The local cuisine in the region of Petrcih bares the same characteristics as the cuisine of the population in the region of Pirin mountain. Vegetables, legumes and pasty products have a main role in the local cuisine of the lower situated villages while the dairy, pasty and meat products respectively in the mountain settlements. The preparation of food includes boiling, stewing or roasting. People hardly ever use frying as a way of cooking.

The traditional pasty dishes include: kachamak, trahana (trahnoto), kraishtnika (krashnika), golyio (plyaska), lojena banitsa. Typical for vegetarian dishes are sarmi (gugi) with vine leaves, papuda (a type of leguminous plants) and chalbura. As for the villages around the Strumeshnitsa River and its feeders, people there consume mainly fish and crabs, which they use to prepare teptsia, rakarnik and ribnik. In the mountain villages the traditional local cuisine includes pastarma.

Among the abundance of fruit trees, people traditionally grow peaches, cherries and apples. You could try the taste of more southern fruit such as figs, jujube ( dzindzivki), mulberries, even kiwi as well as other south cultures such as sesame, peanuts and watermellons. The vegetable here have a unique taste that’s why the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are always present in the cuisine of the local population.

The Podgorie offers delicious culinary magic, while the dishes, prepared in the guest houses and restaurants around have original and unforgettable taste.