Gault&Millau chefs at the Festival Taste the Mediterranean
Eleven chefs cooked at the 13th edition of the gastronomic event that celebrates the Mediterranean way of life, including those awarded trophies by the Gault&Millau guide
The culinary representation of this year's edition of the Festival Taste the Mediterranean, which took place for the first time in Mali Lošinj, in Kvarner - the European Region of Gastronomy, from September 11 to 14, was the same in number as the football team - and equally resilient. The preparations and performances of exclusive dinners in the leading Lošinj restaurants lasted longer than the World Cup matches, and domestic and foreign chefs showed great skill and dedication during the three festival days They confirmed that they are rightfully ranked at the very top of world gastronomy. As always at TTM dinners, the dishes were cooked by a couple of chefs: one by the host chef, the other by his guest, and so on for all the courses. The festival was organized in cooperation with the Tourist Boards of Kvarner and the city of Mali Lošinj, and with the hosts of the festival - Lošinj Hotels & Villas, in whose prestigious restaurants 3 exclusive dinners took place.
Thus, Michael Gollenz, chef of the restaurant Alfred Keller in the Alhambra Boutique Hotel (4 Gault & Millau toques, 1 Michelin*) and winner of the G&M Croatia trophy Great Chef of Tomorrow 2022, hosted his Italian colleague Raffaele Ros (from the Restaurant San Martino, in Scorzè, 1 Michelin*). The menu alternated between vegan and meat dishes enriched with Mediterranean spices, and the indispensable seafood. Gollenz, for example, prepared his Angus beef steak tartare with sea asparagus, capers, olives and pine nuts, and the experienced Ros toasted scallops with black garlic cream, fish fondant and Jerusalem artichokes.
From Saffron from La Mancha to Lamb Chops
At the restaurant Bava Innovation, in Hotel Bellevue, Davor Fornažar, the executive chef of the Diana Steakhouse in Lošinj (2 Gault&Millau toques), and the Spanish chef Teresa Gutiérrez, from the Azafrán restaurant in Villarrobledo (Michelin Bib Gourmand, JRE European Heritage Award 2022), cooked together. While the talented Spaniard combined sea bass with sheep's cheese, summer truffles and saffron from her native La Mancha on the plate, the host delighted the guests with baked lamb chops with Mediterranean aromatic herbs and vegetables.
At the Cigale Tavern in Čikat Bay, chef Dinko Lekić (2 Gault&Millau toques) hosted the Slovenian chef Jure Tomič (G&M Slovenia trophy Great Chef of Tomorrow) from Ošterija Debeluh, in Brežice (4 Gault&Millau toques). The competition ended in a draw because the guests could not decide whether they preferred Tomič's Risotto, which is not rice, with cuttlefish, potatoes and lemon, or the shark with vegetables and white wine prepared by chef Lekić.
The region of Međimurje on the Lošinj waterfront
The guest of the restaurant Bocca Vera on the Lošinj waterfront enjoyed the fruits of the labour of three pairs of hands. It all started with a small spectacle that attracted numerous walkers on the waterfront, when the Japanese chef Ippei Uemura (G&M France Trophy Young Talent of the Year 2017) who is the owner of the restaurant Tabi in Marseilles (3 Gault&Millau toques) presented the ikejime technique and fish filleting with a traditional Japanese knife.
The exclusive dinner began with his tuna tartare in the Nakaochi style, followed by tuna teriyaki with grilled vegetables and kiwi emulsion. He was countered by the owner of Bocca Vera, Drago Rančić, who made a mezzo brodetto of octopus on creamed polenta and a seafood tris - sea bass fillet al vapore, sweet potato cream, orange sauce, Adriatic scampi au gratin, grilled scallops and prosciutto crumble. And the icing on the cake was a dessert by Amos Novak, chef at the Međimurje restaurant Terbotz and winner of the Gault&Millau Croatia trophy Young Talent of the Year 2025. Amos prepared a modern version of Međimurje gibanica, which, unlike the filling traditional cake, is creamy, light and airy. The dinner was rounded off with a selection of President cheeses and a Rhine Riesling from the Jakopić winery in Štrigova.
Zdravka Grgić, the chef at Gastro Pub Deveron, hosted her young colleague Marco Danelli from Palazzetto My Venice in Venice. The Italian excelled, preparing three dishes – cold tomato soup with buffalo stracciatella, cod risotto with Taggiasca olive powder, and cuttlefish with Biancoperla corn polenta, with black cuttlefish sauce and parsley. The hostess, on the other hand, prepared a delicious sea bass fillet on pea cream, as well as the scampi bisque with broad beans in olive oil and herbs. Her dessert was a succulent chocolate cake. At the end, the guests were served a selection of fine Président cheeses.
Women's Stories and Education
Vesna Miletić (G&M Croatia trophy Chef of the Traditional Cuisine 2019) from Zagreb's restaurant Tač (4 Gault&Millau toques) was one of the prominent Festival’s guests. But this time she didn't cook, but announced the release of her autobiographical book "My Tač". With an emotional speech in the restaurant Matsunoki, in the Bellevue Hotel, she touched the heart of the audience, colleagues and media representatives. The event was followed by a presentation of wines from two wineries run by ladies. Nataša Puhelek from the Puhelek Purek winery - Sveti Ivan Zelina, brought the fruity aroma of her famous Sauvignon and sparkling rosé Lady B, named after Mrs. Biserka, the mother of the Puhelek sisters - Ivana and Nataša. Egle Katunar from the Ivan Katunar Wine House presented Rožica, a naturally sparkling pink wine, and Kvarnero - a premium semi-sweet red, while Žarko Stilin, sommelier and director of the Kvarner Wines association, spoke about their wines.
The award-winning chefs shared their knowledge and experience with students from the Ambroz Haračić Secondary Catering School, to whom they demonstrated how to make their specialties: tuna tartare, pasta with five types of tomatoes, ricotta and basil, squid pralines, melon with saffron and Curado sheep's cheese, a “temfani”rabbit (a specialty from the region of Međimurje). Chef Renato Kraljev, representative of the Touris board of Zadar Region teached them how to make sea bass fillet in “cartoccio” (paper bag). They enjoyed in all the prepared dishes, and although the atmosphere was not like in a classic fine dining restaurant, this was an unforgettable experience for the young future chefs.
Photo: Ivan Brčić, Sandro Tariba
