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About the responsibility of offering only tested and working ready solutions for the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people every month – we talked to Mila Krasteva, the creator and managing director of  Mate Kitchen, Mila Krasteva.

What are the results of this short, but very eventful virtual life of Mate Kitchen so far?

It’s been full of events and challenges, plus we had COVID, which has changed the life of absolutely everyone, on one hand, and has changed the environment where we work and try to promote and establish our values, on the other… I feel extremely happy that for the past three years Mate Kitchen has established itself as the great friend of everyone who cook their food at home. I am deliberately not using the word housewife, because our audience is not limited to housewives at all. On the contrary, young and working people in their prime are seeking our assistance on a daily basis when it comes to what new, tasty and different they can cook for themselves and for their loved ones.

Over this really short period of time, we have been supported by over 2.3 million unique visitors. Every month, 230,000 families are planning their weekly shopping and cooking with the help of the “Weekly Menu”, a unique functionality for Bulgaria.

For three years, we have been able to cook and publish over 1,000 recipes, which means countless of hours of field work for us. The cooking process of each of our recipes is being shot on camera – from cutting the products to serving the plate. Each meals is tested before being published, so we can offer the exact and most accurate quantities and make sure we are as useful as possible in the cooking process. This also means over 5,000 original photos, and dozens of interesting articles. But most importantly, it means 80% loyal users, which is a demonstration of their trust, summarizing the result of all our efforts in the best possible way. Our goal was to be useful for the people and I think that it is working out.

What do Bulgarian housewives like to cook most?

It is difficult to give a single answer to this question when it comes to type of cuisine and particular meals. Generally, they like to cook meals that are easy, tasty, and quick. Considering our lifestyle, this is quite understandable and we are therefore doing our best to offer solutions that cover all these requirements simultaneously.

I wish I could say “of course”, but instead, I will use “Thank God” that during the holidays we are registering increased interest in unusual, complex and time-consuming meals. This means that people are after all taking the time to experience the emotion of family cooking, instead of seeing it as some sort of obligation. The tradition of serving home-made bread on the table is also still alive, and we are very excited it is so. Of course, sweets are very popular year-round.

Due to the economic situation for the past year and the huge increase in food prices, we are witnessing distinct interest in recipes in the lower price range and recipes that use food leftovers, as we call them, or, in other words, recipes aimed at the rational use of products. Despite the negative reason behind that, we see it as a positive trend, because throwing away food that is still good and not using the full potential of products is a huge problem and every small step forward should be seen as a success.

Your platform is part of the advertising portfolio of Net Info. Can you tell us more about your joint work with our media and the projects you are working on?

Mate Kitchen is the only platform on the Bulgarian market for the time being, offering ideas for recipes and a budget calculator in a weekly menu – something that everyone who cooks really needs. Often, when we come home, we hear the question: “What shall we eat?” Therefore, the Mate Kitchen team is cooking easy, quick, tasty and budget-friendly recipes for its friends in a bid to make their everyday lives easier. In 2023, our website will introduce home-cooked meals from all over the world to tempt the people who like to experiment and experience unusual and versatile cooking.

Together with Net Info’s team, we are also working on a book with grandma’s favourite seasonal recipes, which will be published in the end of 2023. Especially for advertisers, we are preparing our “0 Waste” event, aimed to change the people’s attitude towards throwing away food.

Here, I would like to express my huge gratitude to Irina Poruzyan, Alexander Varov and Mrs. Stefana Zdravkova for embracing the idea to start working together and making this partnership happen.

You mentioned COVID – how has the pandemic impacted the eating habits of Bulgarians and have people become more sensible and responsible when it comes to food products?

We have definitely witnessed the return of home cooking and home food preservation. From a timid trend just a few years ago, it is gradually becoming a norm and I think COVID-19 and the restrictions it brought have accelerated this process. The lockdown has changed our focus in life, including when it comes to what we eat. Separately, it seems people are growing tired of the unsatisfactory quality of the products we buy from the shop and prefer to cook their own food, because they can pick the products they use, the way they prepare them and, most importantly, enjoy a meal that suits their taste best, without making any compromise.

The issue of the Bulgarians’ attitude towards food is complicated and I would like to give a positive answer, but it is still too early. We are doing our best to change their attitudes. Our tool to make an impact is taste food, so what we can do and what we are doing is offer tips, ideas, and recipes focused on the thorough utilization of products. Some of the tastiest meals we have prepared in Mate Kitchen are Zero Waste meals or recipes with leftovers. I am aware that we live in a time of consumers and it is difficult to change perceptions and attitudes, but we believe in the positive accumulation of small daily steps. The current situation where we are witnessing a drastic increase in food prices, not only in Bulgaria, but globally, is also a factor. Therefore, our focus at the moment is on recipes that are affordable – not only when it comes to the products used in them, but also when it comes to electricity consumption.

What’s ahead for the platform in the coming 2023?

There is nostalgia for the “old-time” food and this has been one of the motives behind the projects “Grandma’s Favorite Recipes” that we have been working on for the past several months. We’ve decided to challenge our users to remember the tasty moments of their childhood and tell us more about them. For us, the team behind Mate Kitchen, food is an experience. We share the philosophy that what makes a meal dear and special is not the list of products, but its story. A meal does not need to be complicated, what matters are the emotions it brings. Quite often, when we cook certain meals, we try to re-experience moments of sharing, which will never happen again. This is the reason they are so precious for us. I will not reveal any further details about the project, but I will tell you that next year the first cooking book of Mate Kitchen will be published.

If we are to quote a popular expression – what is a French perfume and can it thrive in Bulgaria.

It can thrive not only in Bulgaria, but all over the world, where people cook indoors. As much as we may love food, we must admit that the smell that’s left after cooking can be quite intrusive and penetrates not only our clothes, but also our furniture and everything else. Therefore, we have developed kitchen perfumes and candles that create a special sense of coziness and neutralize the smells left after cooking to eliminate the need to air the premises after cooking mackerel, for example. The URM8 perfumes and candles are sold exclusively in our online shop. They have been developed exclusively by a French perfumer and are made in Switzerland. There are four fragrances – tomato leaves, apple and cinnamon, sweet caramel, and cactus. They have been selected to be most efficient when interacting with the smells left after cooking.

Will the campaign “Let’s support a large family in need” continue?

 In the end of this year, the campaign will have its fourth edition. “Let’s support a large family in need” was launched as a private initiative of the team behind Mate Kitchen and some of our friends. In the first year, we were able to collect funds, we purchased a huge fridge, we filled it, we got clothes, books and toys for the children. It was an act of humanity and care. I am happy that volunteering resonated and from a small, emotional and deeply personal act, it has grown into a cause backed by a growing number of companies in Bulgaria. Last year, we were supported by some of the biggest food businesses, not only in Bulgaria. Thanks to them, we went to the selected large family not with a full fridge, but with a van full of food. I hope that this year there will be even more donors and together we will support a large family in need by providing them with the basic products they need to welcome the Christmas and New Year holidays on a full table. I hope that goods gives rise to more good and we will succeed this time, too.