In season with Diana Markova and Vasil Aleksandrov of Bistro Blyan

At Blyan, dinner begins with a conversation.

Diana Markova and Vasil Aleksandrov invited us into their kitchen in June 2026 to talk about the seasons, the ingredients and the time behind each plate.

When does dinner become a feeling that stays with you?
Food is about our attitude to the ingredients and to our guests as much as it is about flavour. Farm-to-table thinking is at the heart of our approach. We choose the growers we work with and follow what the season provides. We try to bring that closeness to the table. Because we both cook and serve, dinner becomes personal. We can tell the story of the dish, the season and the land. The open kitchen helps us bring guests closer to the whole process.

How does working with a small number of seats and a tasting menu shape your cooking?

A tasting menu gives us freedom, though people often tell us we’re limiting ourselves. We don’t see it that way. It lets us explore an ingredient’s potential and attend to the details that give a dish its character. That’s why we work with advance reservations.

We think several months ahead, looking for variety in flavours and techniques.

We look backwards too. Returning to our roots is an important source of inspiration, particularly with fermentation. The intimate setting gives us room to tell that story.

Italy taught you respect for the ingredient; Belgium, boldness. Where do they meet at Blyan?

We try to balance the two. In Italy, the season can be tasted in every dish. Flavours stay clear, with the focus on local produce. In Belgium, we encountered adventurous cooking, precise techniques and fermented flavours. We wanted Blyan to bring those experiences together. Bulgaria has four distinct seasons and wonderful ingredients. We feel a responsibility to cook with what is available now.

Every plate tells a story.

“Dew in the First Rays of Spring” and “Forest Reverie with the Scent of Pine” are two examples of our journeys through the seasons. We select the ingredients with our producers, then use fermentation, ageing, smoking, emulsions and other techniques to make something pleasurable. We don’t restrict ourselves to the obvious parts: offal, bones, seeds and stalks all have possibilities. Knowing how to use each part is a form of respect for the ingredient.

Fermentation and seasonal cooking require patience. What is the hardest part of that slower process?

Trust. Giving yourself over to time and waiting. Fermentation involves living cultures and organisms with their own pace. We can control conditions such as temperature and humidity, but the flavour is different each time, in a good way.

The world of fermentation gives us enormous room for expression

and experimentation. The seasons are beyond us. We can follow them and gather what nature provides. The important thing is to remain creative and work with care and patience.

You say Blyan is intuitive and always changing. How do you imagine it in five years?

Like nature and like us, Blyan will change. We keep learning and growing. But

the attention we give our guests and the details will remain.

Those are the foundations. Blyan will keep bringing people around a table to tell stories of time and flavour.

In season with Leo Bianchi of Leo’s Pizza

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