Minister Ilin Dimitrov: We Can Create a Unified Ecosystem with the International Association of JRE Chefs to Support the Development of the Sector

The creation of a unified ecosystem with the international association JRE (Jeunes Restaurateurs) to support the development of the sector in Bulgaria was discussed today by the Minister of Tourism Dr. Ilin Dimitrov with Hans van Manen, Director of the association Jeunes Restaurateur D`Europe and Gasper Puhan — sommelier and owner of a renowned A la carte restaurant in Slovakia, which in addition to its incredible cuisine, offers its visitors a wine list with over 400 local and foreign labels. The meeting was also attended by the leading Bulgarian chefs Tsvetomir Nikolov, Veselin Kalev and Vladislav Penov.

JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs is an international association founded in 1974. Today, the Association has become the leading professional body of young and talented chefs with more than 350 restaurants and 160 hotels in 15 countries worldwide.

‘The cooperation with the JRE professionals will help us a lot in the process of training young staff in Bulgaria. They will have the unique chance to experience the craftsmanship of prominent names who will be involved in their training, with best practices demonstrated by top chefs who are proven names on the European scene and thus we will increase our culinary culture,’ Minister Dimitrov said.

‘We have young, ambitious and searching chefs in our association. This creates an extremely strong bond between our members, which contributes to the stability and overall development of the culinary arts. We will be glad if we can share our experience with our Bulgarian colleagues", emphasized Gasper Puhan. In their culinary creations, JRE chefs combine their passion for tradition with sustainability and local produce to create amazing new dishes. Their craftsmanship is a mark of high standard and quality worldwide.

Minister Dimitrov expressed his conviction that this is another step that will bring us closer to the moment when Bulgarian restaurants will get the prestigious Michelin stars.