We welcomed the most exciting gastro weekend this year at the Weekend Food Festival. Four festival days full of fun, from 5th to 8th May in Rovinj, will be followed by panel discussions and lectures, one on one talks, various masterclasses, entertainment program and of course – a cooking show.
The festival will open on Thursday, May 5, with a real Istrian party; while the official program starts on Friday at 10 am. At the first panel discussion, local chefs Hrvoje Kroflin, Deni Srdoč, Tvrtko Šakota and Boškinac restaurant owner Boris Šuljić, led by festival director Hrvoje Petrić, will present the Croatian Cuisine Manifesto for the first time in history and discuss the direction in which Croatian cuisine should develop. Throughout the day, Slovenia’s favourite chef Ana Roš, Austrian chef of Croatian descent Paul Ivić and Danish chef Rasmus Munk will take the stage.
The position of women in the kitchen, excellence in the hotel sector, and the importance of PR and media in gastronomy will also be discussed. Mate Janković and Igor Čimbur will have a 1-on-1 conversation about the “Chef cooks at home” project, and they will also address the importance of a quality workforce as a key success factor, through the Raise the Bar project. On Friday night, the audience will be entertained by the Umag band Febra with a cover of hits from the 50s and 60s.
On Saturday morning, the FoodTech Startup Competition will be presented. In search for a sustainable future and finding long-term solutions and answers in this increasingly demanding industry, Maistra Hospitality Group, Infobip and the Pepermint Agency have launched a competition that will bring together startups whose work contributes to solving the challenges of the modern food and hospitality scene.
Matija Babić will present his life’s project TasteAtlas, and the panel “It’s all about freshness” powered by Kaufland will talk about the importance of the freshness and quality of food. At the show cooking, young chef Santiago Lastra will demonstrate how his dish “Mextlapique of turbot with British pipian” is made. The cherry on the cake at the end of the program will certainly be two of the biggest names on the world stage – Dabiz Munoz, the world’s best chef in 2021, and Massimo Bottura, a great gastronomist who will tell his vision of food and life in a conversation with Hrvoje Petrić. The fun tone will continue on Saturday night, with a Funky disco party by Songkillers.
Numerous exhibitors from the world of wine and olive oil will take part in the Weekend Food Festival, and there is something for everyone at the Food Court. Gastro-Stil will present to visitors the Josper, the best barbecue grill in the world where magnificent treats will be prepared by Brazilian chef Janaina Rueda. The Brazilian party will be completed with the rhythm of samba, presented and DJed by festival director Tomo Ricov.
The already rich program will include numerous masterclasses where you will learn about sourdough bread, wines and olive oils, chocolate, coffee and gin. At the Best of Vinistra masterclass, guests will be able to taste the best wines from this year’s edition of Vinistra, which takes place during the same weekend in Poreč. Special masterclasses such as “Croatian mixology” and “Smoke and spirit of the mountains” will delight even the most ardent hedonists.
Places are more sought after at the gala dinners organized as part of the festival, which will bring together Croatian and world chefs. The first dinner, Best of Croatia, for international guests of the festival will be prepared by local chefs Deni Srdoč, Tvrtko Šakota, Matija Bogdan, Hrvoje Kroflin, Danijel Đekić and host Jeffrey Vella.
On Friday, there will be two dinners with the theme Forest and Sea, where Ana Roš, Santiago Lastra, Jeffrey Vella, Emanuele Scarello, Lorenzo Lai, Chiara Pavan, Marina Gaši, Joao Rodrigues, and pastry chef Maša Salopek will cook. There are still places left at the vegetarian dinner Green, put together by Paul Ivić, Maksut Askar from Istanbul’s Neolokal and Croatian chefs Tvrtko Šakota and Deni Srdoč. Desserts, meanwhile, will be prepared by pastry chef Tea Mamut.
Find out more about the program, masterclasses, gala dinners and tickets for the most delicious weekend of the year at www.weekendfoodfestival.com.
You can follow all the latest news on Instagram and Facebook.
