Georgiana Ilie
Journalist and anthropologist looking at how food influences our world.
The filings.
Heatwave menus and 50°C kitchens, Bucharest under water and the treacherous Austrian sausage
Record heat, flooded basements, carcinogenic sausages, an ice-cream shortage, and kitchen life at 45°C in five reels.
Do you charge for tap water during a heatwave?
Charging for tap water, or refusing it outright, is a margin decision, a reputation decision and sometimes a legal decision. Across our three markets, these are starting to collide.
How a Bucharest operator prices through inflation
First in a three-part series: operators in Romania, Hungary and Austria on how they set prices, defend margins, and read a guest who is spending less. We start in Bucharest.
Cheaper vegetables, tone-deaf tomatoes, and when food festivals work for operators
What the planned Hungarian VAT cut won't do, what the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture got wrong, and where post-event sales actually show up.
The restaurants AI recommends, and why
We asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude where to eat in Budapest, Bucharest and Vienna, then asked them why. The answers show who is visible, who is missing, and why Google still sits underneath most AI restaurant discovery.
The case for running a lunch menu you don't profit from
Three operators on how they structure midday service, who it brings in, and what it builds that dinner service can't.
How war hits your menu, the worst food influencer in Budapest and toilet signs from hell
Five items. Iran, influencers, toilet signs, a bakery opening, and Turkish food done right.