The Story of Two Young Chefs Building Their Own Path 

Some partnerships in the kitchen happen naturally. For Petar Lechev and Stiliyan Tsekov, it started at HRC Culinary Academy – two young chefs with the same obsession for food and the desire to push beyond the standard expectations of the culinary scene in Bulgaria.

Today, after Michelin-level experience abroad, restaurant openings, pop-up concepts, and countless services together, they are once again side by side – now building the next chapter of their journey at restaurant Auroom in Sofia. 

Looking back, what made you choose HRC Culinary Academy, the program Culinary arts, and what did that decision unlock for you? 

Stiliyan: The reason I chose HRC Culinary Academy was because I wanted to push myself further and upgrade my knowledge in cooking techniques, organization, and different styles of cuisine. I was also looking for an environment where I could meet ambitious young chefs who share the same passion for food. Looking back now, that decision opened many doors for me – not only professionally, but also personally. It gave me discipline, structure, and the confidence to aim for kitchens and opportunities that once felt far away. 

Petar: Formal culinary academy training helps because it saves time. Time is the most important thing. In the culinary academy, you meet a lot of people, and these people are very important connections through your career. They help a lot because I met my closest friends in the academy, and I met a lot of interesting people that now we’re helping each other in various ways. This is very important for your development as a young chef. 
 

Both of you stepped into very intense professional kitchens during your internships. Petar, you did your internship at restaurant Peak at Hudson Yards – one of the most ambitious restaurant openings in New York. Set the scene for us. 

Petar: Peak was a very fast-paced environment filled with people from diverse backgrounds, including many Latino, African, and American staff members all working together in the same kitchen. It was a fascinating place to work because not everyone spoke English fluently, which presented both challenges and learning opportunities. To communicate effectively with my colleagues, I had to pick up some Spanish so I could collaborate smoothly with the team. 
 

Going from the academy to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is a huge step – how prepared did you feel walking into that kitchen? 

Stiliyan: Working in a Michelin star restaurant teaches you that excellence lives in the smallest details. In that environment, consistency is everything. Every service, every plate, every garnish matters. You learn that guests remember the details, even the ones they don’t consciously notice. That mindset stays with you forever and changes the way you approach food and hospitality. I felt prepared in terms of the fundamentals.  

Of course, stepping into a Michelin-starred environment is another level of pressure and intensity, but the academy helped me build the mindset and habits that allowed me to adapt quickly. 
 

After working abroad, both of you came back to Bulgaria. What mindset did you bring with you? 

Stiliyan: I wanted to return to Bulgaria and apply everything I had learned abroad. My mindset had completely changed regarding how a professional kitchen should look, function, and communicate. I wanted to bring that discipline, structure, and respect for the craft back home and contribute in my own way to the local culinary scene 
 

Petar, After New York you joined Ahora, the restaurant created by Sevda Dimitrova. What was that world like to step into? 

After New York, stepping into Ahora was a completely different experience and atmosphere. What stood out to me immediately was how passionate everyone was about what they were doing. The environment felt creative, but at the same time very focused on the products and the details. One of the most interesting things there was the work with fermentation. It introduced completely different layers of flavour and texture into the dishes, but what I appreciated most was that it never felt overdone. At Ahora, fermentation was used in a very balanced and thoughtful way – more as a tool to add depth and character to the food rather than overpower the dish itself. 

It was a place where I met really good people, learned a different approach to flavour, and built friendships that I still keep today. 
 

After gaining experience abroad and in restaurants like Ahora, you and Stiliyan decided to create MSK – Modern Social Kitchen. What was the idea and vision behind creating it? 

Petar: Stiliyan and I had for a long time the desire to build something together. We talked about it a lot, and one day we decided to start acting on it. We decided to do popups where we could try something different and break the stereotypes around food in Bulgaria. I wanted to do something simple that focused on the products themselves, without all the high fine dining complexity we were used to in restaurants. We wanted to keep it simple, tasty, and good looking without overdoing it. A lot of fine dining places spend so much time on one dish, focusing obsessively on it, which in my opinion, can be harsh on the products. We wanted to do something our own way that respects the food for what it is. 

Stiliyan: The vision behind MSK was simple – to create something that reflected our passion for food and hospitality. We wanted to cook the kind of food we genuinely love, without pretending to be something else. It was about creating an experience where people could feel the energy, personality, and emotion behind every dish. 

 

Now both of you are at Auroom here in Sofia – a new project, a new stage.  What draws you to it? You build not only the menu, but also the team from zero. Tell us more about it. 

Stiliyan: What makes this project exciting is that it’s much bigger than just cooking. Behind the scenes, every day is about learning – how to manage people, communicate with the team, balance creativity with business reality, and understand what guests truly want. One of the biggest challenges is finding the balance between introducing people to new ideas while still respecting what they already know and enjoy. 

People usually see only the final plate, but behind it there are long conversations, stressful services, problem-solving, mistakes, adjustments, and constant evolution. Sometimes things don’t happen the way you imagine them, but that’s also the beauty of it. Every difficult moment teaches you something new and pushes the whole team forward. 

Petar: Auroom was definitely a challenge, and it still is. We were very excited when we started working on it, and we started very early even before the kitchen was built. We got a lot of experience from building the kitchen because we were part of the team arranging it -deciding what should go where and what equipment we needed. We had a catalog from the kitchen builders with seven hundred ninety-two pages of everything you could think of – from pots and pans to cutting boards and chinois. I went through that catalog at least five to six times. It was funny and not pleasant, but it was something I never expected to have to do. Another challenge was creating the menu because we had lots of ideas, but we also had to think about finding food suppliers, managing food costs, and making sure the restaurant actually made money, not just being there for fun. We also had to face the challenge of hiring a team. After COVID, finding staff for the culinary industry is nearly impossible, especially for a newly opened restaurant run by two young guys. We had two options – calling people we’d worked with before or post job listings on recruitment websites. We hired some friends that we’d worked with and some people from the listings, so we basically took the best from both worlds.

Today you’re continuing your journey with new projects – what excites you most at this stage of your career? 

Stiliyan: What excites me most is the future – the new projects, the opportunities, and the constant growth. I love the fact that this industry never allows you to stay still. There’s always something new to learn, new people to meet, and new ideas to develop. At this stage, growth for me is not only professional but also personal. 

Petar: Currently, I’m very into modern bistro restaurants – inspired by French and Spanish cuisine with old recipes. I’m really passionate about this style, and I’m not seeing a lot of places doing it properly in Sofia right now. There are a couple, but I think Sofia needs more of this.I think places like this would be perfect for Sofia. 

At the moment, I’m still challenged by the restaurant I’m working at right now because we’re still not even halfway there making this place done. But as I said earlier, I’m really into modern bistros, and I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for opportunities. I would really love to do something like this in the near future, but first I need to finish what I’ve started here at AuRoom. 
 

What would you say to a student sitting in that classroom right now? You can also mention it from your experience for building something on your own 

Petar: My advice to a student right now is to listen carefully to your instructors and don’t be lazy – that’s the most important thing. Be curious and ask as many questions as you can. If you want to learn, you can learn everything. It’s not hard, you just have to want it. If you ask enough questions, you’re not lazy, and you’re curious, everything is possible. 

If you had to define your journey so far in one sentence, what would it be? 

Stiliyan: “Long nights, sharp knives, and somehow still smiling.” 

see all posts