That’s why the cuisine of Macedonia fits so perfectly with Slow Food, an organization that was founded in the 1980s by Carlo Petrini. The nonprofit was created to preserve and highlight regional and local cuisine all around the world. The objectives are simple, to encourage sustainability and farming, promote local businesses, celebrate heritage, and educate consumers on the harms of pesticides and fast food. The organization may be relatively new, but the concept certainly isn’t—especially in a country like Macedonia.

“When you talk about Slow Food, you talk about the normal life of a common person in Macedonia. It doesn’t represent just the food, but also the lives of the people who live here and their passion for tradition,” said Tefik Tefikoski, the founder of the Macedonian chapter of Slow Food and owner of Hotel Tutto in Janche.

Photo: Jane Josifovski

Tefik, or Tutto as most call him, grew up in the Mavrovo region of Macedonia, one that’s known for its cheese and vegetable production. At home, he learned to cook the same recipes his mother and his grandmother grew up on. Dishes like ajvar—a slow-roasted red pepper dip, which is stirred and simmered for eight hours—were a common staple at home. For him, slow food was nothing more than just his life and his childhood, not a mission. It wasn’t until he left to work in Italy at 21, something many young people do in a place of such staggering unemployment, that he realized how special the cuisine of home was.

“Twenty years of work experience in Italy was huge for me. In 2006, I returned to my birthplace and truly felt and appreciated its untouched beauty and the special cuisine. Thankfully, the time abroad gave me the experience I needed to open a hotel, get into alternative tourism, and found a Slow Food chapter in my village of Janche,” Tutto said.

Photo: Jane Josifovski

Luckily for him, it was easy to convince the Italians he worked with that the cuisine of his homeland was special. He simply cooked the dishes he grew up on, like pindjur (a relish made from tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, salt, and pepper) and kifli (flaky pastries) and served them to his friends. When he came back, he brought many of his Italian comrades to visit so they could see where the food they loved so much came from.