Burgas hosts a national competition for the best paella chef, who will represent Bulgaria in the world championship

On June 21 and 22, the Sea Garden in Burgas will be transformed into a culinary arena, where the best paella masters from all over Bulgaria will face each other in the national qualifications for the World Paella Day Cup. The event will determine who will represent our country in the world finals in Valencia in September. The world competition will be held for the 8th time in the Spanish city, and a Bulgarian will have the opportunity to qualify for the final for the second time, after Nikolay Todorov - Nick did it in 2024.

This year, he is the organizer of the upcoming show in Burgas, part of the even larger festival of Spanish music, culture and cuisine "SOLE". The competition promises to be extremely fierce and inspiring, with the Expo Center "Flora" in the Sea Garden of Burgas as the arena of the culinary battles. Eight of the best paella masters in Bulgaria will face each other, and the organizers reveal that there are two foreigners among them. They all have to prepare an original recipe of the Spanish dish, with the choice of products and the cooking technology being part of the secrets of each participant.

After the first round, the jury will select four, who will prepare a second recipe, and the winner will be determined from among them. In addition to being crowned the champion of Bulgaria, he will represent our country in Valencia on September 20. To ensure fairness and justice, the organizers have invited an international jury to make sure that the best-prepared chef who will travel to Spain is selected.

Among the special guests of the event are the names of: Miguel Ángel Pérez Alba - Deputy Director of VISIT VALÈNCIA, Chef Joe William Padilla Castro - World Paella Champion for 2024, Chef Jorge Alberto Castellanos Rodríguez - called the "chef of the stars" in Mexico, and Chef Gabriela Isabel García Novak - one of the most dedicated representatives of Spanish cuisine. The Bulgarian top chef André Tokev will also be part of the jury.

In addition to the competition, the SOLE festival will also feature free master classes on Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine, presented by a team from the Institute of Culinary Arts in Varna. The organizers promise an unforgettable combination of taste, passion and cultural exchange - an experience that will confirm Bulgaria on the global culinary stage.