Not long ago, somewhere in the southern Balkans, in the old Skopje restaurant DUKAT, there were three friends sitting in the restaurant, Petar, Kalin and Boban. The three big gourmands were having a true Macedonian business meeting, like true Macedonian managers in front of a rich dining table on which there was absolutely everything that a hungry eye could wish for. 

Our friends had a feast with different types of meat, appetizers, cheese, salads, rakija and wine, not aware that precisely these most delicious meals will be the reason for their loud discussion. 

Mesmerized by the different types of ajvar, lutenica, pindzur, dried and chopped peppers and all other known types of peppers, the three of them were dipping in the platter with thirst, when all of a sudden, completely unexpected, Petar’s statement disturbed the calm and homely atmosphere in the restaurant: "The ajvar is ingenious, I swear. Only my mother’s is better then this one!" 

Whether he said it intentionally or was provoked by a hot pepper, we do not know, but the die was cast! The next one to speak up was Boban who with a full mouth claimed that his mother added a special spice in the ajvar and that hers was the most delicious ajvar in the world. Not to be left out, Kalin convinced his friends that the secret to an ajvar’s success is not in the spice but in the love that his mother gave while preparing the ajvar. [Mamas Foods Story]