Gault&Millau Croatia 2024 awarded the best Croatian chefs and restaurants
Gault&Millau Croatia 2024 awarded the best chefs and restaurants in Croatia during the glamorous Night of the culinary Oscars that took place in Hotel Esplanade, in Zagreb, at the occasion of the launch of the 7th Croatian edition of the prestigious international guide.
The Gault&Millau Croatia 2024 chef of the year is Marko Đurašević, from Split, who is starting his new job at restaurant Zrno Soli, in the city’s marina. Three chefs got the Trophy of the Great chef of Tomorrow: cheffe Gabriela Filca from restaurant Nebo in Rijeka, chef Hrvoje Kroflin from restaurant ManO2 in Zagreb and chef Roko Nikolić from restaurant ZOI, in Split. The Chef of the traditional cuisine is Vinko Krnić, from the tavern Konoba Vinko, in the village of Konjevrate, while chef Braco Sanjin from restaurant Griblja in Sukošan is the Chef of the modern traditional cuisine. The Young Talents of the Year are cheffe Antonela Goreta from Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar, in Split, and chef Marin Pleše, chef of restaurant Villa Rova, in Malinska, on the island of Krk. The best pastry chef is Dragana Kovačević from restaurant Spinnaker, in Poreč. The trophy for the best service went to the restaurant Pelegrini from Šibenik, while Boogie Lab from Zagreb is the best POP. Josip Friščić, the legendary meeting&event manager from Hotel Esplanade received a special Trophy for Merit 2024.
Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, director of Gault&Millau Croatia, Slavija Jačan Obratov, director of the product development sector of the Croatian National Tourist Board, and Mirko Herceg, the advisor to the Croatian Minister of Tourism and Sports greeted the audience.
With 4 Gault&Millau toques the best restaurants in Croatia are: 360 from Dubrovnik, Nebo from Rijeka, Monte and Cap Aureo Signature from Rovinj, Mano2, NAV, Noel, Tač and Zinfandel's from Zagreb and Pelegrini from Šibenik.
More than 90 chefs from the best Croatian restaurants gathered on last Thursday’s night together with many guests and partners of Gault&Millau Croatia that attended the gala event.
In this year's guide there are 300 top restaurants, 108 POP - popular bistrots, street food eateries, snack bars, pastry shops - and 100 selected wines and 20 olive oils from all over Croatia.
The Croatian National Tourist Board is a special partner of Gault&Millau Coatia, while the premium partner is Velpro (Fortenova group), the largest wholesaler and distributor of food products in Croatia. The gastronomy of three Croatian regions is highlighted in the guide: Kvarner, Zadar’s region and the Split – Dalmatia region. Among the partners there is the Croatian Chamber of Commerce HGK that presented a new project named Stories, a platform for the promotion of the Croatian premium tourism. The main partners of Gault&Millau Croatia 2024 are some of the most important Croatian companies such as Fortenova group, whose firm Zvijezda presented the brand Planet of Plants, and Dukat, the most recognized dairy products brand in Croatia. Raise the bar was there too with the scholarships for 4 young culinary school students.
The exclusive 6 courses gala dinner was prepared by the guest chef Ludovic Turac, from restaurant Une Table au Sud (Marseille) - 3 GM toques and one Michelin star - awarded Great Chef of Tomorrow 2024 by Gault&Millau France, together with the host cheffe Ana Grgić Tomić, from Hotel’s Esplanade restaurant Zinfandel’s – 4 GM toques and one green Michelin star - the Gault&Millau Chef of the year 2022. The aperitif was a Veuve Clicquot Brut, by our partner MIVA, while wines from Agrolaguna, Belje, Kuća vina Katunar, Bora and Markus Fine wines were served during the gala dinner. All the awarded chefs received many presents from the sponsors, special bonus cards from Velpro, bottles of wine and champagne and a special trip to the Roquefort caves, where the age the famous French cheese, offered by Dukat. Another special gift was the sumptuous book Croatian cuisine by Zlatko Marinović – Noštromo, a legendary Croatian chef. The book has just been published and the promotion took place during the Gault&Millau Croatia gala dinner
The content of the GM Croatia 2024 guide is available on this site, while the printed edition can be purchased in the TISAK MEDIA shops in different Croatian cities, at the price of 20 Euros.
Photos: Robert Gašpert, Goran Jakuš and Damira Kalajžić for Gault&Millau Croatia
