A “new” trend has been cropping up on social media and it’s more than just sustenance. The Balkan Breakfast is a charcuterie board-style meal of veggies like capsicums, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, bread, cured meats, vibrant red dip called ajvar, pickles, onions, radishes, apples and basically anything else you can think of.

The veggies are raw and whole. No cutlery in sight (aside from maybe a knife, if you’re fancy). Endless flavour combinations. No coming up for air between bites. And, for some of the newly converted, a shocking amount of fibre.

While the Balkan Breakfast is essentially just eating a bunch of ingredients with abandon, for new fans it has become something more than a meal. The “boy breakfast” is scratching a long-dormant itch.

There is something so primal, so tactile about the Balkan Breakfast and TikTokers jumping on board are saying it’s “validating” and “everything I wanted it to be”. 

@robbsfilms Man dicovers eating vegetables. #vegetables ♬ original sound – Robb

While the “trend” is named after the diverse Balkan region – with many locals confirming on the viral video that they do in fact eat like that, one even saying “This is how we Balkan ppl eat all summer long and I love it” – others say it’s a way of eating prevalent across Central and Eastern Europe and even in the US.

Balkan breakfast is part of a wider trend of dopamine eating; rat girl, girl dinner, brat summer, and now Balkan, it’s a do what you feel like kinda thing and embracing simplicity. And if you’re getting your two and five out of it then more power to you.

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What are the Balkans?

The Balkans are a geographical and geopolitical region of Europe spanning the length of the Balkan Mountains and Balkan Peninsula. The borders of the Balkans are nebulous but it’s generally accepted that countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Albania, and parts of Türkiye are lumped together. 

Because there are a whole lotta countries and a whole lotta cultures spanning the more than a dozen countries in the Balkans, regional additions to the breakfast plate include grilled fish, hot peppers, hyperlocal cheeses and plenty more.

Related story: What is a “Girl Dinner” and why is it going viral on TikTok?