Olivier Roche and Mitana Boneva are successful owners of a restaurant in Sofia already famed among the lovers of refined French food. It is found in the capital’s old town, a few meters away from a bunch of unique architectural monuments – the Synagogue, the Mosque and the Public Bath currently housing the Museum of Sofia History.

Olivier Roche tells us that he finds the neighbourhood more appealing by the day for its being so alive, dynamic and multilingual. Some of the most refined dishes that the French-Bulgarian family serves to its customers are specialties based on foie gras and magret filet. They prepare various terrines, pates and other meat dishes thanks to a long partnership with a Bulgarian farmer who supplies them with fresh products.

Olivier and Mitana met during an internship they attended close to Bordeaux. He was reading commerce and she Economy of Tourism. The idea to open a restaurant came accidentally during Mitana’s birthday that she celebrated in Bordeaux. When the couple arrived in Sofia they were aged 25 each.

On the eve of Christmas we asked them to tell us more about their Bulgarian experience over the past 13 years. How did their business start and what challenges stood in its way?

„In the beginning it was hard,” Olivier recalls. “We tried to draw a loan from a few banks, but we failed to persuade bank officials. They were talking about turnover and profit and we had not opened the restaurant yet. So I decided to call my relatives in France and asked for a loan. That’s how we started.”

Well, it goes without saying this was not the end of hardships. The twosome’s first attempt was to open the restaurant in the prestigious central area of Oborishte. The renovation of the selected premises however turned out outrageously expensive. Olivier and Mitana were drained out of cash. They drew a fresh loan, and part of the cash was stolen from them in a tram.

Olivier and Mitana revisit those stormy times with a smile and admit that hardships meant bitter lessons to them. “We were very young then”, Mitana says. “There were hardly any rules in Bulgaria at that time, and there was a lot of havoc. Today things are much clearer, Bulgaria being member of the European Union.” Olivier points out that as far as their business is concerned, corruption is no longer part of the landscape.

The couple employs two workers under full time labor contracts. Olivier is the Chef, Mitana is in charge of customer service, bookkeeping and wrestling with bureaucracy. And besides she is the author of the foie gras terrine recipe that customers can also buy to take away home.

Let us remind you that making foie gras and magret is a French tradition that has the unshakable status of being veritable art. In France these are consumed in large quantities during Christmas holidays. Times have changed though. Since 2012 Bulgaria has overtaken Hungary and is already the world’s No. 2 behind France alone. Almost the entire Bulgarian foie gras and duck meat production is exported to France with only small quantities consumed locally.

We asked Olivier how he appreciates the quality of raw foie gras and magret that his Bulgarian producer supplies to him and whether it is competitive.

 „In the first place, quality duck products here are twice cheaper than in France. The locally made magret is of the highest quality I have ever tried, included French magret. And besides, I can order whatever I like and any quantity, not necessarily a large quantity. By the way, it was interesting to visit the producer’s farm. It is impressive, absolutely sterile, with workers entering the premises in whole protective outfits.”

With time business relations with the producer have grown into a close friendship. The Christmas and New Year holidays are the right time for stocktaking. „Thirteen years on, we are happy with some very good results despite the years of hardships. It seems that the crisis is withdrawing. Or it could be that it was our personal crisis of growth… Now everything is going well, we’ve got many new customers and we have to say we are satisfied”, concludes restaurant manager Mitana Boneva.

English Daniela Konstantinova