THE SLOVENIATM GASTRONOMY Spring/Summer 2019 Top Gastronomic Experiences
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THE SLOVENIATM GASTRONOMY Spring/Summer 2019 Top Gastronomic Experiences www.the-slovenia.com JOIN THE CLUB AT DINERSCLUB.SI Erste Card Diners Club_The Slovenia Restaurants_200x210mm_marec_2019.indd 1 15.3.2019 10:05:42 Explore the Table of contents 7 Foreword - Niko Slavnić 9 Foreword - Janez Bogataj Tastes 14 European Region of Gastronomy of Ljubljana 16 Top 10 Slovenian Dishes 18 Gourmet Calendar 21 The Slovenia Restaurant Awards 33 Ljubljana & Central Slovenia Restaurants 47 Mediterranean Slovenia Restaurants 55 Alpine Slovenia Restaurants 65 Thermal Pannonian Slovenia Restaurants 71 Slovenian Wine & Oilmakers 80 Slovenian Chocolate Get to know the people and the stories behind the food and indulge yourself in the taste of Ljubljana, the Capital of Slovenia. Publisher THE SLOVENIA, Slovenska cesta 17, 1000 Ljubljana, tel. +386 30 706 000, [email protected], www.the-slovenia.com, FB/The Slovenia, IG/The Slovenia Director Niko Slavnić Printed Abografika d.o.o., 10.000 copies IG/ the.slovenia Editor Peter Škoda Kecman Design Aleksandar Vukojević Sales Jadranka Popovič, Janža Pavlin Photos IQbator, www.slovenia.info Shutterstock and our partners Copyright notice Text and photos copyright THE SLOVENIA. Maps copyright cartographer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without written permission from the publisher and copyright owner. www.visitljubljana.com 5 TL_Oglas_Gastronomy_100x210+3mm_0319.indd 1 06/03/2019 13:22 Foreword - Niko Slavnić Dear foodies, we wish you “dober tek”! Thank you for picking up this new The Slovenia guide - a great deci- sion to taste and feel Slovenia. Since 2008 we have published tons of guides and online content about Slovenia, however, this is the first time we can proudly write about Slovenia as a new European region of gas- tronomy. With the influx of English-speaking foreigners into Slovenia, we decided to write this guide in English to help more people access Slovenia’s countless gastronomic experiences. There is no more unique a place in Europe than Slovenia, sitting at the cross- roads of great European cuisines from the Mediterranean and Karst, Pannonia and the Alps. This is also the home of the best female chef in the world, Ana Roš, as well as several other of the top 100 chefs and restaurants in the world, and our unique evaluation The Slovenia Restaurant Awards. Before we began The Slovenia Restaurant Awards, and this subsequent The Bee Path The Slovenia Gastronomy guide, we, along with many others, struggled to find local information in English about good food and the best restau- University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana, Ižanska cesta 15, 1000 rants. To do this, we spent a year comparing international systems and Ljubljana +386 (0)1 306 43 09, [email protected] talking to chefs, restaurateurs and experts, eventually coming up with a http://bit.ly/CebeljaPot three tiered system, consisting of an expert committee, the Chefs and Foodies Academy, and the general public. After all of the voting, the Ljubljana is a proud carrier of title Green Capital of Europe 2016 result of our efforts was national and regional winners, finalists and a and the friendliest Municipality to the Bees 2017. City created a handful of recommended restaurants. This project could not have been special story about the bees. Bee Path in Ljubljana is a path as completed without the great support of food experts, enthusiasts and sponsors – Diners Club International, Winterhalter and Deloitte – and well as a movement. It connects all that are aware of importance also the media. Another huge thank you must go out to the chefs, our of the bees. The visit to Bee Path starts in Botanical Garden with expert committee and, of course, the foodies. a guided tour to City Bee House and introduction of melliferous plants continues through the city, presenting urban beekeeping We believe that you can use this guide on your culinary adventure of and its cultural and natural heritage. Get to know Ljubljana from Slovenia. the bee point of view! Niko Slavnić MSc 7 Foreword - Janez Bogataj How to taste Slovenia? The renowned French chef Brillat – Savarin once said that the essence of enjoying food lies in the act of slowing the pace of life and en- SAVOR & BELONG couraging cheerfulness! In Slovenia we can, of course, agree with this sentiment, but more is needed for modernity. Food with its stories, embedded into local and regional cultures, can also be an excellent form of communication. Globally it has even become a part of politics, as some countries’ successes cannot be achieved without food, and the so-called gastronomic di- plomacy is being strongly developed. The role of food shouldn’t be looked at solely through the lens of tourism, but as part of a compre- hensive economic, social and spiritual endeavour. This should include caring about the continuation and applications of food heritage, as well as looking for inovative creative solutions. The connections to agriculture are, of course, very important, but not only the ones with which we constantly try to emphasize the importance of organic food production. The entire humanity will have to take a firm stand against the big food chains and industrial, globally prepared food and dishes that make us wonder what’s exactly on out plates, and don’t allow us the chance to have conversations, or to get to know local and regional specialties. These specialites would further lead us to the pastures and fields, gardens, vineyards and orchards where we could meet the people growing the food and get to know their healthy pro- duction techniques. All these and other facts also mark the culinary and gastronomic endeavours in Slovenia which, in 2018, became a member of the European Region of Gastronomy. Before 2021 we plan to implement several important research projects, that will help us amend shortcomings in food, agriculture, tourism, education, health and other areas, directly or indirectly linked to food culture. In JOIN THE CLUB AT the year 2021, Slovenia will also become a full member of the ERG. DINERSCLUB.SI An important role and share in these endeavours is also performed by Slovenian food establishments, from typical family inns, restaurants, bars and tourist farms, to positive forms of street food. Green and sustainability-focused Slovenia, through sight, tastes, environment and soul, also confirms this focus on the plates … and in the glasses! Prof. Janez Bogataj PhD 8 9 Erste Card Diners Club_Exclusive_The Slovenia Restaurants_100x210mm_marec_2019.indd 1 21.3.2019 7:26:23 OsterRob - Japanese Kitchen Knives hard labour when preparing food for the family, but is a fun and social The Heart of Your Kitchen & activity. Those who are truly in love with cooking (and those who wish to be) insist on the best tool. And the best tools can be found at Secrets of Japanese Steel OsterRob, a web store and a well stocked showroom based in Ljublja- na, Slovenia. They offer anything from high quality japanese kitchen knives, cutting boards, knife magnets and knife rolls. A professional and amateur chef’s paradise. Also on offer are a variety of classes, such as sushi, knife sharpening and fish preparation class and sharp- ening service for japanese and other knives. Blades and men have been strongly bound together throughout evo- lution. Other species had no need for sharp utensils since they were born with them. People, on the other hand, had to tame their environ- ment by using blades nature offered – rocks, trunks, horns, ebony, and later, upon discovery of iron, they managed to create one of the most important weapons. Iron provided hardness and endurance for cutting and chopping. With the addition of carbon and chrome, ma- terials of better quality were developed and made possible durability, flexibility, sharpness and rust resistance. The use of blade made men’s life easier and helped us survive. The blade stands for progress – without it we could not shape objects or machines, and carve vegetables or fruit into particular shapes. Today we cannot imagine any work done in the kitchen – be it home or professional – without proper tools. Cooking no longer stands for Sponsored Showroom OsterRob Tržaška cesta 2, Stara Tobačna, 1000 Ljubljana Tel.Photo: +386 Mitja (0)31 Kobal 261 172, www.osterrob.si, [email protected] TASTE SLOVENIA. MY WAY OF SPOILING THE TASTEBUDS. With a wide variety of local flavours, traditions and ingredients directly from the garden a new delicacy awaits you around every corner. Discover foodie heaven in Slovenia in your own special way. #ifeelsLOVEnia #myway www.slovenia.info European Region of Gastronomy ER F BE E O ST K IV Š A R L K So different. So accessible! Green, active and healthy, Slovenia is the only European country that connects the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Karst and the Pannonian OLD TOWN CENTER KRŠKO, Saturday, 25.5.2019, at 3:00pm Plain. Its exceptionally diverse landscape and nature are tied to a OLD TOWN CENTER KRŠKO, Saturday, 25.5.2019, at 3:00 pm colourful culture and gastronomy. At the very heart of Europe, at the meeting point of the Germanic world to the north, the Romance lands to the west, the Slavic Balkans to the south and Hungary to the east, is where Slovenian gastronomy evolved through history. Slovenian dishes are made with local ingredients: from produce grown in fields and gardens, to ingredients foraged in meadows and forests, salt harvested from the northernmost Adriatic salt pans, honey made by native bees, and wine that was a common drink around these parts even back in Antiquity, to healthy mineral waters that became the fo- cal point of world-renowned spas centuries ago.