I was born in Belgrade in former Yugoslavia, now capital of Serbia. My nomadic destiny seem to have started immediately after I was born- when my family moved to Bileca, a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not far away from the Adriatic coast. I have been living in Belgrade, Tokyo and Athens with plenty of travelling in between.
When I first laid feet to Japan in 2008, I realised that more often than not, people I encountered did not know exactly where Serbia was or the images were related to its recent war history. That made me surprised and often, sad. I wanted to contribute to changing that image.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”, as Paolo Coelho said- I joined a small cooking school and very soon became the first Serbian cooking teacher in Japan that brought Balkan food to the wider population through my home held cooking class with Niki’s kitchen International Cooking School in Azabu, Tokyo. Over the 6 years, the class was featured on TV shows in Japan and Serbia, I had the chance to work with food specialised magazines and blogs and advise embassies, hotels and restaurants on Balkan food menus. As the interest in Serbia grew, I started organising cooking tours to Balkan region and since 2014, it has become a yearly event.
Welcome to The Taste of Balkans, where you will find a great variety of delicious recipes, regional fare, everyday and festive food all inspired by traditions of Serbia, Greece and the region that I have been closely bound to and explored over the years of cooking and traveling. In them, you will feel the beats of the Balkan heart.
