The first foods most people will encounter in Georgia are the Georgian national dishes: khachapuri - bread or pastry baked with Georgian cheese, mtsvadi - chunks of meat, salted, skewered, and cooked over an open flame, khinkali - dumplings usually filled with meat and broth, badrijani - eggplant fried with spiced walnut paste, and lobiani - bread stuffed with beans.

These can be ordered at any restaurant, along with some foreign-derived foods like kababi (kebab usually made from ground beef and often wrapped in flatbread), salati (salad of tomato, cucumber, and onion, with herbs) and kartophili phris (fried potatoes).

At home, Georgians usually eat three meals per day.  Breakfast is served in the morning and consists of cold foods - bread, butter, honey, cheese, and maybe some sausage or cured meat - with tea or coffee.  Dinner is served in the late afternoon and is the main meal of the day.

Most Common Dishes in Georgia

Food in Georgia is both flavorful and plentiful. Georgians take pride in their cuisine and are always happy and honored to share their feast with guests. Some popular dishes include:

Khatchapuri: Cheese-filled bread that comes in different variation, depending on the region. This is by far one of the most popular snack foods in Georgia and is available on every street. School children often subsit off this during the day and you can purchase it cheap at your school's canteen.

Georgia offers the visitor the opportunity to try many delicious and unique alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to compliment Georgian food or to relax and have a good time.

First of all, Georgia is home to a number of natural springs and the mineral water from these sites is widely consumed and recommended as a tonic for your health.  Among the most popular are Nabeghlavi, Borjomi, and Likani.  Many volunteers refer to these as "salty water" because of the distinctive flavor of the water, which may take some getting used to.  Pure flat bottled spring water is also available all across the country.

Georgians love to drink tea or coffee in the morning and with meals.
Most coffee is of an instant Nescafe variety although espresso drinks and mochas are available at cafes in Tbilisi. Turkish coffe is also very popular (and at the end you may have your fortune read!).  A Georgian company called Natakhtari also produces its own unique series of sodas - which Georgians call "lemonade" - that are actually carbonated beverages flavored with a variety of options such as pear, apple, or even tarragon.  Western sodas, like Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Fanta are available all over Georgia, as are cartons of various kinds of fruit juice.

Regardless of the reason for coming together, the Georgian table and its selection of dishes provides a fascinating insight into a unique culture. Georgian cuisine makes use of animal products in most dishes and is rich in herbs, spices, dairy products, and oils. Most key ingredients are easily recognizable but the methods of preparation, which are the time honored secrets of the Georgian chef, lend a special taste and quality to each particular dish. There is no doubt that, regardless of your dietary preference, there is something to tantalize the taste buds.

Georgian Cuisine at Footprints

At Footprints, we l-o-o-o-o-v-e Georgian food!

We celebrated our staff members, Sten and Manuela’s, birthdays by preparing and cooking some delicious Georgian food from scratch.

I didn't take long for the Footprints Team to collectively devour the Khachapuri and Khinkali. Georgia Department Placement Coordinator, Sten, had the special privilege of tasting most of these Georgian dishes for the first time.  Particular favorites were green plum and thorn berry Tkemali and Borjomi.