Top chefs from all over the world have been hitting Split restaurants for the past year, and the first time a chef from a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars has cooked in Split

On 4-9 November, the newly opened Ambasador Hotel will host the most prestigious festival of Mediterranean cuisine and culture in Croatia - Taste the Mediterranean. For five days, the festival attracted more than 3,000 visitors and hosts with a rich programme of radio broadcasts, panels on various topics of gastronomy and tourism, education for students and professionals and, naturally, attractive four-hour dinners for local and international chefs. A special experience was the exclusive dinner prepared by chef Roberto Cerea from the legendary Da Vittorio restaurant in Bergamo, one of 11 in Italy with 3 Michelin stars over several years, at the Mediterranée restaurant of the Ambassador Hotel.

The panel discussion and lectures were attended by representatives of the International Gourmet Association and the Ministry of Tourism, Natalia Bayone, Director of the UNWTO Innovation Directorate, Michèle Rubirola, Deputy Mayor of Marseille, who was accompanied by the Split Mayor Ivica Puljak, the MEP Željana Zovko, and other protagonists involved in the field of gastronomy and tourism: The daily programme of the festival was rich in educational sessions. The Festival was held at the Oliva Allegra private school, where students were taught by top chefs, and a special masterclass for professionals was held by Chef Cerea at the Ambasador Hotel. In cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain , tastings of Spanish delicacies and wine were held, and a session on butternut squash was led by Dr. sc. Mirella Žanetić. The Spanish evening was cooked by Chef Adur Arrieta and Ambassador Chef Ivica Katić. Under the guidance of the VinoLike team, Tahitian wines from heroic positions were tasted, while Ivica Ukić presented the local Pošipa varieties and wine academic Mira Šemić led a tasting of Korlat wine. Particularly attractive was the Spices and Flavours series, which combined perfumes by Ormonde Jayne, delicacies by chef Marko Đurašević, delicacies by Keiko Nagae, cocktails by Marijan Maksan and spices by Nadaline. At the opening, the guests saw the new models of the s'Oliver and Comma collections , Sandra Bagarić sang on the piano exercise of Darek Domitrović , and the chefs enjoyed driving the Porsche Centar Zagreb cars, a service car for the guests. The panellists also showed great interest in the lecture "Food against Pain " by Dr. Meri Bura. At the presentation of the book Divlji pijat, by students of the Bol na Brač Secondary School, in the Prokulture Split area, chef Vesna Miletić spoke about the use of organic ingredients in culinary arts. In the Split Puppet Theatre, the first participants were invited to the presentation of the picture book The Sea is Your Best Friend by Swedish author Lasse Åberg, and Niklas Nilsson spoke on behalf of the VOTO Foundation, Voice of the Ocean, about the picture book that teaches children to be careful of the sea. On the last day of the festival, a trip to Brač, wine tasting at the Sina Vino winery in Bol, and buttermilk at the Ulaja Museum in Š.Kripo, guests were introduced to the sights of Split-Dalmatia County, while a training session for chef's assistants and students of culinary schools was held at Prokurativama, in cooperation with the Festival's premium partner, Tommy's restaurant and the Raise the Bar Academy . The event was hosted by Gabriela Filca, sous chef at Nebo restaurant in the Hilton Costabella resort in Rijeka.

Chefs from Italy, France, Japan, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the UAE and Croatia, awarded with Michelin stars, Gault&Millau caps and other important culinary awards, filled 18 Split restaurants with their evenings: Adriatic Sushi&Oyster Bar, Artičok, Central-Hotel Santa Lucia, Chops Grill - Steak&Seafood, Dujkin dvor, Dvor, Méditerranée - Hotel Ambasador, Noir, Noštromo, Olive Tree, Pandora Greenbox, Pinku Fish&Wine, Štorija, Šug, Zinfandel, Zoi, Zrno Soli i Zora was where it was especially cheerful. The Mediterranean Women Chefs initiative was occupied by six chefs, and their dishes were accompanied by top Kvarner wines under the guidance of five top sommeliers.

"Especially dear to me is the growing number of Split restaurants, the Festival's partners, which have recognised the opportunity to enrich their offer in cooperation with the guest chefs. Thisyear's edition of the Festival has therefore had the opportunity to show the diversity of Mediterranean cuisine and culture in various forms, and the new experiences and knowledge that the hosts, or the chefs themselves, have gained are invaluable", concluded Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, Director of Taste the Mediterranean.

The Taste the Mediterranean Festival is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and HTZ, Split-Dalmatia County, Split-Dalmatia County Tourism, Split Castle and Split Castle Tourism.