June 19, 2019 - It is 26 years since a restaurant opened on an uninhabited island in the middle of a war. Festa Days on Zut celebrates one of the great stories in Croatian tourism. 

Often in life, you only find out about the best things by chance. A missed conversation, an unanswered phone call, and the opportunity is gone. And so it is with one of my favourite things on the Croatian tourism calendar - Festa Days on Zut, one of the 140 or so Kornati Islands, which really should not be attracting too much attention without the efforts of one determined restaurant. Because without them, the majority of sailors would simply pass by and head to another island. 

My acquaintance with Restaurant Festa on Zut almost didn't happen. I am not a sailor and spend less time on the water than my social media profile might suggest, but I was delighted to join the team from Gastronaut to discover Kornati and Murter on one of their excellent foodie tours a couple of years ago in early November. As I learned later, Festa on Zut was a last-minute addition. Even though it was closed for the season, the owner wanted to be part of the Gastronaut programme. It was quite a show, and the Festa success story was yet one more paradox in the Croatian tourism story - an innovative business succeeding despite the efforts of the State, not assisted by it. You can read The Paradox of Croatian Tourism: Case Study - Restaurant Festa, Island Zut. 

Just under a year later. I was back - invited as part of the press to cover the 25-year celebrations of this great island success story. A restaurant which attracts A-list celebrities celebrated its silver jubilee with a gourmet extravaganza, served up by 5 Michelin Star chefs and 5 of Croatia's top chefs. An amazing experience. 

Festa Days on Zut was a great success and it has now been turned into an annual event. An invitation to the 2019 edition landed in my inbox, very conveniently on the last day of school as we were heading down to Hvar from Varazdin. Festa kindly agreed to find some space for my girls as well. 

And so the 24-hour Kornati adventure began. A speedboat transfer from Zadar to Zut passing under the bridge which connects Ugljan and Pasman. 

As our skipper explained, not all boats pass through as easily as we did, and more than one sailboat has scraped through. As a man who once drove a transit van into a bridge in Alsace, I could perfectly understand. 

And after 50 minutes of getting into the holiday mood, gorgeous Zut awaited us - the approach to Festa from the water. 

Let the summer begin!

The Festa team has expanded its operations in recent years to diversify its tourism offer - their latest accommodation option was glamping, which made me popular with the kids. 

A delightful way to relax on this most natural of islands, with not a neighbour in sight. Super comfy. 

Due to our relatively late arrival due to the last school day, there was not enough time for chilling before dinner as there might have been, but we arrived in time for cocktail hour. 

Where there was plenty of waterfront expertise and innovation on offer. 

Festa Days is also a great occasion for locals to come and celebrate, and there were numerous people from neighbouring islands, as well as the de facto capital of the Kornati Islands - Murter. Some sailing boats made it more obvious where they came from... 

The outstanding hosts, Mirko and Kreso, whose achievements in getting the Festa story thus far cannot be underestimated. And both were still totally focused on the job and ensuring their guests had the most sensational experience. 

And so to the food. Below, a dish by dish account, as five Michelin Star chefs and five top Croatian chefs put together an unforgettable evening. Information on each dish includes the accompanying wine and the individual chef. The tone of the culinary evening was perhaps best summed up by resident Festa chef, Zoran Jajac:

“Recently I celebrated my 61st birthday and lot of my colleagues and friends started asking me until when do I plan to continue to work as a professional chef. Until the child in me says to, I respond. To every child his play and toys are the most important things in life. When I cook I play and ingredients are my toys. When this emotion vanishes I will know that I have to stop working because I grew up.”

Mushed dogfish with traditional Murter sausage

Billecart-Salmon Brut

Chef Zoran Jajac

Tuna tartare with Cherry Coulis

Rose Degarra

Chef Stefano Deidda

Mackerel fishermen’s way

Ribolla Simčić

Chef Domenico Schingaro

Spaghetti with mixed fish sauce and dried anchovies bones powder

Debit Birin

Chef Vinod Sookar

Monkfish, capers & samphire in Debit sauce

Saladić Maraština

Chef Ante Božikov

Mussels risotto with Pag cheese rind

Chardonnay ’17 Dvorac Belaj

Chef Hrvoje Zirojević

There was great cooperation between chefs to ensure that the evening went perfectly.

Ray fish, demiglace, leek, sweet potato with parsnip chips

Pošip Divina

Chef David Skoko

Hake and bonito duet

Crni pinot Tomac

Chef Damnjan Draganić

Marinated swordfish and bitter sweet artichokes

Malvasia Nera San Marzzano

Chef Danilo Bei

Lemon, basil, strawberry and thyme tart

Muškat žuti Laguna

Chef Josip Vrsaljko

Festa Days is much more than just food, however. There are plenty of opportunities to learn more about the traditions of the Kornati region, and guests were treated to a show of traditional fishing with lanterns in between courses.

A lovely evening.  

Breakfast at Festa Days is full of natural goodness, local produce and zero waste. The perfect leisurely start to the day. A day which was to be quite diverse.

There was plenty of time for a leisurely morning before those amazing chefs were back in action with a selection of seafood delicacies.

Accompanied by a fine selection of wines from the winemakers of the night before. 

And, this being Festa Days, there was a touch of class in the form of this excellent string quartet. 

And a snapshot of traditional life, as chef Ante Bozikov from Opat took part in a local game of Sijavica. 

The relaxed pace of life gave me time to check out a story that had been on my mind since my last visit - who the hell would open a shop on an island where nobody lived permanently, and how was the shop doing? It turned out to be a lovely story. 

So many snapshots of tradition, heritage and natural beauty as we departed just as the second gala dinner was beginning. Festa Days is one of the top things in the Dalmatian gourmet calendar. Don't miss it next year - you can follow Festa on Facebook for the latest updates. 

June 16, 2019 - Business is booming in parts of Croatia where you might least expect it. Imagine opening a shop on an island with no permanent inhabitants, for example - as Sime and Veronika have done on the Kornati island of Zut, for example. 

The more I travel around Croatia, the more amazed I get by the individual stories of innovation, determination and success. In the most unlikely of places. 

Consider, for example, the island of Zut on the Kornati Islands, where I enjoyed my first ever glamping experience on Friday night at Festa Days. 

This was my third visit to Zut, an island I will confess I had never heard of until the first invitation came a couple of years ago for a November tour of Kornati with the foodies from Gastronaut. Our host was Restaurant Festa, a really quite incredible story of success despite all the odds and lack of bureaucratic support. 

Despite there being no water, no electricity and no ferry to Zut, the owners decided to open a high-quality restaurant on Zut, and they opened for business in 1993. In the middle of the war. And having survived such difficult conditions, it was clear that Team Festa was going to succeed. I wrote an article about the paradox of Croatian tourism, using Festa and Zut as a case study after that first visit. 

Less than a year later, I was back, invited with other national and international media to celebrate 25 years of Festa on Zut, with a culinary bonanza, served up by several Michelin Star chefs and some of Croatia's finest chefs. It was quite an event. 

Friday was the opening night of this year's Festa Days, an equally splendid affair which I will report on once I receive the official photos which are so much better than my own, but I wanted to tell you about another fabulous find and successful business on this Kornati gem. 

Success breeds success, and the increased nautical traffic to Festa gave local couple Sime and Veronika Bozikov an idea. Although living on nearby Murter, they had property on Zut which they used for summer rentals and personal use. But what if they also tried to open a shop? Of course, with nobody living permanently on the island, there was not going to be many regular visitors, but the sailing community is wealthy and convenience stores are in very limited supply, so I learned. In fact on the 140 Kornati islands (89 of which are in the national park), there are just three shops, including Sime and Veronika's. 

A shop with a view, and a great place to enjoy an ice-cold Karlovacko from the shop's fridge. The couple opened four years ago, and now Sime spends 8 months a year on Zut, with Veronika joining with the kids when she can from Murter, and then for the whole summer. 

Goods are delivered every two days as standard, and they are always just a boat ride away from Murter for exceptional cases. Sime has even invented a wagon with pulley to bring the goods from the water to the shop - it is no fun carrying boxes in temperatures of up to 40C in the summer. 

As there was no delivery that day, his kids obliged with a demonstration of how the system worked - see the video above. 

Sime is a sailor himself, so when he was planning what kind of things to sell, he focused on the interior of a typical sailing boat fridge. These would be the most popular items, as well as some luxuries for the kids.  

There are also fresh fruit and vegetables on offer, a lifesaver for those sailing around the islands with little or no option to stock up on fresh supplies.  

The shop is very small, but it does have an impressive range of 600 items on offer. Beer and water take up a lot of the space, and are among the most popular items. I asked Sime what kind of crazy orders he gets, and he told me of one thirsty sailor who bought 500 cans of beer, another over a thousand litres of water.  

And ice cream for the kids after a couple of days sailing is obviously popular with the kids. The family also bake their own fresh bread each morning.  

And so to the obvious next question? How expensive is it? Apart from being able to charge a premium for offering a service in such a remote location, the actual costs of providing the service are extremely high. Consider, for example, how they keep those ice cold beers so chilled on an island with no electricity. Or the costs of speedboat transfer of all the goods. 

Given all this, I was surprised at how cheap their products were when they could really have charged a premium. To give you a comparison, there is a booze shop by the ferry in Split which charges 17 kuna for a half-litre can of beer (you can buy it in the supermarket for 9 kuna). There are not a lot of extra costs involved in getting that beer on the shelf. 

By contrast, the same beer costs 18 kuna on Zut, comes ice cold and with the opportunity to enjoy it on the terrace with that view. Which makes it cheaper than many bars on the mainland.  

A fabulous story of success, building on the innovation and determination of the Festa pioneers. Both the outstanding restaurant and the presence of a shop will help bring a little more nautical traffic to Zut, and then perhaps some more facilities can be added to develop it further. Fantastic stuff. 

And the Croatian islands really are full of surprises - here are 25 things you would not expect to find there. 

June 9, 2019 - In an appropriately sparkling fete (how else - when it comes to sparkling wine?) famous champagne producer Moët & Chandon recently unveiled its majestically-restored Château de Saran, an architectural jewel in the lush landscape of Champagne.

One of the most impressive suites of the palace is the historic “Impériale Suite”, an ode to Napoleon I staged in homage to the patronage of France’s imperial family that gave its title to Moët Impérial, born on the centennial of Napoleon I’s birth.  Interestingly, Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the biggest Moet & Chandon fans ever! The palace was proudly inaugurated just in time to host a celebration marking the 150th anniversary of Moët Impérial. A star in its own right, Moët Impérial has shined on the cinematic stage, been celebrated for its savior-fête and fair, and is frequently captured by the lens of paparazzi as it has been joyfully toasted by the glitterati.

Once upon a time in Cannes in the 1960s, film legends such as Kim Novak and Cary Grant were photographed toasting with Moët Impérial at a star-studded dinner. Also, at Studio 54, a symbol of the dazzling New York nightlife of the 1970s, Andy Warhol was photographed sharing a bottle of Moët Impérial with his famous friends and entourage.

Fast forward to the present: Gracing the glittering evening in Champagne with their presence were some of the brightest stars of today’s Hollywood like Natalie Portman and Uma Thurman; style icon Kate Moss and British actor Douglas Booth; New York blogger and influencer Derek Blasberg. Famous tennis player Roger Federer, Moët & Chandon’s ambassador since 2012 and a true tennis legend, was also present - to pay a personal tribute to the signature champagne.

“I am thrilled to be here in Champagne to toast Moët Impérial, a symbol of global success, at this splendid family château, a grand new symbol for Moët & Chandon whose ‘family’ I am honored to be a part of,” said Roger Federer. Towering over the vineyards of Moët & Chandon, the Château de Saran has been a property of the House since 1801 and today is a superb “Château de Famille,” destined to become the site of festive celebrations again. To honour the 150th anniversary of Moët Impérial, born in 1869, Moët & Chandon arranged for its most emblematic champagne to be served throughout the evening from the new limited-edition anniversary bottles. Following an elegant cocktail party at the Château, a festive seated dinner was served in a mirrored structure specially designed to reflect the beauty of the House’s vineyards. The meal, prepared like a concerto “with four hands” combined the unique culinary talents of Yannick Alléno, the three Michelin-starred French chefs and brand ambassador for the House since 2014, with the artistry of Dominique Crenn, co-owner and chef of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.

Their unprecedented collaboration made for a delectably-curated culinary experience paired with the flowing bubbles of Moët Impérial. The evening was highlighted, after dinner, by a live musical performance courtesy of British singer-songwriter, Freya Ridings, Britain’s biggest breakthrough artist thanks to her 2018 platinum-selling hit “Lost Without You.” A few days later, in Zagreb, Moët & Chandon Grand Day was announced in Kaptol Boutique Cinema. It is a continuity of the tradition – celebrating the 22nd of June as Moet Grand Day, this year especially highlighted due to the celebration marking the 150th anniversary of Moët Impérial.

From early morning of the 22nd of June until late in the evening, the Moët & Chandon Grand Day celebration will take place all over the world. In Croatia, everybody is invited and welcome to join the celebration in Dubrovnik  Copacabana Beach and Culture Cub Revelin. The festivities will be organized in Mali Lošinj, at Borik Meditteranean Bar, and last but not least, in the beautiful an inevitable Rovinj where there be an exceptional celebration prepared, traditionally at the Valentino Champagne Bar. However, the main Croatian celebration location of Moët & Chandon Grand Day will be the location preferred by many: Kornati islands, more precisely Konoba Opat where the big festivities will be held. The biggest stars of the whole programme will be the performance of the renowned Croatian band Soulfingers. But, the food created and prepared by the chef Ante Božikov will be just as interesting and awaited with excitement and joy. Moët  & Chandon Grand Day is eagerly expected everywhere in the world and Croatia, so don’t miss the 22nd of June and Moët Moments. Cheers to all!  

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

All photos by Mirko Janković

A seagull tried to make an octopus his dinner, but the octopus wasn't in the mood. This unusual footage from NP Kornati showcases the struggle between bird and would-be prey.

Along Croatia's coast or on its many islands, you're likely to witness battles and very loud ''arguments'' by street cats wanting to get hold of the last fish, or maybe even witness seagulls falling out with each other, what you don't often see however is a showdown between a seagull and his ''almost dinner'', an octopus who simply had no plans to be a meal that day.

As Morski writes on the 18th of April, 2019, after some rather surprising footage from far away in Australia, where a seagull's attempt to make a grumpy octopus a meal turned very sour for the opportunistic sea bird indeed, another almost identical scene has been caught on camera, but this time much closer to home, right here in Croatia, from the beautiful NP Kornati in the Zadar region.

The video was initially taken back in October 2018, and author of the video and witness to this rather bizarre fight, Jure Jerat, says the rather unlucky seagull managed to come out of the fight a little bit better off than the Australian seagull did when he attempted the same ''assault'' on an octopus that just wasn't having it.

While we by no means endorse any type of blood sport here at TCN, this does make for interesting viewing, it certainly isn't something you see on a daily basis and it's difficult to say who we'd put our money on! Have a look for yourself and see who comes out on top in this extremely unusual argument between two very different species at Croatia's beautiful NP Kornati.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

September 7, 2018 - What does dinner look like when you have four Michelin star and five of Croatia's top chefs preparing a 10-course dinner? A course by course photo special from the 25th anniversary of Restaurant Festa on the Kornati island of Zut. 

Some 25 years ago, on an uninhabited island on the Adriatic with no water, electricity, ferry or tourists, and with the country in the middle of a regional war, a new restaurant opened on the island of Zut on the Adriatic. The story of what happened next was celebrated at Restaurant Festa's silver anniversary on September 4, 2018, as five of Croatia's top chefs accompanied four Michelin star chefs and one cocktail maestro to put on one of the culinary events of the year. TCN was there.  

Ever been to the Kornati islands?

Continuing with our alphabet series, a love letter to islands sprinkled with some local history on April 27, 2018

April 19, 2018 - The population of the Kornati archipelago continues to disagree with the way things are managed in the National Park

Restaurateurs of the Kornati archipelago expressed dissatisfaction with the way the National Park is managed. There have been talks about launching a petition for the NP to lose its title; while such an initiative isn't likely to see any results, they do make a good point of the local population being disregarded