Balkan Cuisine in the Diaspora: Exploring Identity Through Culinary Traditions

In this episode, Irina Janakievska joins us to share her diaspora story, speak about her debut cookbook “The Balkan Kitchen” and explore food traditions in the Balkans and their transformation beyond.

From childhood, we become immersed in culinary traditions, where food choices shape and reinforce our social identities.

In the diaspora, the act of "food travelling" - preparing, sharing, and consuming Balkan food - fulfils not only physical needs but also deep psychological ones. Food becomes a bridge to memory, evoking personal and collective experiences, whether through a cherished family recipe or the preparation of a particular dish.

However, as we cross borders and adapt to new environments, these culinary traditions evolve, taking on hybrid forms that reflect encounters with other food cultures, unraveling shared connections.

Irina Janakievska is a Macedonian-British writer and recipe developer. Irina was born in Skopje, North Macedonia but grew up in Kuwait from the late 1980s onwards.In 2001, she moved to London to complete her undergraduate and master's degrees at the London School of Economics in international relations and history. After university, a large corporate law firm sponsored her through law school, and Irina became a solicitor.

In 2020, Irina left her successful career in corporate and finance law to follow her passion for sharing her love of Balkan cuisine, the Balkans and its people with the world. Irina completed her culinary training at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

She has contributed to the Guardian, Foodnetwork US, Whetstone Magazine, Mediterranean Lifestyle Magazine, Pit Magazine, and Balkanism, among others.

Her debut cookbook, “The Balkan Kitchen,” was shortlisted for the Jane Grigson Trust Award in 2023 and published in October 2024 (by Hardie Grant/Quadrille).

Irina lives in South London with her husband and young son. She cooks, researches, and writes about Balkan history, food culture, and culinary traditions.

Intro music: North-Albanian Instrumental

Interlude: Jasno Sonce - 'Zajdi, Zajdi'