Bikers Beat the Chefs: The Best Tripe Soup at Bitola's First "Chkembe Fest" Was Cooked by the "Konzuli" Motorcycle Club

For years Bitola has been building its reputation as the city of tripe soup - chkembe chorba - and it is no accident that Bitola locals are nicknamed "chkembari", the tripe-eaters. This year that reputation got a festival of its own for the first time. "Chkembe Fest Bitola 2026" ended with a gala dinner at the restaurant "Korzo", and the biggest surprise did not come out of a restaurant kitchen at all, but from a motorcycle club.

The jury named the soup made by the team of Bitola's "Konzuli" motorcycle club - Suzana Jovanovska, Daniela Talevska and Violeta Arminovska - the best tripe soup. Second place went to the team from the hotel "Molika", and third to the crew of "Džoni mezalok" from Kumanovo. In the tripe-appetizer category, the first team of restaurant "Korzo" won, and on total points across all categories the same restaurant also took the team Grand Prix. Among the winners was Ismail Kavasoglu from Izmir in Turkey, third in the tripe specialties category.

The event was organized by the Bitola associations "Gurman Plus" and "Esnaf", under the motto "From the cauldron of tradition to the future of gastronomic tourism". It was opened by Mayor Toni Konjanovski, who says Bitola is gaining another recognizable event that should grow into a tradition. Teams from Macedonia and abroad cooked on "Magnolija" Square, and the organizers are pushing an initiative to put up a "Chkembar" monument in the old bazaar.

"Gastronomic tourism" easily stays a phrase from press conferences. Bitola at least started with something it genuinely has - a recipe passed down from generation to generation. If the festival survives to a second edition, the city could have something bigger than a gala dinner: a reason for visitors to come specifically for one bowl. And now we know who makes the best one - the bikers.