It presents 36 of the best Croatian chefs and their signature recipes.
The "Croatia – The Cookbook" project was presented last night at the well-known restaurant Dubravkin Put in Zagreb. It was conceived by Croatian chef and TV-personality Mate Janković, together with Školska Knjiga as the publisher and Ana Marija Žužul as the creative director. The project was in the making for over a year and a half, and it included co-operation and presentation of 36 of the top Croatian chefs from all Croatian regions.
The Školska Knjiga publishing company believes that the cookbook and the whole project are the key publication for the Croatian gastronomy and will be of great importance for the promotion of Croatian culture in the world. The book has been published in two languages (Croatian and English), and includes photographs by Maja Danica Pećanić. It brings more than 150 recipes for dishes of the best Croatian chefs.
This is the first truly modern and comprehensive monograph on the Croatian gastronomy and culture, a project aimed at promoting Croatian gastronomy and restaurant scene, as well as paying homage to creative Croatian chefs – led by the Michelin star winner, Rudolf Štefan from the Pelegrini in Šibenik, although all chefs are treated equally in the cookbook.
The book has been able to connect and bring together culinary masters who value local ingredients, cooperate with local producers and farmers, and believe that Croatia really has the potential to become recognizable worldwide.
“We considered it to be extremely important, in the period when the Croatian gastronomy scene is getting stronger, to realise a project that will define what Croatian gastronomy is, but also help brand Croatia as a gastronomic and tourist destination. In the book, we have gathered the most important actors of the Croatian gastronomy scene. Croatia's gastronomy scene definitely has great potential, and our monograph proves it,” said Ana Marija Žužul, creative director of the Croatia – The Cookbook project.
Each of the 36 chefs featured in this visually excellent and even impressive 500-page book presents four of their signature recipes, so the book is also a kind of visual journey through Croatia and all of its regions – with over 150 superb photos of landscapes, food and atmosphere.
The cookbook is divided into four Croatian regions: Istria, northern Croatian coast and Gorski Kotar; central Croatia; southern Croatian coast – Dalmatia; and eastern Croatia.
Denis Srdoca
“It was not easy to gather so many relevant chefs from the Croatian gastronomy. The authors masterfully interpret Croatian traditional dishes and cooking tradition, and try to define what the authentic Croatian cuisine really is, given all the influences under which it has developed,” explained Mate Janković.
Chefs who worked on the book are: Rudi Štefan, David Skoko, Andrej Barbieri, Priska Thuring, Deniz Zembo, Zdravko Tomšić, Danijel Đekić, Goran Kočiš, Hrvoje Zirojević, Ante Udovičić, Damir Modrušan, Damir Tomljanović, Marin Rendić, Matija Bregeš, Nikola Helija, Deni Srdoč, Nenad Posavac, Teo Fernetich, Marijo Čepek, Ana Grgić, Raul Lajtman, Petra Jelenić, Hrvoje Kroflin, Marko Palfi, Goran Stanisavljević, Marko Gajski, Eta Gverović, Mate Janković, Daniela Kramarić, Smiljana Matijaca, Ivan Pažanin, Braco Sanjin, Ivan Tomašević, Željko Kovčalija, Branimir A. Tomašić and Goran Sirovec.
