Cordon Bleu chef Kat Nitsou remembers growing up in a home where Macedonian food, family, friends and festivities were plentiful. A life she says was the inspiration for her homage to Macedonian cuisine with her very first cookbook titled, Macedonia Recipes from the Balkans.
"Break bread, drink wine, have fun" is the motto Kat Nitsou says underpins the wholesome food culture that nourished her family, always ready to share the fresh yields of a typical Macedonian home garden patch with anyone who dropped by.
Macedonian Pitulitsi
After graduating with a Business degree in LA in 2008 and an economic downturn limiting employment prospects, Kat Nitsou turned to what she loves best…cooking.
With cordon bleu qualifications and research showing her cultural cuisine under- represented in the competitive gastronomic world, Kat Nitsou began working on a Macedonian cookbook, keen to give her lesser known wholesome Balkan cuisine a touch of sophistication.
Macedonian peppers 'Luti Piperki'
The inspiration for her book was not hard to find.
Macedonian wheatberry
Kat says tapping into her deeply embedded passion for food preparation and entertaining as well as growing up with a strong background in Macedonian cuisine, provided her with great personal resources to eventually run a successful catering company in LA for many years.
Cooking together with her father, says Kat, helped build on a tradition that she and husband Oliver maintain today.
Kat Nitsou says it took 6 years to write her book and each recipe was tested 6 times before publishing.
She says her training as a chef allowed her to put forward her own take on Macedonian food. Being health conscious and knowing how to get the best from ingredients, Kat says the 105 recipes contained in Macedonia Recipes from the Balkans, are a healthy alternative and offer a more subtle Macedonian palette.
Kat Nitsou says her cook book pays homage to a happy childhood, great Macedonian food made easy, so “Break bread, drink wine, have fun!”
SBS Studios Melbourne
