Thank you to our partners Gault&Millau Gala Dinners

Thank you to our partners Gault&Millau Gala Dinners

The awarding of the Gault&Millau Croatia rijetka trophies is an evening when the chefs of the best restaurants in Croatia are not in their own kitchens, but are guests at a top-class meal created by their colleagues.

Published on 11/04/2022 at 00:00

The four-hour gala evening to promote the new edition of the guide - a menu of six dishes - was hosted by Chef Ana Grgić Tomić - Zinfandel's restaurant at the Esplanade Hotel and Chef Stefan Heilemann - Widder Restaurant Zurich, Swiss Chef of the Year 2021. And for all the guests of the Gault&Millau Gala Evenings, trophies are awarded to the best chefs and restaurants. The Croatian Chef of the Year - Ana Grgić Tomić - literally grabbed her trophy from the kitchen in the Emerald Room.

The trophy for the best POP of the year went to the Pandora Greenbox restaurant from Split, but was awarded to Daniell Nikolla. The trophy for the best service went to the team of the Martinis Marchi restaurant from the island of Solta, but was awarded to Toni Miloš, the head chef of the team. Dukat's representatives - Iva Kuhtić, Marketing Director, and Goran Gaćina, Edge Brand Manager, presented them with a large wheel of Ribanac cheese alongside the trophy.

On behalf of the Raise the Bar platform for scholarships for talented chefs, gourmets and connoisseurs, Ruža Tomić Fontana, Coca Cola HBC's General Manager for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, presented the Gault&Millau trophies to the young talents of the year. They were won by Matea Jurec, chef at the Loora restaurant in Đakovu, and Marko Jantolek, chef at the Matrix restaurant in Zagreb.

The trophy for the best chef of traditional cuisine went to chef Nebojša Rajković from Čingii Lingi čarda in Bilju, while the award for the best chef went to the restaurant's owners Ines Šobota and Ivana Volarić. The trophy for the best chef of the new traditional cuisine went to Ana Morgan, owner of the Istrian tavern Morgan. Zoran Šimunić, Director of Our Class, whose sister-in-law Aurelia presented her new products at the Gault&Millau event: the Chef Essentials primers and dressings made with authentic recipes.

Forten Group CEO Fabris Perushko presented the trophies to the Great Chefs of the Sutrasnjaca. They were won by Michael Gollenz - chef of the Alfred Keller restaurant in the Alhambra Hotel in Losnjska, Nikola Marušić - chef of the Pinku Fish & Wine restaurant in Split, and Stiven Vunić - owner and chef of the Zijavica restaurant in Moščenićko Draga. The chefs were also presented with the trophy and the celebrated magnum boce of Laguna and Belje wineries, whose wines Malvazija Festigia, Castello Festigia, Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and Blanc de Moi were served for the evening.

The chefs of the most popular Croatian restaurants were presented with trophies and tribute packages from Metro by Tomislav Smolčec, member of the Metro board. The trophies were won by: Chef Marijo Curić - 360 from Dubrovnik, Rudolf Štefan - chef and owner of Pelegrini restaurant from Šibenik, Tvrtko Šakota - chef and owner of NAV restaurant from Zagreb, Ana Grgić Tomić - chef of Zinfandel restaurant'.s from Zagreb, Fabricio Vežnaver - chef and owner of Pergola from Zambratija and Danijel and Tjitske Đekić, chefs and owners of Monte restaurant from Rovinj

Vinarija Krauthaker presented two of its wines at the gala evening: Graševina Mitrovac and Chardonnay Rosenberg, and Ivan Grgić and Martina Krauthaker Grgić were happy to share information about the wines with the guests.

Malvazija Dorata from the Veralda winery was drunk on gnude with dill and sea urchin, and Keti Vizintin discussed her wine with the renowned sommelier Miro Šemić, Director of Gault&Millau Slovenia.

Guests at the Gault&Millau Croatia Gala Evening could choose Veuve Clicquot Brut champagne, Miva wine distributor or Botanist cocktails Raise the Glass and Islay Basil for their aperitif, which were prepared by the Raise the Bar Academy mixologists.

The Chef of the Year trophy was won by Chef Ana Grgić Tomić, and was awarded to his wife Slavija Jačan Obratov, Director of the TS and Product Development Sector at HTZ, Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, Director of Gault&Millau Croatia, Tessa Chaffey, Director of Gault&Millau International, and Monika Udovičić, Ambassador of the Minister of Tourism.