Welcome, Liberland!

Food Perestroika would like to congratulate Liberland on being the newest country in Eastern Europe. By virtue of geography, it automatically falls under the umbrella of this blog, and perhaps I will fill future posts with related recipes, and travel stories! Hey, why not?

But what is Liberland, you may ask. In a nutshell. this is a libertarian micronation declared by Czech politician Vít Jedlička on 13 April 2015, located on a a 7-square-kilometer patch of unclaimed land between Serbia and Croatia. How is that possible? Well, when it comes to this portion of their shared border along the Danube River, Serbia wants to use the river’s current location, while Croatia prefers the 1945 line. Over the past 70 years, the Danube changed course, and now the two nations have some disputed territories on the East bank, and unclaimed lands on the West bank. You can find out more about Liberland on their web site or here.

I’d like to take this opportunity to offer my help to define the cuisine of Liberland. As I imagine it, Liberlandian cooking should marry the historic heritage of the Danube with the global origins of the nation’s new citizens. From what I can see on the flag and the coat of arms, there’s already a national fruit (is it apple?). I intend to create the first-ever Liberlandian recipe in the coming weeks — something that can reasonably be made in today’s Liberland, knowing that the country only counts one ruined building, and therefore no kitchen or electricity. In all seriousness, I will humbly submit my creation for consideration as Liberland’s national dish.