Located about 80km east of Sofia, along the Bourgas road and around the mountain townships of Sarantsi, Dolno Kamartsi and Chelopech lies the village of Zlatitsa. With a population of some 6000 people, this sleepy-looking town is anything but. Especially if your name is Tanya Petrova.
As one of two children and the only daughter of Dilyan Petrov and Ivanka Petrova, Tanya was born, raised and has lived most of her life in Zlatitsa. She undertook and completed a bachelor’s of international finance and trade at the International University of Sofia before graduating in 2004 and is a representative of Portsmouth University in England. Now living in the Zlatitsa’s neighbouring town of Pirdop, she continues to maintain contact with her birthplace through both her social life and her work environments. In fact, it was in her home town that she met her Australian husband Michael. Tanya laughs as she recalls the first time they met.
“My father was working with Michael at the time. One weekend I was at the Zlatitsa marketplace and my father insisted that we meet. He introduced us to each other, and I guess it was pretty much love at first sight. We met a few times, and, well, now we’re married.”
What makes Tanya so fascinating is her dedication and devotion to this small village. She was one of the main organisers of a recent charity event, raising money for local children in need, the Pirdop Home for the Blind and the Zlatitsa orphanage. She is an active member of AUS Charity, a volunteer group raising money for sick, disabled, orphaned and disadvantaged children in Bulgaria. Tanya, along with other wives from the nearby Pirdop area, pay regular visits to the Zlatitsa orphanage, taking along toys, birthday cakes, gifts, or simply smiles and cuddles for the children.
She offers English lessons to the Bulgarian children in the Zlatitsa area as the local schools do not have a curriculum in place for such a thing.
“The kids that come to me really want to learn the English language. I think it’s important for their future so of course I will help out where I can.”
Tanya has had a life-long ambition to one day own her own business, perhaps a restaurant where members of the community can meet, eat and drink in a comfortable, relaxed environment. Finally, that dream is becoming a reality. Currently under construction, both Tanya and her husband Michael are eagerly waiting for the day they can finally open their restaurant and bar.
I asked Tanya what affect Bulgaria joining the European Union has had on construction. “We knew that there would be some difficulties. When we were finalising details of the build, finishing drawings and such things, we were told that we needed to meet strict EU guidelines in terms of food handling, storage and preparation areas. It basically meant that the kitchen, storage and preparation areas had to be one-and-half times larger than the restaurant itself. There is one area solely for preparing chicken. Another totally separate area for fish, and meat products are prepared in yet another area. Eggs cannot be mixed with fish, and these items must be stored away from each other. The vegetables have another area also. On top of all these preparation areas, we are required to have separate refrigerators for all goods. Meat goes in one refrigerator, fish goes in another, eggs and vegetables are stored separate again,” she says.
The idea behind this is to avoid cross-contamination, salmonella and E-coli bacteria germinating and culminating into an unwanted bout of food poisoning. “It’s exciting being part of this new change to Bulgarian hospitality, and I’m happy that we are amongst the first ones in the area to adopt these new standards. Hopefully all our customers will appreciate it too.”
Construction on the building started in April this year, and has a set completion date of May 2008. Like most of her work, Tanya has chosen to use the services of a Zlatitsa local, someone who built her brother’s house several years ago. So far, it has stood the test of time, and the completed product looks very impressive. Unlike most builders, he does not come equipped with an army of helpers – it is him plus just one other. “This,” Tanya confirms, “is better, as they focus on the task and don’t end up spending too much time making decisions that they shouldn’t really have to. We set the guidelines, he builds. If he, as the professional, feels that something is not quite right, then he lets us know, otherwise, he just gets on with it.”
Like her marriage, Tanya believes it is important for her restaurant to blend the two cultures. Their restaurant and bar will have both Bulgarian and Australian influences.
The bar, which will be mostly Australian, will be decorated with various sporting memorabilia and be a very relaxed pub-like atmosphere. The restaurant will be able to cater for about 60 patrons at a time, while the bar should be able to entertain about 40 people at once.
Given her dedication and allegiance to her home town, it comes as no surprise that she is hoping to employ a chef/cook from within the community. Michael has brought some beautiful Australian recipes to add to the menu, which, of course, will be able to complement the traditional Bulgarian dishes they are planning to offer.
While the restaurant and bar was originally designed for the Zlatitsa community in mind, Tanya and Michael see it as an opportunity to capture passing trade. It is hoped that with the addition of a child’s playground, outdoor tables, chairs, umbrellas and a large parking area, people will be instantly attracted to this exciting new business.
The longer-term goal is to expand the bar and restaurant into a motel, encouraging people to stay in the town, perhaps buy fresh produce and inexpensive clothes and shoes from the Zlatitsa markets and go for bush walks in the nearby mountains.
So, with a little bit of lady luck and a lot of very good planning, hopefully we’ll all be sitting around the bar, eating some great food and singing to the tune of Waltzing Matilda very soon.
