Silvija Horak - Gault&Millau Traditional Cuisine Chef of the Year 2020

A magic notebook with 180 traditional recipes is a nice capital for a young chef who started working immediately after graduating from culinary school. Silvija Horak could hardly have wished a better place than Terbotz, a restaurant built on the grounds of the 200-year-old Terbotz Curia in Stigma because this place represents the tradition of the Međimurje region at its best. Part of the old mansion is a protected cultural monument on the property of the Jakopić family, whose generations have produced wine for decades. New generations of the family have added a gastronomic story to the wine story, so Terbotz is today a successful winery with a tasting room and a traditional restaurant. But a really authentic one, based on old Međimurje recipes and somewhat neglected antique foods like buckwheat, millet and nettle. The chef combines them with game, ducks and pork from local farms, fresh vegetables from the garden next to the restaurant, and mushrooms harvested in a nearby forest. Silvija Horak prepares her own pickles and fruit jams. She uses all of this to cook Međimurje specialities, but she also creates vegetarian and gluten-free dishes for guests with special requests. The shift towards modern expression is evident: all of the dishes are decorated with some flowers from the garden or Basil and mint leaves. Nothing, however, should overshadow the taste of authentic food, fresh and fragrant, which the chef expertly combines turns into desirable dishes. In unique flavours of Međimurje and respecting the tradition, even though she is young, she shows great culinary maturity. The recipe notebook is a treasure in the right hands, and we wish that this prestigious award will motivate her to develop her own style on the Croatian gastronomic scene.