Theobroma cacao is Latin for cocoa tree and it literally means 'food of the gods'. Today, we shall call it chocolate. 

The menu includes mostly fish and meat dishes, with a rich wine card. Live music and song are quite commonplace, and Zadar journalists are regulars here. We also had the opportunity to witness the quality of the offer during our recent visit. We visited the tavern at lunch time, and the menu had several appealing dishes like veal risotto, grilled shark steaks with chard, pasticada and goulash. We tried shark steak and veal risotto – dishes that deserved an excellent grade. Fresh ingredients, home-made preparation, ideal serving portions and very affordable prices completely disarmed us, and we absolutely have no dilemma about where to eat next time we visit Zadar.

Tavern’s usual menu is very rich, and we particularly recommend various cold starters made with marinated fish or light seafood salads. Meat and fish are always of impeccably good and fresh.

In spring and summer, the tavern’s terrace is still full of gests with full plates. During these summer months, the pleasantly air conditioned space and reasonable prices attract numerous tourists who visit Zadar or are only passing through here with a rich tradition that has recently undergone a certain renaissance.

 

General impression: nice home-made cooking, excellent price to quality ratio

Address: Trg Petra Zoranica 3, HR-23000 Zadar

Phone: +385 (0)23 213 236

Open: 7 am until midnight

Seats: 45 people inside and 80 on the terrace

Specialized in: home-made Dalmatian cuisine

Source: Gastro.hr

 

We warmly recommend you first study their instructions on how to get there on their web page. After you reach Mala Rakovica, follow the signs that will precisely guide you to your goal. If it appears to you that you are in the middle of nowhere, you are right. But as soon as you reach the peak, you will be pleased that you have passed all those steep sections and curves. You will feel like you are visiting you friends, but somewhere far, perhaps even unreal. “Up there”, it seems that life is slower and more simple.

 

Although the hosts say that the view reaches over Kupska valley all the way to Sisak, and that on the other side you can see Samobor, Zaprešić, Hrvatsko zagorje region and Zagreb, we believe that you will stay indoors by the warm tile stove in these cold winter months. The interior itself is pleasant, antique, with big wooden tables and low ceilings. The walls and shelves are filled with details, items and photographs speaking about the history and tradition of the Samobor region and the people who created them.

 

As far as food is concerned, it is typically local, domestic and simple. They serve from the domestic clear soup, through cheese and cream with home-made bacon and cold cuts, to various meat combinations. Turkey with mlinci, bread crumbed chicken with sautéed potatoes, pork or beef roasts or dishes under the lid, blood sausage, garlic sausage and so on, depending on the season. At the end, you can most likely expect strudel, with cheese, apples or some other seasonal fruit. We should point out that the said food is not on offer every day, so perhaps it is not a bad idea to call and check what is on offer on a particular day. Also, if you don’t eat meat, and you are not satisfied with salads, cheese and cream, the owner recommends you agree such meals in advance.

 

From the drinks, we recommend home-made brandies, like blackberry, raspberry, elderberry juice, and when it comes to wines, we have home-made red and white: portugizac and a white blend that is best in a spritzer.

 

All in all, if you are in Samobor, and you wish to have lunch in a particularly special place (or you wish to spend several days in the separate Vincek house with homemade cooking), go to Slavagora. It’s truly a cozy and nice place, away from everything.

 

General impression: distinctive, pleasant and tasty

Address: Vincekov put 13, Slavagora

Phone +385 98 978 32 04 

Open: Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 8 pm

Web: www.slavagora.hr

Seats: 50 people

Specialized in: authentic traditional cuisine of Samobor region

Source: Gastro.hr 

 

We expected a lot from Carpaccio, exactly because of the fact that a new, ambitious restaurant has been opened in the immediate city center, as well as because of the vast experience of its manager. The first meeting with the menu told us that the selection is relaxed, almost casual offer fashioned after Italian trattorias. Pasta, risotto, several carpaccios, and a few more serious dishes like steak and fish. We tried a solid scampi risotto that still has some room for improvement, and a salmon steak that was good, but the broccoli served with it as a side dish was in dire need of a better styling. On the other hand, the beef steak with Milan style rice was perfectly juicy and soft – a true treat. The classic panna cotta dessert was good, but not excellent.

 

Wine list complements the selection of dishes, while a lot of wines are also poured on glass, and there is no doubt that this place will always have a nice selection of wines. The prices are somewhat higher compared to this type of restaurant, but the location and decoration probably justify this approach. We believe that we will soon be able to say that the cuisine is on such high level that the price is justified.

 

At the beginning of its life, Carpaccio deserves your visits and support, and the beginner’s mistakes will be considered a warm-up.We believe they will continue to consistently work on improving their cooking and other aspects of their business because this place already has numerous advantages that guarantee to bring it a select and faithful clientele, like for example the excellent location and experienced managers.

 

General impression: city trattoria of a higher price range

Address: Teslina 14, 10 000 Zagreb

Phone: 01 4822 331

Open: Monday through Saturday 11am until midnight, Sundays 11 am until 5 pm

Seats: 50 people

Specialized in: Italian cuisine

Source: Gastro.hr

Namely, as you have probably experienced yourself, the fish offered in our restaurants is usually (or at least pretends to be) of the higher categories, and is prepared in several fashions, while the “less attractive” fish is rarely present on restaurant menus. It is exactly why the idea with lots of blue fish and small fish prepared in various fashion (in oil, salted, marinated, na saur) seemed like something truly exciting.

However, it seems that Ribice… is currently suffering from, let’s hope, common mistakes. The first and perhaps the most important is disorganized staff. Sometimes it seems there is not enough of them, although we can’t say that it is impossible to get a place in that restaurant. In the situations that require quick and professional reaction, they almost seem to be lacking resourcefulness, so they are not sure in which order to serve the guests or when to notify the guest that they have already sold out the majority of the offer for the day.

We cannot complain about the concept to offer on the menu what’s fresh that day, and we hope they will stick to it in the future. The fried sardinella we ordered was delicious, and the fish seemed fresh. On the other hand, the sound of microwave from the kitchen caused concern about the age of potatoes served with squid stew, because it was extremely salty (and when the waiter passed on our remark to the cooks, we heard that it was not the first dish they oversalted that day).

As far as wine list is concerned, we simply cannot understand a serious restaurant owner who will compile the wine list by writing only the names of wine varieties, without listing the winemaker or manufacturer (let alone the vintage). When we found out that the white wine of the house is Pilato Malmsey, we bravely decided to go for this open variety. What we got was not Malmsey, which we confirmed immediately by comparing it with Pilato Malmsey from the bottle. Of course, we cannot know whom shall we consider accountable, the owner or the waiter, but such oversights make no sense at all, unless the restaurant staff thinks that they can get away with that with foreign tourists who don’t know the difference between Grasevina and Malmsey. They should not get away with it even then.

All in all, we are still not prepared to give up on this project. We want to believe that things will turn out for the best, and that this space will in the end be a place that will show and prove what a Croatian Mediterranean snack for a reasonable amount of money should look like. We’ll be back!

General impression: a good idea with faulty execution.

Address: Preradoviceva Street 7/1, at the corner with Teslina Street, Zagreb

Phone: 01 4872 168

Open: every day from 9 am to midnight

Seats: 80 people

Specialized in fish and fast sea food 

Source: Gastro.hr

 

 

The restaurant's decor will probably not impress you, but you might be thrilled or perhaps angered by the existence of a smoker's corner. Don't let the unimaginative decor make you think that their cuisine is probably the same. On the contrary! You can expect true home-made food from the kitchen, in the best sense of that word. But it’s not the boring and a hundred times seen menu, but an imaginative play with the available seasonal ingredients.

For example, a genuine winter mezze at Spicek’s is a platter consisting of the following: some excellent pressed sausage (svargla), boiled ham with freshly ground horseradish, home-made salami, zasek, pickled mushrooms and fantastic cream and cheese! That alone would be enough for a more modest company than ours, but we did not stop. We decided to try everything Spicek had to offer in these, let’s hope, last days of winter. And we made the right choice. Grilled cottage cheese served on radicchio, with the indispensable (and often neglected) pumpkin seed oil was equally delicious as the chicken livers wrapped in bacon and sarma made of kale (stuffed with cheese cream, potatoes, bacon and lavender liquor).

After the interesting strukli soup, we barely had room left for beef prepared in several styles, and capon stewed in red wine. But we somehow managed to find room for the (now famous) “countess’ ice cream” with squash seed oil and seeds, to everyone’s delight.

If you come at some other time of year, you can expect something made with the seasonal ingredients, boletes, brittle or home-made ajvar, and the pantry always has something left over from the pig slaughter. When it comes to the wine list, you will have something to choose from, but you are doomed to only a few labels when it comes to reds.

All in all, Spicek is place where you will eat some nice (and abundant= meals, enjoying the sincere flavors of the local cuisine with Spicek’s twist. Let go to him freely, because there will be always something interesting waiting for you in the kitchen, regardless of the time of year.

 

General impression: delicious, abundant and cozy

Address: Marsala Tita 48

Town: Zapresic

Phone: (01) 3392464

Open: 9 am to 11 pm

Seats: 70 inside, 50 outside

Specialized in: cuisine of the Zagorje region as prepared by Tomislav Spicek

Source: Gastro.hr

 

 

During the past month, we visited the new Apetit several times, and every time we met owner Sanja Cabalier working dedicatedly, welcoming and saying goodbye to the guests, or simply said, she holds all the stings in her hand. The devotion of this fragile yet strong woman, who has been living and breathing catering with her husband, is definitely one of the key reasons why Apetit is a success.

 

The first encounter with the menu reveals its originality, with the same guideline of the old Apetit. It is minimalist, trendy, but it pays particular respect for the season and Mediterranean cuisine, from small starters to main courses. For starters, you can choose one of the small salads, like the octopus salad, bread salad, or solid crab cakes. Next we have the small hot dishes, like the very tasty bolete risotto with green pepper, or equally delicious ricotta and spinach gnocchi. For the main course, you can choose between fish and meat in combinations that sound almost every day, for example, roasted list with boiled potatoes, and it completely satisfied our expectations. Still, the main advantage of Apetit lies in its desserts. We were particularly thrilled by small cheese dumplings in white chocolate sauce, and for true lovers of chocolate, we recommend the exceptional chocolate cake.

 

The wine list is rich and they pour several wines by the glass, but the prices are mostly too high. For a reasonable amount of money you can only get Tomic’s Plavac and Plame. Still, those who are prepared to pay more will be satisfied with the selection, and includes select dessert wines and champagnes.

 

General impression: a nice restaurant with a well developed concept and professional approach

Address: Obrtnicki prolaz, 10 000 Zagreb

Phone: 01 4811077

Open: noon until 11 pm, closed on Sundays

Seats: 100 people

Specialized in: Mediterranean cuisine in a modern version

 

As it now seems, the owner will take care that the restaurant is not short lived. Bazaar is located in one of the newly erected towers on the crossing of Vukovarska and Heinzelova, in the Zagreb Tower. During the day, the restaurant is some sort of a canteen for the employees in Zagreb Tower and surrounding business buildings, and in the evening, the atmosphere turns a bit more intimate, although the space is very high, open and modern, so it was not possible anyway to create the “Arabic-intimate-1.001 nights” atmosphere.

 

However, the pleasant atmosphere is anyway enhanced by the Arab music for all tastes, incense sticks, full restaurant, and on several days there is also a belly dance performance. As far as menu is concerned, it is not big, includes some of the well known and recognizable dishes of Arab cuisine, making it accessible and not intimidating. Another commendable thing is that the friendly staff will help you choose something from the menu if you yourself are not sure.

 

We recommend you definitely start with one of the cold starters, perhaps with a selection of mezze that includes hummous, tabouleh, babba ganouj, fattoush, moutabel thnia and similar cold dishes from the Mediterranean-Middle East cuisine. If that does not fill you up, there is also the cous-cous with vegetables, lamb or chicken, grilled lamb, beef or chicken tajine, falafel, and several types of Arabic salads.

 

Dishes coming from the kitchen of the young Moroccan chef are delicious and smell of Middle Eastern aromas, and the servings are of decent size. The desserts are particularly interesting, and if you have no experience with Middle Eastern sweets, you will probably be surprised by their unusual flavors.

 

As far as the wine list is concerned, they are currently offering only wines from Herzegovina, Zilavka and Blatina, and expansion of the selection would be good. Many people will be thrilled by Sarajevsko pivo.

 

All in all, we can be satisfied with the first days of Bazaar. Food is tasty and interesting, servings abundant, prices reasonable, staff friendly, and the owner listens to suggestions and criticism in order to keep the high service level. People of Zagreb realized that immediately, so it is welcome to reserve a seat a few days in advance.

General impression: an interesting experience of Arab cuisine in the heart of business Zagreb

Address: Radnicka cesta 80, Zagreb Tower

Phone (and delivery): 01 6187 389

Seats: 80 seats

Open: Mon – Fri noon to 11 pm, Sun noon to 6 pm

Reservation necessary: yes

Specialized in Arabian cuisine

 

 

If we assume that you already know a few things about Istrian cuisine, and that you are ready to broaden your horizons after you got accustomed to fuzi, truffles, zgvaceti and ombolo, you’re in for a treat in Banjole, because their offer is based exclusively on fish. Have no fear, this is not just another tavern serving only fish, but a tavern that will convincingly prove to you that fish deserves a lot more than to be just grilled or baked, especially if it is premium quality fish. All the members of family Skoko are dealing with fish, at sea or in the kitchen, and the result of their play are unusually delicious and unusual dishes, selection of which you should best leave to the owner.

 

In that way you will be able to relax and watch the surprising dishes being served to you, dishes that will excite you with their simplicity and richness of flavor, having in mind that this is fish that rarely or never reaches the menus of fish restaurants. Try and remember in how many places you can eat conger eel paté, Annular Seabream kebab, marinated goatfish and Atlantic bonito Tartare, just to start! Here’s where the selection broadens, so you can enjoy “classical” dishes like brudet, pasta and risotto, among which you will also find butarga made of Flathead Gray Mullet, spicy Capesante, polenta with cheese and greens, and the whole series of details that will turn your experience at the table into a pleasure lasting several hours.

 

It is clear that Batelina does not stay away from the simplest of fish. You will be surprised, entertained and be reassured once again that the combination of fresh ingredients and playful creativity are the best thing there is! Along with fish prepared in hundred and one different ways, there is also the home made vegetables grown in the next door garden, and you could write a whole article on desserts alone! You will not find all the famous Istrian winemakers on the wine list, but the nicely selected labels combined with great prices are a guarantee to bring a smile to your face. The friendliness of the hosts completes the impression that food is prepared with joy, equally enjoyed by the guests and all the members of the “fishermen-cooking” family Skoko.

 

It is important to mention that Batelina is closed on Sundays, not even during the season, that they don’t accept credit cards, and that a reservation is desirable so you can be sure that you have a reserved place for smashing prejudices about fish and “fish” restaurants.

 

General impression: original, cozy and nice

Address: Cimulje 25, Banjole, 52100 Pula

Phone +385 (0) 52 573 767

Open: 5 pm until 11 pm, closed on Sundays, reservations recommended

Seats: 28 inside plus 50 on the terrace

Owner: family Skoko

Specialized in: Istrian cuisine and fish dishes

 

Our opinion that it can be credited to the main chef of Esplanada, Jeffrey Vela from Malta, who has in the past three years been designing the gastronomic delights for whom many people will say are the most interesting and delicious on the Zagreb restaurant scene. This time we will talk more about the “supporting” content, that along with Esplanada’s main restaurant Zinfandel round off the top quality offer of Esplanada’s sensory delights – Lounge and cocktail bar Esplanada 1925, and the “small restaurant” in French style – Le Bistro.

 

If you find yourself in Esplanada’s lounge bar in the morning or afternoon hours, you will probably be pleased with the great selection of classic teas. They will pair well with the selection of small sandwiches, sweet delights, as well as traditional British scones with carrots and raisins.

 

Recently joining the event “Grab a cocktail in the hotel”, the best cocktail artists opened their bars and offered cocktails at more than reasonable prices to numerous cocktail fans. From classics like Mojitos or Manhattan, to in-house creations, cocktail&lounge bar was a merry place in the penultimate weekend in November.

 

The French touch in Le Bistro’s decoration that gives it a pleasant international charm, is harmoniously accompanied by the French-Croatian-International menu in which you will find the abundance of unusual creations. If you find yourself near Esplanada at the time of lunch, you will be pleased if you choose a smaller and more substantial dish. The flagship in the menu is definitely Esplanada strukli, but they are not a reason why should disregard other dishes, like home-made papardella with simmered beef liver and sage, monkfish tail with snails, or roasted goose liver and tuna with sprouts.

 

Until the end of the year, Esplanada’s Le Bistro offers several interesting theme weeks. November ends with days of Beaujolais, and December begins with days of apple, during which the specially designed menus give additional vibrancy to already interesting offer of this “small restaurant”. December is reserved for days of risotto, pasta and codfish, some of which will be offered at especially attractive prices.

 

In any case, even if you don’t go to Esplanada’s Zinfandel, you will not miss high quality cuisine delights in that same space. The team of people working on maintaining an image of a top quality hotel through the gastronomic offer is truly doing a great job.

 

General impression: For special, business or completely private affairs, Esplanada has something to offer.

Address: Mihanoviceva 1, 10000 Zagreb

Phone (01) 4566666

Open: 8:30 am until 11 pm

Specialized in: haute cuisine adaptable for every situation

Source: Gastro.hr

 

The journey to the fairytale will start even before you enter the restaurant. Kastav is surrounded by walls with nine towers, on a 365 m high hill next to Opatija. Its belvederes offer a view of the whole of Rijeka, Istria, the Bay of Kvarner and the islands – a view which will surely thrill you. If you take a walk down the town’s streets, especially its old city centre, you will feel the grandeur and the significance of ancient Kastav, as well as the spirit of its contemporary residents. Such a walk is best ended in a pleasant and very pecial restaurant, such as the one from our story – the restaurant Kukuriku. The specific way they prepare and serve their food earned them the label of a top restaurant, both nationally and internationally.

Family tradition

The good name of the restaurant and luxury hotel located in the old 14th century castle can be most attributed to Nenad Kukurin, the alpha and omega of the Kukuriku brand, whose personalised, artistic approach to the culinary culture is the main reason why Kukuriku has been winning numerous Croatian and foreign awards for years.

Kukurin represents his passion for the catering business inherited from his father – another “legendary” Kukurin from this area. This is no wonder, considering that knowledge, effort and love for catering have been running in this family for centuries. Nenad Kukurin belongs to the fifth generation running this successful family business. 

“In the course of the centuries, the turning point for this impressive building was 19th June. On 19th June 1770, a public education facility was opened there, and in 1970 a primary school was founded. Last year, a hotel was opened. In 1585, the palace was the seat of Bernard Kukurin, and catering establishments were run here first 120 years ago by my grand-grandfather, then by my grandfather, and by later my father. One day, my son David Kukurin will inherit the restaurant from me,” said Nenad Kukurin.

Authenticity

The dishes in the restaurant are prepared from autochthonous, local and fresh ingredients, all ruled by the principles of creative Mediterranean cuisine. “Our culinary motto is: natural, honest and unique. We want each of our guests to feel like at home and to experience this place with all the senses. We do not offer a so-called top menu, since the offer of dishes keeps changing, depending on the availability of exclusively natural and local ingredients. After a good meal, you should also take a good rest. This is why we offer our guests accommodation in the hotel, which is the perfect supplement to our culinary programme,” explained Mr Kukurin.

The Kukuriku hotel, as well as the restaurant, was completely renovated and decorated with an abundance of attention and love. The hotel has 15 rooms, each special in its own way. It is furnished with designer furniture, fireplaces in seven of the rooms, linen designed especially for the hotel, carefully designed lighting, etc. Since both the restaurant and the hotel are located in the cultural and historical heritage site in Kastav, the restaurateurs took special care to combine the traditional and the modern in an optimal way – to preserve the spirit of ancient times, and the modern way of life as well.

A series of courses

Our staff will not offer you a menu – not because we do not have one, but because our guests prefer to let professionals decide. So the owner, restaurant manager and sommelier Nenad Kukurin will first introduce himself to you, and then an entire team of chefs will tailor a special menu for each guest according to their wishes, while the guests will let everything to the imagination and creativity of the staff. “In this way, we try to induce our guests to experience the uniqueness, authenticity and peculiarity of the local aroma,” explained Kukurin. The menu consists of 6 courses on average, and with every dish comes the perfect wine. You can choose from 150 top wines from the restaurant’s rich wine cellar. 

What kind of delicacies can you expect, you wonder? Depending on the season, you can try exquisitely prepared dishes with Istrian truffle, tuna tartar, bolete mushroom salad, wild asparagus, chestnut from Lovran, traditional pasta from Labin (krafi) in local prosciutto sauce, scampi from Kvarner, wild asparagus and scampi risotto, marinated seabass in orange juice, game from the forests of Kastav, etc.

If you have an appetite to continue this story, perhaps it is time you tried out if it’s true. You will not only have a delicious and healthy meal in a pleasant and exquisite ambience, but you will also experience Kvarner – not only its aromas and fragrances, but using all your senses. You will leave for home with a full stomach and plenty of positive emotions. Let yourself go and slowly enjoy...

Vedrana Legovic

 

2.     Seabass tartar with fried sesame seeds, crab on sheep curd

3. Radicchio and teran risotto

4. Knead dough roll stuffed with gild-head bream mousse, smoked tuna fish sauce, fresh fennel and dried tomatoes 

5. Main course: ray filet on root vegetables

6. Dessert: semifreddo with roasted hazelnuts

Price: HRK 290.00

Meat menu for 1

1.     "greeting" from the kitchen
2.      Terrine from duck and onion marmelade
3.      Radicchio and teran risotto
4.      Cabbage rolls with veal cubes graduated with morni sauce
5.      Main course: deer filet in cranberry sauce, courgette and roasted hazelnut puree 
6.      Dessert: dried figs boiled in dessert wine (prosek) with mascarpone and cinnamon crème with roasted almonds
Price: HRK 280.00

 

Almost half way between Novalja and Pag, at the entrance to the town of Kolan, stands the new Sirana Gligora, one of the most successful companies in Pag and the whole of  Zadar County, built mostly with  EU pre-accession funds. The maturing room is in the basement, the production room is on the first floor, the offices and the tasting room on the second floor, from where a wonderful view of the north western part of the island and the Kvarner Gulf opens up. 

 

From Pag's perspective it is very difficult to imagine the World Cheese Awards show in Birmingham, UK, where, at the beginning of this month, 2,600 cheese brands from Europe, USA, Africa and Asia competed before a panel of 150 judges. The competition was followed by 400 journalists representing specialist magazines, daily newspapers and television stations. With its Paski sir (the Croatian word for cheese) Sirana Gligora from the little town of Kolan on the island of Pag became an instant hit. It won Super Gold Medals in three categories – hard ewes’ milk cheese, new cheese on the market and small producers' cheese.  Paški sir was also named one of the ten best cheese brands in the world! 

From rags to riches

Sirana Gligora is, professionally and personally speaking, a dream come true for Ivan Gligora, the most successful entrepreneur on Pag and one of the best dairy technicians in Croatia. His life story is that of the American dream, but it takes place in Croatia. Ivan Gligora did not make his fortune during the privatization period, and nothing was handed to him on a plate. His success is a result of hard work, expertise and his wife Marija's help and support. “Only work, more work and perseverance” are Gligora's words and his eternal optimism is difficult to hide. He had hoped to become a teacher so he enrolled in the pedagogy high school in Rijeka, but couldn’t receive any financial support from his poor parents.

It was his brothers who supported him, but when one got married and the other joined the military service, Gligora had to leave Rijeka. In order to continue studying, he applied for a grant from the Zagreb Dairy. He was awarded a grant and entered the world of dairy. He finished his School of Dairy Studies in Kranj, Slovenia, and was expecting to start work in Zagreb, but at the time the Zagreb Dairy owned the Pag Dairy, and so he was sent to Pag. There he was put in charge of the pasteurization process and sales, but in 1995 he was made redundant. 

“I was broke but suddenly a feeling of pride took hold of me. I decided to start my own dairy and I applied for a bank loan” says Gligora. The loan was not enough to start a business and it still had to be paid back. And then, as if heaven sent, a savior appeared. He was an entrepreneur Gligora had met while working at the Pag Dairy.  

“Don't worry, I will help you, were his words”, remembers Gligora. 

Soon afterwards a tanker carrying 5,000 liters of milk and a van for transporting it arrived in Kolan. He would pay for the milk with cheese. Together with his wife Marija he worked all day and the money they earned was used mostly for their son Šime's and their daughter Marina's education. They founded “Mermaid - The Little Dairy” and the business was up and running.  

“I knew that the only way to succeed was to produce cheese that was better than all the others” says Gligora.

A collection of awards

Gligora first entered his Paski sir at a show in Varaždin in 2002 and won the gold medal award. Then, at the Zagreb Fair Paski sir won gold for two consecutive years and was named a Champion of Quality. After winning awards at all the important competitions in Croatia, Gligora decided to try his luck abroad. He entered a Cheese Fair in Italy and won the gold. 

“It was a great success and satisfaction after all I'd been through. It was the first time my name appeared in the press” recalls Gligora.  

One international association San Fortunat, which promotes quality in all areas of human endeavor, presented Gligora with a medal for his contribution to the quality of human life. In Brussels, Gligora's Paski sir twice received a three star Superior Taste Award. The cheese carries the labels of an Original Croatian Product, Croatia's Island Product and Protected Geographical Indication, and implements HACCP standards. 

Most recently, there have been three Gold Medal Awards from the World Cheese Awards show in Birmingham, England. One wall in Gligora's office is covered with awards. “Today, I am so  delighted with what I have achieved, but in moments of despair, who would have thought of all the twists and turns, the unexpected visit from an entrepreneur friend, having to leave Rijeka and then Zagreb, all the important and seemingly unimportant events that have led me here” muses Gligora.

After opening the new Sirana Gligora, Ivan is now committed solely to cheese production and leaves the running of the business to his son Sime, a graduate from the Faculty of Agronomy at the Zagreb University. Sime was at the Birmingham festival.

“It was a big event. It was interesting to meet people from all around the world and talk to them. What surprised me most was that many people didn't even know where Croatia was and those who have heard of Croatia think we are still at war. The country should come up with a better way of promoting itself in order to change that perception” argues Sime Gligora.

Sirana Gligora was built during the worst period of economic crisis, which only proves the determination of the Gligora Family.

“We were aware of the risk, but our work is focused on the future, when the crisis is over, and Croatia will be a member of EU. By then, everything will need to run smoothly, our production and sales programs on the European and hopefully world level, will need to be very well-developed” explains Sime Gligora.

He adds that it is a great disappointment to see that Paski sir, even after winning all these awards, cannot be sold immediately on foreign markets.

How to enter the world market? 

“After winning the Gold Medal Awards in Birmingham, we were approached by potential buyers, but there is so much red tape involved, it's not so easily done. Sorting out the paperwork for exporting the cheese takes too long and the buyers cannot wait. It is a shame because we are losing a great opportunity to grow, but the Island of Pag and the whole county could also benefit from the international sales of Paski sir in terms of promoting the whole area. Besides, Croatia has never had a cheese brand that would appeal to foreign markets. Now it has and we want to export it, but we are encountering numerous obstacles.” 

60 tonnes of Paski sir have been produced this year at Sirana Gligora and it is all sold at home.

“In Croatia, more or less everyone has heard of Paški sir, but not so in Europe and even less in the rest of the world” says Sime Gligora. “After the recognition received in Birmingham, many have heard of Paski sir for the first time, and abroad Golden Medal Awards are a guarantee of genuine quality. As a result, we have many interested buyers but unfortunately they can't buy Paški sir anywhere. I hope this will change soon.' 

 

Photo by: Astoria arhiva
Source: Livingstone

It can be a dessert, eaten by itself, cooked or roasted, and is mostly used as an addition to strong meals as part of the stuffing, while bread can also be prepared from it. Chestnut honey could, on the other hand, almost be regarded as a medicine.