Matija Jagić - Gault&Millau Young Talent of the Year 2020

Matija Jagić, Chef of Brokenships bistro in Zagreb, is a young culinary hope of Croatian gastronomy. When he was just seventeen, the young chef won the METRO Junior Top Chef title, respectable award for the best Croatian young chef. Thanks to this title, Matija won a two-month education on a culinary institute KulIN, which is, together with ALMA la Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana, dedicated to developing professional culinary specialisation programs. After that, with the best recommendations from his former mentor, Matija started working in the professional environment and his first station was top-class restaurant in Šibenik – Pelegrini under the tutorship of the famous chef Rudolf Štefan. In Pelegrini, Matija got another chance to perfect his skills under the guidance of the best. After Pelegrini, he moved on to be an apprentice in two prestigious restaurants – Hiša Franko in Slovenia, where spectacular Ana Roš plays the role of the main chef, and in Maaemo in Oslo, carrier of three Michelin stars. Matija recognized that what constitutes excellence is not just the culinary expertise but also the willingness to learn from the more experienced daily. This talented chef dedicates a lot of his attention to his education and experimentation with the ingredients and the fruit of his labour is his position of the main chef in Brokenships bistro where he's learned a lot from experienced chef Tvrtko Šakota. He loves discovering old recipes from almost forgotten local culinary traditions, but also contemporary ones coming from the European north. Matija stands out with his creations and innovative concept and that is why he won Gault&Millau Trophy Young Talent of the Year 2020. We hope that this award will be incentive for his future career.