Lost in Plovdiv

In the midst of the economic crisis in 2009, Dimitar decided to take a risk and put all his savings into a dream that 10 years later had long exceeded his expectations. In fact, it all started overseas, during a student brigade. There he happened upon a bakery of a Jewish family, where, working from morning till evening, he memorized every single recipe and absorbed all the intricacies of the craft. Meanwhile, America is the place where, along with his favorite pastime, he found the woman beside him. And the rest is history - a wedding in Snow Hill - a city where it never snows and then returning home, betting everything he earned on a small family run bakery.

Undoubtedly the beginning wasn’t easy at all. We can safely confirm that Dimitar is one of the pioneers in the industry and managed to start his own business when handmade baked goods weren’t so popular. They started with just 2-3 types of bread and a few snacks. The main product in the range that he and his wife first brought from America under the hillswas the bagels. The story of the unusual mini-gevreks goes back to 1668, when Jan Sobieski, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, asked his cooks to make him something cooked, baked, salty, and sweet at the same time. This is how cooks invented bagels that are sprinkled with poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds. In different parts of the world, they are made with onions or garlic, cinnamon or raisins, chocolate or sunflower seeds.

It was only in the second year that they started to offer the much-loved Bulgarian banitsa, and on the fifth, to increase the supply of breads made with sourdough. Of course, there is no business without turmoil, so Dimitar had his own unsuccessful experience. It is opening a new facility in Trakia, but the organization and management from a distance turned out to be a complex endeavor. However, this lesson helped him concentrate, expand his main premise, and sank deep into the confines of a pastry making. Today, the retail space is 5 times larger than the original one, and 700 snacks and at least 500 breads are sold daily. 2 years ago, they even decided to plant their own areas with spelt to be sure of the purity of the original product. Trade partners are also an extremely important part of the work, and with the development of the Kapana Creative District, many establishments rely on Bakery Art for the delivery of freshly baked breads and pastries. Aromatic temptations are also served in many hotels in the City under the hills.

Currently, the range is about 100 products, and customers are those who require and inspire the master to try more and more new recipes. Returning from various holidays, they describe the unique flavors of cronuts, cheesecakes and Italian breadsticks, and Dimitar transforms them into their own variants. It turns out that his cream cheese bagels are famous even among tourists. He found that out when two buses with American teenagers stopped in front of the bakery and ordered more than 70 of the fragrant bagels. Over the years, employees have even witnessed a fight for Easter breads by ladies who have failed to enroll in the long list around the Easter holidays.

Dimitar himself constantly enriches his knowledge and undergoes various courses in the field of baking and confectionery. Together with the Chamber of Crafts in Plovdiv, they organize a festival of bread and pastries under the hills, which is visited by more than 150,000 people. He is also traditionally involved in many of the organized events in the European Capital of Culture 2019 - The Taste of Plovdiv, the River Celebration and more.

With all his heart she strives to convey his love for bread also to disadvantaged children, being a frequent participant in community workshops on World Hunger Day. Making bread can really be therapeutic, but in a professional setting it is often quite a stressful job. You pay attention to every bread and the ingredients are closely monitored. In the bakery you will find a huge variety even of the types you probably haven’t tried –chickpea bread or Neapolitan, for example.

In Bakery Art they are not afraid to experiment at all and will continue to surprise us with irresistible flavors. There is no way, when you create something with a lot of love and attention, that you will not get a true culinary magic, and 10 years is just an occasion for new challenges.