February 12, 2022 - At a press conference at Botel Marina, a new Rijeka Tourist Board project called "Rijeka Gastronomic Ports" was launched in cooperation with Abisal (Gastronaut). 

The tourist significance of the project and its significance for the destination were presented by Petar Škarpa, director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, while the project and the idea were presented by Karin Mimica, representative of Abisal (Gastronaut Club), reports the Rijeka Tourist Board.

The mission of "Rijeka Gastronomic Ports" project is to connect catering facilities and develop a new gastronomic brand with the ultimate goal of supporting the stakeholders in the destination and raising the overall quality and visibility.

Škarpa pointed out that “Rijeka can boast of a rich catering offer that has become especially colorful in the last few years. Citizens and visitors can enjoy different types of cuisine, local dishes, exotic restaurants, specialized restaurants, street food, or fine dining. Everyone can find a place "to their liking."

With the accelerated development of the offer, there was a need to find new marketing solutions to present Rijeka's gastronomy. To this end, to our great satisfaction, we joined forces with a partner, Abisal, which is behind several important gastronomic brands, and from which the idea for this project came.

Rijeka Gastronomic Ports will make it easier for citizens and guests to choose restaurants that will satisfy their tastes and different occasions, while restaurants, with the help of a designed communication model, will be able to present their offer structured according to specific target groups."

Within the original marketing concept, meeting specific set criteria, it will profile itself following its specifics and thus emphasize its quality in various areas of gastronomy and hospitality.

The port concept as a combination of cultures, goods, stories, and experiences can be perfectly applied to gastronomy, and this project will strengthen the tourist potential of Rijeka's gastro scene and enable a harmonious offer in domestic and foreign markets.

Guests will easily find information about Rijeka's facilities that will meet their expectations, both in terms of food and beverages, given the society they come from and the additional facilities they provide. So whether they’re looking for the perfect place for a Sunday lunch with family, a place where they can have a business meeting while enjoying a good brunch, where they can enjoy local fish or exotic specialties - the goal is to shorten their journey from a craving to a tasty snack.

"I hope that caterers will recognize the importance of interconnection and joint promotion and that as many as possible join in this strategic project which could achieve a big step in creating a recognizable Rijeka gastronomic brand with the ultimate goal of positioning Rijeka among attractive destinations for food lovers.

The registered catering facilities that meet the prescribed conditions will proudly bear the title of the selected Rijeka gastronomic port as a guarantee of the quality of the offer and service and will become the main trump cards of Rijeka gastronomy," added Petar Škarpa.

The author of the project, Karin Mimica, invited caterers who have not yet applied to support this initiative:

"So far, about 20 applications have been received for various gastronomic ports by seven restaurants (each restaurant can apply in up to 3 categories), and there are about ten more in the phase of thinking how to describe their offer through the port name. We are at everyone's disposal to help them choose or design the name of the gastronomic port that best outlines what each restaurant offers.

In the first division of Rijeka's gastronomic offer into ports, we proposed: romantic gastronomic ports; family gastronomic ports; business gastronomic ports; fishing ports; vegan ports; ports for wine connoisseurs; gastronomic beer ports, ports of local food, and ports of specialty, which include restaurants specializing in cuisines of other destinations and countries. In the meantime, we are receiving new proposals from both caterers and citizens - day ports - snack bars with daily menu change, workers' port, tasting port, barbeque port, and tapas port. We are open to all proposals that sound good in marketing and outline a restaurant's specific offer (image). The main goal of the project is to help citizens cope better with the diverse offer, and caterers to profile themselves through the common marketing platform of Rijeka's gastronomic offer." 

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February 3, 2022 - The new gastronomic brand aims to bring together local caterers and create a unique gourmet story rooted in Rijeka’s port-city image

The Rijeka Tourist Board and the company Abisal/Gastronaut Club have announced a new project that’s sure to pique the interest of all gourmet enthusiasts.

Rijeka Gastronomic Ports is a project that aims to bring together local catering facilities and create a unique story with immense marketing potential: a gastronomic brand that goes hand in hand with Rijeka’s port city image. The project would also offer support to caterers and improve the overall quality and brand recognition of Rijeka’s gastronomic offer.

The word port/harbour has positive connotations in itself and invokes a sense of safety: just think of the expression ‘a safe harbour’. A port is where we seek refuge from bad weather; it's a place that promises nourishment and comfort, a place we leave feeling refreshed, feeling rested.

Such feelings invoked by ports can easily be applied to other aspects of life in Rijeka; many catering facilities in the city already resemble little proverbial ports. If we think of restaurants in this way, as a caterer, what kind of port would you like your restaurant to be? Or, as a guest, what would be your gastronomic port of choice?

Perhaps a sentimental one - a family port, a romantic port? On the other hand, some might prefer to think of ports as places to conduct business and would thus want for this to be reflected in their establishment.

The possibilities are endless; as a start, nine categories have been established in the initial phase of the project. Caterers are welcome to submit additional themes for consideration, as the project owners are willing to expand the list with categories they deem to have marketing potential, i.e. they reflect specific features or services that could potentially be interesting to citizens of Rijeka and their guests.

Here’s the initial list of categories, together with a few prerequisites that catering facilities need to meet if they’re looking to participate:

Business port - restaurants in this category should have the best available Wi-Fi, widely spaced tables, a separate area for meetings, several modes of payment available, and ideally reserved parking for guests if the establishment is located outside the city centre

Romantic port - restaurants that have an appropriate decor and ambiance, and feature dishes made of ingredients known for properties related to romance - chocolate, truffles, oysters…

Family port - restaurants need to be equipped with a children’s play area and a changing station for babies, offer children’s menus and provide games or colouring books to keep kids occupied at the table

Port for wine connoisseurs - the restaurant’s wine list must contain a minimum of 30 wines, grouped by variety and including detailed descriptions; staff should be trained in wine pairing, serving and decanting

Beer port - the restaurant’s beer list must contain a minimum of 20 beers; staff should be trained in beer and food pairing

Port of local produce - restaurants should be sourcing a minimum of 70% of ingredients from local producers or grow their own produce, and provide documentation to support the claim

Vegan port - the menu must feature at least 7 vegan-friendly dishes based on legumes, whole grains, beans, nuts, fruit, vegetables, and seeds (not containing dairy, eggs, honey, gelatin, etc.)

Fishing port - caterers that either run a fishing business or source their fish directly from local fishermen

Ports of individuality - a somewhat broad category to accommodate all caterers who bring something specific or unique to the table that is not defined by any of the other categories. This includes restaurants specialising in international cuisines, provided they offer at least 7 dishes authentic to the cuisine in question, have the menu translated into the language of the country of origin, and at least one person on the staff who speaks the said language.

Caterers can apply before February 15, 2022 by filling in this form (maximum of three categories). Those caterers who have yet to ensure their services match the prerequisites of a certain port category can request a deadline extension of three weeks, provided they send the request before February 15, 2022.

The Rijeka Gastronomic Ports project was devised by Karin Mimica, a native of Rijeka and the author of the two longest-lasting quality brands in Croatian hospitality - Restaurant Croatica and Gastronaut. She has also organised several dozen conferences and projects related to positioning and branding of gastronomy in tourism.

The project is co-financed by Rijeka Tourist Board, who plan to organise a number of educational workshops for caterers in collaboration with the Gastronaut club.