ARTE Distribution

At the heart of Krakow lies Stary Kleparz, a vibrant market offering a rich variety of traditional southern Polish foods. From chef’s bigos cooked right on the spot to handmade pierogi, the market is a flavorful entry point to the region’s culinary heritage. We travel through Lesser Poland to discover the smoky oscypek cheese, lavender vinegar, sausages, and a rare trout breed, before returning to the city for a taste of obwarzanek and pączki — the city’s famous bread ring and the sweet fried dough. Krakow’s market bridges past and present, field and feast.

Stary Kleparz, Krakow’s oldest food market, is a buzzing crossroad of local tradition and flavors. It’s here that Bartosz stirs his pot of steaming bigos — a rich stew of cabbage and meats — for customers strolling among colorful stalls. Maria folds the pierogi by hand, keeping alive a recipe passed down through generations. But the story of Krakow’s food doesn’t end in the city.
We head south toward the Podhale region, nestled in the Carpathians near the Tatra Mountains. There, shepherd Krysztof tends his flock and crafts oscypek, a traditional smoked goat’s milk cheese, following age-old methods. Anna and Michał harvest fields of lavender to transform into a fragrant culinary vinegar, while in Piaski Wielkie, Szczepan shares his time-honored technique for smoking sausages — a process that gives each bite its distinctive flavor. Nearby, in the Ojców National Park, Agnieszka and her mother raise and smoke trout in the cool mountain waters, and on Irena’s farm, plums are dried and smoked on woodfire to create a uniquely Polish delicacy.
Back in Krakow, the streets are alive with the scent of obwarzanek — the iconic, sesame-topped bread rings baked in Krzysztof’s oven and sold warm from city stalls. For those with a sweet tooth, there are pączki — fried dough delights filled with jam and sugar, the true ancestors of the American donut. Krakow’s food scene is a living mosaic of seasonal ingredients, historical recipes, and passionate people who keep traditions alive, both in the city and across the countryside.