!

Rating 9/10

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg spinach
• 60 g butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500 ml milk
• pepper
• salt

How to cook:

Boil the chopped spinach in salted water for about 15-20 minutes, drain, leave to cool for 10-15 minutes, then puree. Heat a pan, melt the butter, add the flour, stir well, fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the pureed spinach. Add the milk and 200 ml of the water in which the spinach was cooked. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and season with pepper.

Serve with croutons (bread cubes fried in butter).

In Captain Cook, you can enjoy one of the best sea specialties offered in Bulgaria. The menu includes over 50 kinds of fish and dishes for those who are fond of the healthy cuisine. Only here you can taste sea delicacies from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and from the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans also. In the nice atmosphere of Captain Cook you will always feel like desired and precious quests, because you’ll be welcomed with a smile and served professionally and the dishes you order will be prepared right in front of your eyes in the special “show-kitchens”. For all connoisseurs of seafoods, Captain Cook offers always-fresh meals, which would satisfy the most refined taste.

Rating: 9/10