Lost in Plovdiv

She is one of those people who remind us that life can be meaningful and beautiful. She is a cook, a gardener, a product and visual designer, a photographer, an aesthete, a dreamer.

She is Zdravka Kokalova.

Known to her more than 30,000 followers as a food influencer with a passion for clean and wholesome food, she inspires the pursuit of a sustainable and mindful way of living and eating.

In her world, food is a ritual of respect. A single tomato, a slice of sourdough bread, salt — everything passes through awareness, choice, time, and gratitude. Zdravka believes that sustainable living begins with our daily decisions: what we eat, how we dress, what objects we choose to surround ourselves with.

The platform she has created is a space for exchanging ideas, inspiration, and knowledge — not only on how to grow gardens, but also, in a way, how to grow ourselves.

Photography: Tanya Koritarova

In this conversation, Zdravka reminds us that the simplest things are often the most powerful. That balance lies in recognizing we are both small and infinite. That the future can smell of lavender and fresh raspberries — if only we want it strongly enough. And if we start small. Today.

1. One of our favorite food bloggers is sitting before us, so we can’t help but ask: what’s your favorite recipe?

I love simple food with minimal intervention. I can be endlessly impressed by a good tomato variety, grown in rich soil under the sun, sliced, sprinkled with a touch of sea salt until it beads with juice, and then maybe a little olive oil — though not necessarily. It all seems simple, even banal, but it’s not. In reality, it’s an endlessly complex and slow recipe of patience and devotion. Choosing the seed, sprouting and nurturing it, caring for the soil, understanding its needs and responding with respect. Cutting it with the awareness of its journey so far, choosing salt — because they are so different — and knowing why. Giving the salt time to do its work, the right amount of time. If I add a slice of sourdough bread, it becomes a feast, especially if I baked it myself. A banquet of human and nature side by side, without pretension — only the humble recognition of a miracle.

2. You are a person of many talents — with a strong sense of aesthetics, taste, and respect for food, as well as a product and visual designer, photographer, influencer, and gardener with a mission. What unites all these roles?

The timeless love for what has brought me here alive and breathing. The perfection and harmony in nature above me. Could we call it divine? Certainly.

But I prefer to believe in the creative force beyond humanity, and the fact that despite all challenges, it finds its way into uncompromising balance, harmony, and beauty.

Photography: Tanya Koritarova

3. How did gardening “find” you?

I think gardening found us all thousands of years ago. The real question we should be asking ourselves is: “How did we lose gardening?”
Not everyone needs to be a gardener, but having at least basic knowledge of where our food comes from could change so much in our thinking, and from there in our economy — which, in turn, reflects on civilization itself.

4. What is sustainable gardening, really? And do you believe that even people living in city apartments can turn to it?

Let’s call it sustainable living. It can be anywhere, if you have the mind to perceive it. Every person, regardless of where and in what circumstances they live, makes choices daily. As much as we’d like to avoid dividing things into black and white, in some respects it’s exactly that: one thing is sustainable, another is not. Often we’re deceived by seemingly sustainable practices that don’t really yield results. Local choices are always a good start. Choosing to repair rather than throw away — too. Not changing your wardrobe every season, not being a slave to trends. Individuality is a deeply sustainable practice.

5. If we want to turn our balcony into a small garden, where should we begin? Is there a “golden rule” for beginner urban gardeners?

Radishes are the easiest thing to scatter in a pot, and in a month or two you’ll be eating your own harvest — almost no trouble at all. From there you can add green onions, which grow beautifully alongside them, one or two lettuces, and your spring salad will be entirely balcony-grown. The same goes for beets and all sorts of herbs like mint and basil — must-haves for every balcony.

6. How do you change the picture?

I make people dream of a paradise garden instead of an expensive handbag, perhaps. I create longing for a utopia, while also pointing out the flaws in our current system. I help people want to try — and to feel supported in trying.