The sea, forest and nature, as well as authentic Istrian cuisine, are the themes of the gala dinners that will be held as part of the Weekend Food Festival. Dinners to remember will be prepared by the best chefs from Croatia and around the world. It is a unique opportunity for everyone to enjoy a culinary rhapsody in some of the best restaurants in Rovinj: Agli Amici, Cap Aureo and Brasserie Adriatic.
The beginning of the festival will be marked by the Best of Croatia dinner on Thursday, May 5, as a welcome to Rovinj and Croatia to visiting chefs and representatives of foreign media. The richness of Croatian cuisine will be presented by Matija Bogdan, Hrvoje Kroflin and Tvrtko Šakota, together with hosts Jeffrey Vella and Danijel Đekić from the Monte restaurant in Rovinj.
Friday, May 6, is reserved for two dinners of different themes – Sea and Forest – which will be held at the restaurants Agli Amici and Cap Aureo. The Agli Amici restaurant in Udine, headed by the famous Italian chef Emanuele Scarello, has two Michelin stars. Last year they opened a Croatian branch, Agli Amici Rovinj, which was bestowed with a Michelin star shortly after opening. As part of the Weekend Food Festival, this restaurant will host the Gala Dinner – Sea, and along with the host chef, this top gastronomic experience will be prepared by Italian chef Chiara Pavan from the Venissa restaurant, Portuguese chef João Rodrigues from Feitoria, and fantastic Croatian chef Marina Gaši from the Marina restaurant in Novigrad.
At Cap Aureo, the Gala Dinner – Forest will be prepared by the best chef in the world in 2017, Ana Roš from Hiša Franko in Slovenia, whose team includes the world’s best pastry chef, Maša Salopek, who will round off this special dinner with her desserts. Santiago Lastra, a chef from London’s KOL, who was named best chef in 2021 by GQ magazine, will also present his skills. Along with the host Jeffrey Vella, the Croatian gastro scene will be represented by Hrvoje Kroflin from the ManO2 restaurant, who has just entered the list of the 100 best chefs in the world.
On Saturday, May 7, the Gala Dinner – Green, whose menu will be completely vegetarian, will be led by Austrian chef of Croatian roots Paul Ivić, whose TIAN restaurants in Vienna and Munich carry one Michelin star each. Chef Ivić will be joined by well-known Turkish chef Maksut Aksar from the Neolokal restaurant, while the Croatian representatives for this dinner will be the best Croatian chef in 2021, Tvrtko Šakota, from the NAV restaurant, and Deni Srdoč, the chef of the NEBO restaurant which received a Michelin star last year shortly after opening. One of the best Croatian confectioners, Tea Mamut, will round off this dinner with her desserts. The food that the chefs prepare will be paired with wines and top-quality cocktails.
Lovers of culinary adventures can secure their tickets for these unique dinners via the link. The program of the Weekend Food Festival has already been published on www.weekednfoodfestival.hr, where there are numerous free masterclasses that are included in the ticket price for the Festival and for which you need only to reserve a place.
