What's A 'Balkan Breakfast?' The Meme And TikTok Trend About How Balkans Eat Breakfast Explained

The so-called Balkan Breakfast has gone viral on TikTok. The meme trend purportedly shows how Balkans eat the most important meal of the day.

It started with a Balkan dad chowing down on raw veggies, using his bare hands to pick up each ingredient and take a bite. Many joked that he was eating only ingredients and viral trend of replicating the video has ensued.

However, do Balkans really eat breakfast like that? What does a Balkan Breakfast consist of and who is the man in the original video? Let's explain.

What's A 'Balkan Breakfast?'

According to internet users, a Balkan Breakfast has a few main components: raw vegetables (usually cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers), bread (usually a baguette) and meat (like cevapcici).

However, a true Balkan Breakfast is defined by how it's eaten. Balkan people stereotypically eat with their hands and a pocket knife. They take asymmetrical bites from everything, eating in a very stream-of-conscious manner.

Also, Balkans purportedly shake salt over everything. For example, a common method among native Balkans is eating a tomato like an apple and pouring salt into each bite for chomping down.

Where Did The 'Balkan Breakfast' Meme Come From?

The first known internet creator to parody the way Balkans eat breakfast is a TikToker named @balkandad. In April 2020, he posted a video skit called, "How Balkan dads eat breakfast," seemingly speaking from his own childhood experience.

The TikToker continued the bit going into the 2020s, likely inspiring the later memes about the Balkan method.

Who's The Original 'Balkan Breakfast Guy?'

The Balkan Breakfast meme trend that's populated TikTok over the past month was largely inspired by one Turkish TikToker named @.dayi_ who posted a video of his own breakfast eating in late August.

The video racked up more than 4 million views in a week, generating multiple jokes at the expense of his Balkan eating habits.

What's The 'Balkan Breakfast' TikTok Trend?

After the abovementioned video went viral, TIkTokers (both Balkan and not) posted videos of themselves eating breakfast the Balkan way. It became a minor internet challenge among the chronically online users who saw the original video.

Balkan Breakfast mukbang content has since been posted. Food reviewers have also since rated the Balkan Breakfast. If it's truly how Balkan people eat, the internet is loving their culture.

For the full history of Balkan Breakfast, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.