Irina Georgescu
@irinageorgescu.bsky.social
James Beard Award winning food writer and cookbook author. Culinary Tours in Transylvania. Website: irinageorgescu.com
Today at 6pm UK time, free Italian cookie class. I've teamed up with Domenica Marchetti to bring you news from Italy: regional cookies. I'll be baking one of her recipes while Domenica talks about the sweet regions of Italy. Free to join. Link here open.substack.com/live-stream/...
Culinary Tour in the Danube Delta. I'm organising one next year, in June. It's eight days, starting in Bucharest and going all the way to Crisan village and back. On the way, we'll explore northern Dobrogea and the charming Danube Delta. Eat, drink, visit, eat, repeat. Bookings opening soon, DM me.
I'm thrilled to share my @washingtonpost.com article about Romania's beloved murături (pickles and fermented ingredients) and our love for sour flavors in soups and stews. It includes a recipe for Mâncare de castraveți acri—gherkin stew with pork and potatoes. Free link below wapo.st/4np62cQ
How sour ingredients unlock a world of flavor in home cooking
Sour foods add a fresh, tangy edge that makes every bite memorable.
wapo.st
Judging at the Great Taste Awards in Dorset, so I took a walk after work in Shaftesbury. Gold Hill!
Transylvanian caraway potato bread. I’m trying to let people know about this cookery class I’m teaching at Divertimenti in London on June 11th: Transylvanian Cuisine and Paprika Masterclass. This is one of the many dishes you’ll make and taste. See here www.divertimenti.co.uk/products/tra...
I'll be hosting a Paprika Masterclass & Flavours of Transylvania cookery class at Divertimenti in London on June 11th. It's my first class here, so it feels particularly important. Here is what to expect on the evening (a feast!) www.divertimenti.co.uk/blogs/the-co...
Guest Chef Takeover: Transylvania Flavours with Irina Georgescu
I invite you into the kitchen on Thursday 11th June to share a journey that’s deeply personal to me — a taste of Transylvania shaped by family, memory, and years of cooking and writing about this rema...
divertimenti.co.uk
What do we eat at Easter in Romania? One delicious answer is Drob. Although it is traditionally made with lamb offal, I have a family recipe with mushrooms that my mum used to make for me when I didn’t like the lamb version. Discover its story here: irinageorgescu.com/easter-mushr...
Gifts for Easter In Romania, Easter is a little like Christmas. We exchange gifts, which can also include books. If you are like us, here are three about Romania's culinary story: Carpathia, Tava and Danube. Available worldwide, whether online or in bookshops, in English and other languages.
I wrote this recipe for BBC Good Food Magazine, and it’s one I’m especially fond of. In Romania, we love cooking with fermented vegetables, and these sauerkraut cabbage leaves are a perfect example of that tradition. Free recipe: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sarm...
Sarmale (Romanian cabbage rolls)
Try one of Romania’s most beloved comfort foods, often eaten at celebrations. Leaves of sauerkraut are stuffed with smoky pork and rice, then slowly braised
bbcgoodfood.com
Last Tuesday, I joined a panel at University College London as part of the Eating the Balkans series by UCL SSEES, where I spoke about Romanian cuisine. Read the article below and discover one of my favourite Romanian musaca recipes. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/culinary-i...
Culinary Infidelities
On Food and Identity Across The Balkans
irinageorgescu.substack.com
🔊 This event is now sold out in person, but you can still join us online to learn more about how food vocabulary in the #Balkans encodes millennia of indigenous evolution, alongside contact, borrowing, and contested belonging. 🗓️ 3 February at 5pm ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
🔊 Due to high demand, this event will now be livestreamed online Join us for an exploration of how food vocabulary in the #Balkans encodes millennia of indigenous evolution, alongside contact, borrowing, and contested belonging. 🗓️ 3 February at 5pm ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
It's my pleasure to share two recipes with you for your New Year's Eve celebration. I've also included a brief story about pineapples in Romania, if you're intrigued by the subject. Free to access, so please share it. Wishing you a happy New Year. Link here substack.com/@irinageorge...
A NYE Pineapple Dessert from Romania
Tort Diplomat de Ananas
substack.com
Is this prune stew with rice a contender for Romania’s National Dish? To celebrate Romania’s National Day, I’m sharing a dish that blends the sweetness of dried fruits and caramelised sugar, reflecting Byzantine heritage. But what is Romanian cuisine? Find the answer and recipe in comments.
Romanian cuisine unveiled: three essential cookery books. Cookery books as a gateway to Romania’s regional flavours. Three books, along with their translations in German, Dutch, Hungarian and Romanian, reveal how people cook at home, their daily dishes and their feasting customs. Time to order them.
A recipe for pumpkin pie from Romania, ready to be shared by you with friends and family. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/pumpkin-ma...
Pumpkin Magic
More than just a pretty decoration
irinageorgescu.substack.com
I’ve spent weeks researching and writing this and it’s finally up - I share some truly odd, curious, often….horrifying (and utterly fascinating) food-related professions that thrived in 19th century Paris. Enjoy! jamieschler.substack.com/p/the-strang...
The Strange and Curious Forgotten Occupations of Paris
A little French food history that might surprise you.
jamieschler.substack.com
A hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy of jams, confitures and jellies in Romania. I am, of course, paraphrasing the famous book title, which is perfect for our intergalactic journey of preserving what’s in season: petals, fruit and flowers. Recipes here: irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/a-hitchhik...
Sunday Baking: Covrigi cu Șuncă, ham-filled bread loops. This recipe highlights the variety of loop breads found in Romania and is featured in the 'Danube' cookbook.
A beautiful morning here in Wales. Some of these roses will be turned into jelly soon. I’ll share the recipe with you in a new post.
This Sunday, I’m sharing a captivating story about Curban, a feast and private ritual in the Christian Balkans, which I hope you'll find intriguing. It features a recipe for a comforting and healing lamb soup from Bulgaria. Link in the first comment.
Toast spread with curd cheese blended with honey and lemon zest, topped with fresh apricots and thyme. If you can’t find curd cheese (or twarog), use crème fraîche or farmer’s cheese. Also, instead of the sourdough toast, you can use toasted bagels, brioche or croissants.
Cornmeal, wild strawberries & sour cream? Read about this speciality from Moldavia, Eastern Romania here irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/cornmeal-a... where I explain this culinary tradition and provide a recipe for cornmeal cheesecake, called Alivancă, and strawberry compote called chisăliță (kisel).
Strawberry inspiration ahead of a post I’m writing about a culinary tradition in Moldavia (follow me to make sure you see it). This one in the photo is only half-traditional: strawberries, sour cream, ground pepper and fig balsamic vinegar.
I wrote a long email about this rich land between the Danube River and the Black Sea. Most of the photographs are from my visits there, where I explored local recipes and discovered the stories of different communities. I hope you'll love the tour. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/between-th...
Between the Danube River and the Black Sea: Dobrogea
Discover a little-known part of Romania
irinageorgescu.substack.com
Deal with the heat like a Romanian: eat brine-fermented gherkins with ice. Eating fermented foods helps maintain the right level of salt and iron in our bodies (which we tend to lose very quickly in hot weather through sweat) and keeps us cool for longer.
