November 15, 2020 – On the list of the top 100 most popular cakes in the world by Taste Atlas, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, have deservedly found their place.

After a famous fish dish of Slavonia and Baranja – fiš paprikaš – recently appeared on the list of the top 100 best traditional dishes in the world, it is now time for Croatian desserts to find their place among the most popular ones in the world.

According to TasteAtlas, the global food map guide, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, were listed among the top 100 most popular cakes in the world. In the competition with the world's most popular cakes, such as German Schwarzwald cake or Italian Ciambella, samoborska kremšnita, originally from the Croatian town of Samobor near Zagreb, took 84th place on the list, and widely-known Croatian cake mađarica took a high 41st place.

Unique souvenir from Samobor

Being the most recognizable symbol and the first association of the town of Samobor is what makes samoborska kremšnita the queen of all cakes for Samobor residents. It is almost unthinkable to visit Samobor without tasting this fine light yellowish cream between the crispy puff pastry.

Samoborska kremšnita / Wikimedia Commons

"Samoborska kremšnita consists of two layers of puff pastry that are filled with custard cream. A thin layer of whipped cream is sometimes placed on top of the custard. The whole cake is typically dusted with powdered sugar, and before serving, the cake is sliced into squares. Kremšnita can be eaten warm or chilled. It is believed that this tasty dessert was invented by pastry chef Đuro Lukačić who had worked in Vienna and Budapest, and upon arriving in Samobor, he modified some of their recipes to create Samoborska kremšnita, which proved to be a huge hit to this day," reads the description of samoborska kremšnita on TasteAtlas.

It is one of the main reasons why Samobor is gladly visited, and many take more of it as a souvenir, so they can enjoy its taste even when they're home. The first kremšnita cakes were made in the confectionery owned by Marko Lukačić, Đuro's brother, located on the Samobor Square. There are several recipes for this cake, but Samoborska kremšnita is unique because of its preparation, but also because of Samobor and the ambiance in which you should enjoy it.

Mađarica or the "Hungarian girl"

On the other hand, the mađarica cake does not have its town of origin but is widely-know in the whole of Croatia as an unavoidable festive and Christmas dessert. As TasteAtlas writes, "although not much is known about its origin or etymology, mađarica is believed to be an original Croatian dessert that was modeled on traditional Hungarian layered cakes," which explains her name meaning "Hungarian girl".

"The layers are coated in a velvety, chocolate-infused cream, and the whole cake is finished with a dark chocolate glaze," reads the description of mađarica on TasteAtlas.

Over 300 different recipes for mađarica can be found on various internet portals, and some believe that mađarica is the Croatian variant of the Hungarian cake called dobos torte, which is ranked 40th on this list, only one place ahead of mađarica.

Croatian cake mađarica / Screenshot YouTube, Domaći recepti

Also, the same as with the mađarica and dobos torte cake, the name, appearance, and origin of samoborska kremšnita are irresistibly reminiscent of the Austrian cake cremeschnitte, which took a high third place on this list, and which had a great influence on the creation of the Samobor version. The title of the world's most popular cake went to the Australian and New Zealand's Pavlova cake, followed by the Japanese Kasutera cake which took second place.

Although these two Croatian cakes have undoubtedly arisen under the influence of the above mentioned neighboring Austrian and Hungarian cakes, by making it to this list, they proved their competence to be in the company of world-famous desserts.

November 6, 2020 - Losing faith in the US democratic system? Meet the TasteAtlas popular food map of the USA, where all votes are counted. 

Four days into watching American democracy in action, I am as bewildered as the rest of you, but one of the many things that surprised me was the lack of clever marketing initiatives inspired by the current crazy situation.

One notable exception is Croatian-Bulgarian startup TasteAtlas, a global local food map and of the best and most innovative projects I have come across in recent times. 

Rather than the model of TripAdvisor and its reputation of fake reviews and restaurants offering often international dishes, TasteAtlas focused on the local goodness all over the world. More than 5,000 local dishes and indigenous products, as well as the best places to try those dishes as recommended by foodie experts. 

TasteAtlas has presented local foods in some very enticing maps, such as the cheese map of France, which has 463 types of local cheeses, while the pasta map of Italy was the most popular page on the site initially, helping it reach a global media audience organically.  

Looking to learn more about the wonderful nature of Croatian local food? There are currently 290 items to explore and enjoy on the TasteAtlas food map of Croatia. 

And, as we await the results of the election vote count, the lawsuits, and the validity of late votes, TasteAtlas shared their food map of the USA, with the current most popular dishes by state, with the message that you can still vote and your vote will be accepted. 

Launched in 2018, TasteAtlas has risen quickly in global popularity, featuring in media all over the world, and it was even included as a source on the school curriculum in Ireland by the Ministry of Education. You can learn a lot more about the project in this TCN interview with founder and CEO Matija Babic.  

Want to make sure that your US food election vote gets counted? Vote here. 

October 17, 2020 – Food guide TasteAtlas published the list of the best traditional dishes in the world and Croatian fis paprikas is the only Croatian dish that made it to the top 100.

As TasteAtlas announces, the day of the local food celebration has come! The list of the top 100 traditional dishes in the world for 2020 has been published, and this year, Croatia can boast one specialty that made it to the list – fiš paprikaš (fish stew), which took 90th place among the great competition of world-famous specialties, such as Japanese sushi, Israeli falafel, and Spanish paella.

This traditional specialty comes from the eastern part of Croatia, from the regions of Baranja and Slavonia, and is influenced by neighboring Hungary. Their popular dish called paprikás csirke (chicken stew) also made the list, taking only two places ahead of Croatian fiš paprikaš.

 "Fiš paprikaš (or hal paprikas in Hungary) is a traditional stew cooked in a big cauldron over an open fire. This spicy fish stew is traditionally made with a variety of freshwater fish such as catfish, starlet, pike, and carp. The stew is heavily flavored with large amounts of the region's staple – ground red paprika, which can range from mild to very hot. Fiš paprikaš is often served with homemade noodles, and it is so popular in the region that there are numerous fiš cooking competitions organized throughout the year. The dish is traditionally accompanied by hot ground paprika on the side so each person can increase the spiciness according to personal preferences," reads the description of fiš paprikaš on TasteAtlas.

The map of the best traditional dishes in the world / Source: TasteAtlas

However, this is not the first time TasteAtlast recognized the quality of fiš paprikaš. It took the 3rd place on the list of most popular freshwater fish dishes in the world. It is also included on the list of most popular fish dishes in the world where it stands in 30th place. On the list of most popular seafood in the world, it comes in 82nd place, and it is 96th place on the list of most popular stews in the world.

Considering the most popular Croatian fish dishes and seafood, it takes 2nd place, along with other fish specialties from Baranja and Slavonia, namely, pijani šaran (drunken carp) and perklet od soma, likewise influenced by Hungary.

TasteAtlas traditional food awards 2020 listed the top 100 world-famous dishes according to 63,402 valid ratings on TasteAtlas, along with the restaurants where you can taste the best version of each dish. And is there a better place to taste this traditional Croatian dish than the heart of Baranja? The title of the best restaurant for tasting fiš paprikaš went to the restaurant "Citadela" in Vardarac near the town of Bilje and the Nature Park Kopački Rit, although other traditional food restaurants in the area are not far behind.

Interestingly, Bosnian traditional dish ćevapi took the 30th place on this list, ahead of Thai pad thai, Italian spaghetti aglio e olio, and American fajitas.

Italian traditional pizza Margherita took first place, and the other specialties of Italian cuisine such as risotto alla Milanese, lasagne alla Bolognese, pasta Carbonara, and tortellini in brodo, unsurprisingly dominated the list.

You can also check how many of the 100 best traditional dishes you have tried by signing up and marking the food tried.

Taste Atlas is a global-local food interactive map that serves as a food guide for those who want to know more about the local food from all over the world, as well as the places where you can try the best of it. It was founded two years ago by Croatian Matija Babić, who is also a founder of one of the most popular Croatian news portals, Index.hr.

14. travanj 2020. - Tražite preporuku za dobru hranu, ali vam je već dosta lažnih osvrta na TripAdvisoru? Pročitajte izvještaj o napretku nakon dvije godine o projektu TasteAtlas, globalnoj lokalnoj karti hrane s osnivačem projekta, Matijom Babićem. 

Prošlo je skoro dvije godine otkako sam s Matijom Babićem, koji je najpoznatiji kao vlasnik najneovisnijeg i najpopularnijeg portala vijesti u Hrvatskoj, Index.hr, porazgovarao o njegovom novom projektu nazvanom TasteAtlas. Značajan je to bio iskorak od svijeta vijesti na Balkanu, ali radilo se o projektu koji se bavi jednom od Babićevih najvećih strasti - gastronomijom.

Ideja je bila brilijantna, ali jednostavna: stvoriti globalnu mapu lokalne hrane, specifične za određenu regiju, s detaljnim podacima o svakom jelu, kao i najboljim mjestima gdje to jelo možete isprobati - prema preporukama koje ne dolaze s TripAdvisora ili sličnih stranica, nego ih daju kritičari hrane i stručnjaci za gastronomiju. TasteAtlas bio je pokrenut prije dvije godine, možete pročitati i moj intervju (na eng. jeziku) s Babićem taman prije nego je projekt objavljen javno u travnju 2018. godine.

Babić je trenutačno na turneji po Aziji za TasteAtlas, te se u ovom trenutku nalazi zatvoren u Vijetnamu. Pristao je otamo odgovoriti na par pitanja i dati nam izvještaj o tome kako napreduje projekt TasteAtlas.

1. TasteAtlas je projekt nastao iz strasti, koji je nastajao tri godine, a uskoro će mu biti pune dvije godine. Jeste li zadovoljni time kako stvari s njim napreduju?

Ne i da. Očekivao sam puno brži start, nisam mislio da ćemo pet godina programirati i puniti i polako se uhodavati, i da ću pritom u to ulupati toliko novca. Start je bio očajno spor. Međutim prije nekih pola godine krenuli smo se relativno brzo dizati, neke od ideja su se uhvatile na Google, i počeli smo relativno brzo rasti. Još uvijek nismo A liga gastro sajtova i travel guideova, ali došli smo do svakodnevnih 50 tisuća različitih ljudi, najviše iz Amerike, čime smo jači od uglednog talijanskog Gambero Rossa recimo, ili sjajnog weba Great British Chefs. Tržišta gastro siteova i travel guideova su toliko zakrčena da se u njima strašno teško probiti bez fantastične ideje ili jakog zaleđa, puno jačem nego što ga ima i jedan Gambero Rosso. Ja nemam nikakvo zaleđe, ali vjerujem da imam znanje i dosta dobru ideju kako da sve to provedem i uđem u A ligu. Uvjeren sam da ćemo do kraja godine postići financijski break even, a da ćemo kroz koju godinu postati vodeći sajt za međunarodnu gastronomiju.

Kako Index dnevno posjećuje između pola milijuna i milijun ljudi, ove mi brojke još uvijek djeluju sitno, no prezadovoljan sam s trenutnim tempom rasta.

Na kraju, oko mojih emocija oko projekta treba ipak znati ovo: ja nisam fokusiran na novac nego na lifestyle. Želim raditi lijepe stvari u kojima uživam. TasteAtlas mi to omogućuje. Da, počinje i zarađivati solidan novac, ali to mi nije bio prioritet. Prioritet je napraviti sjajnu stvar koja će se ljudima svidjeti, dizati je kvalitativno i kvantitativno, a novac onda dođe sam od sebe.

2. TasteAtlas su popratili međunarodni mediji diljem svijeta, a školskoj djeci preporučilo ga je kao izvor informacija irsko Ministarstvo prosvjete. Promatrati kako vaš projekt postaje zaista globalan mora biti zaista zadovoljavajuće. Što su vam bili najbolji trenuci ovoga putovanja do sad?

To je bilo sjajno, oduševljen sam s tim. Oduševljeni smo i kad nam se javljaju učitelji i profesori, najviše iz Amerike, da nam pokažu kako njihovi učenici uče iz TasteAtlasa. Osim toga, najviše me razveselio jednominutni prilog o TasteAtlasu u središnjem dnevniku talijanske televizije. Talijani, kraljevi gastronomije, hvalili su se time što su talijanska jela pri vrhu top liste bugarsko-hrvatskog startupa. Kakva vremena.

(Bangkok)

3. Proizveli ste neke sjajne lokalne mape hrane po cijelom svijetu, pri čemu se čini da su karta sireva Francuske i karta tjestenine Italije posebno popularne. Što su vam najpopularnije stranice do sad i koje regije su vas iznenadile razinom interesa?

Naše najpopularnije stranice su top lista najpopularnijih i top lista najboljih jela na svijetu. Osim toga, imamo sjajnu stranicu sa sirevima. No, trenutno najbrže rastemo na onim stranicama s kojima smo na vrhu američkog Googlea, a to su japanski deserti i skandinavski deserti. Puno jakih pojmova nam ovih dana ulazi u top 10 na Googleu pa očekujemo velik rast, recimo na Indian Food koji svaki dan traži preko 200 tisuća ljudi. Fish&Chips je na engleskom Googleu ušao u top 10, od takvih pojmova imam ogromna očekivanja jer smo jedini sajt na svijetu koji nudi sveobuhvatne informacije o njima: i opće i povijesne informacije o jelu, i recept, i popis najboljih restorana. U Engleskoj svaki dan Fish&Chips traži pedesetak tisuća ljudi. Dovoljno je postati broj jedan samo na jednom takvom pojmu da budemo skoro pa isplativi. A mi ćemo postati broj jedan na desecima takvih pojmova. I pritom ćemo zaista pružati posjetiteljima sve što ih o tom može zanimati.

4. Ljubitelj ste dobre hrane i često putujete. Kako ocjenjujete svoja iskustva s TripAdvisorom kao korisnik, te koja su vam lokalna jela ispala najboljim otkrićima dosad?

TripAdvisor mora hitno poduzeti nešto oko algoritma preporuka i prepoznavanja lažnih kritika želi li preživjeti. Michelin me zanima kad želim predstavu u restoranu. TasteAtlas preporučuje najkvalitetnija i najpouzdanija mjesta po mišljenju profesionalnih kritičara, s naglaskom na lokalne. Gdje god dođem isprobam sve vodiče, ali TasteAtlas je već neko vrijeme najkorisniji alat za pronalazak pouzdanih autentičnih restorana.

Još uvijek ima gradova gdje me TasteAtlas odvede na neku bezvezariju, ali sve ih je manje. Ove godine lansiramo TasteAtlas Awards s popisom najboljih legendarnih restorana na svijetu, gdje je još jedan ključan faktor: starost restorana. Ako je netko opstao 100 godina, vjerojatno nešto vrijedi. To će bit bomba projekt i dodatno će podići korisnost TasteAtlasa. Ukratko, gdje god putujem pratim što mi fali od informacija i kakve bih informacije želio, i onda u tom smjeru nadograđujem TasteAtlas. A nakon što do kraja posložim TasteAtlas, idem na idućih par globalnih projekata kojima se jako veselim.

(Pariz)

5. Projekt je i vama donio mnoga otkrića, jer pokrivate mnoga lokalna jela iz cijelog svijeta. Jesu li se na vašem radaru pojavile neke nove lokalne kuhinje o kojima prije niste mnogo znali? Ako da, koje i zašto?

Carska ruska kuhinja me oduševljava. Kavijar, blini, haringe, stroganoff, vodka, kvas. Mislim da je ruska kuhinja najpotcjenjenija sjajna kuhinja na svijetu. Na lošem glasu je zbog komunizma, koji je uništio hranu kao što uništi i sve ostalo. Ali ta sovjetska hrana veze nema s carskom ruskom kuhinjom, koja meni spada u top5 na svijetu, uz talijansku, japansku, singapursku i američku.

6. Kod takvog globalnog projekta, pretpostavljam da su lokalne dojave više nego dobrodošle, bilo da se radi o informacijama o jelima ili o originalnim fotografijama. Ako netko želi doprinijeti, kako to može učiniti?

Proces je jednostavan: registrirati se i preporučiti restoran za neko jelo, ili i neregistriran poslati informacije i fotografije o nekom jelu. Sve informacije su dobrodošle, ali niti jednu informaciju ne objavljujemo prije nego što je dodatno provjere naši autori. Jedna od najvećih snaga TasteAtlasa je što nema bullshita. Niti kritike za restorane ne odobravamo ako nam se ne čine argumentirane.

(Libanon)

7. Što slijedi za TasteAtlas?

Kao što sam spomenuo, ove godine ključan projekt je TasteAtlas Awards - popis legendardnih restorana i najboljih jela na svijetu. Osim toga, pokrećemo bazu proizvođača i proizvoda. Potom još par meni ključnih stvari i aplikaciju, i onda mogu na iduće projekte krajem iduće godine.

8. I za kraj, pitanje za vas kao osobu koja sad ima dobar pregled gastronomije na cijelom svijetu, je li istina da mi Britanci imamo najgoru hranu na svijetu?

Nikako. Imate senzacionalne pive. Odlične pite. English breakfast jedan je od najboljih na svijetu. Yorkshire puding je bomba. Fish&Chips je bomba kad se dobro napravi, uživam u restoranima koji se tim jelom bave pažljivo i elaborirano, pa opisuju koliko je koja riba flaky. Afternoon tea mi spada među najbolje gastronomske rituale uopće. Pubovi su sjajna mjesta za jelo, piće i druženje, malo kultura ima tako sjajnu atmosferu kakvu vi imate u pubovima. Mislim da je britanska hrana i cijela atmosfera koja je prati odlična.

Možete provjeriti svijet lokalne hrane na TasteAtlasu na njihovoj službenoj stranici njihovoj službenoj web-stranici.

April 14, 2020 - Looking for a good food recommendation but had enough of fake TripAdvisor reviews? A 2-year progress report on the global local food map project, TasteAtlas, with founder, Matija Babic. 

It is almost two years since I sat with Matija Babic, best known as the owner of Croatia's most independent and most popular news portal, Index.hr, to talk about his new project called TasteAtlas. A big departure from the world of Balkan news, TasteAtlas was a project for one of Babic's biggest passions - gastronomy. 

The concept was brilliant, yet simple - to create a global map of local food particular to each region, with detailed information on each dish, as well as the best places to try the dish - as recommended not by TripAdvisor or similar sites, but my food critics and gastronomy experts. TasteAtlas launched about two years ago, and you can read my last interview with Babic shortly after the project went live in April 2018. 

Babic is currently on a tour of Asia for TasteAtlas and finds himself locked down in Vietnam currently, from where he kindly agreed to a follow-up interview to give us a progress report on how TasteAtlas is doing. 

1. TasteAtlas is a project of passion, which was three years in the making, and which will soon be two years old. Are you satisfied with the way things are going overall?

Yes and no. I was expecting a much quicker start, I didn't think that we would program and fill it and 'walk slowly' for five years, nor did I think that I'd put so much money into it. The beginning was desperately slow. However, about half a year ago, we started to get going relatively quickly, some of the stuff was picked up by Google, and we started growing pretty quickly. We're still not the A-League of Gastronomic Sites and Travel Guides, but we're managing to reach 50,000 different people every day, mostly from America, which is stronger than the respected Italian Gambero Rosso, for example, or the great Great British Chefs Web.

The markets for travel sites and travel guides are so convoluted that it's terribly difficult to break into them without a fantastic idea or strong background, much stronger than one Gambero Rosso has. I don't have any background in gastronomy, but I believe I have the knowledge and a pretty good idea how to process it all and get into the A-League. I'm convinced that by the end of the year, we'll achieve a financial break-even, and that in a year, we'll become the leading site for international gastronomy.

As my Croatian news portal Index.hr is visited by between half a million and a million people daily, these figures still seem small, but I'm pleased with the current growth rate.

In the end, when it comes to my emotions around the project, this is what needs to be understood: I'm not focused on the money but on lifestyle. I want to do beautiful things that I enjoy. TasteAtlas lets me do that. Yes, it's started making some solid money too, but that wasn't my priority. My priority is to do a great thing that people will like, raise it qualitatively and quantitatively, and then the money comes on its own.

2. TasteAtlas has been picked up all over the world by international media, as well as being a recommended resource for schoolchildren from the Irish Ministry of Education. Watching a project go truly global must be very satisfying. What have been the highlights of the journey so far?

That was great, I'm thrilled with that. We're also delighted to hear from teachers and professors, mostly from America, who show us how their students learn from TasteAtlas. In addition, I was most pleased by the one-minute report on TasteAtlas on Italian television's central daily news. The Italians, the kings of gastronomy, boasted that Italian dishes are at the top of a Bulgarian-Croatian startup's top list. What a time.

(Bangkok)

3. You have produced some great local food maps from all over the world, with the cheese map of France and the pasta map of Italy seemingly particularly popular. What has been the most popular page so far, and which food regions have surprised you by the level of interest?

Our most popular pages are the top list of the most popular food, and the top list of the best dishes in the world. On top of that, we have an excellent cheese page. However, we're currently growing the fastest on the pages we have which are at the top of Google in America, which are Japanese desserts and Scandinavian desserts. A lot of strong concepts are putting us into the top 10 on Google these days, so we're expecting a lot of growth, say Indian Food, for which over 200,000 people search every day. Fish & Chips has been ranked in the top 10 by Google, and I have high expectations from such terms because we're the only site in the world that offers comprehensive information about them: both general and historical food information, and recipes, and a list of the best restaurants. In England, 246,000 people every day search for Fish & Chips (we are currently ranked number 18). It's enough to become number one on one such term for it to be worthwhile. And we'll become number one on dozens of such terms. And in doing so, we'll really provide visitors with everything that may interest them.

4. You are a gourmet lover and travel frequently. How have you found the TasteAtlas experience as a user, and what local dishes were your favourite discoveries so far?

TripAdvisor needs to do something urgently about the recommendation algorithm and identify false reviews in order to survive. Michelin interests me when I want a show at a restaurant. TasteAtlas recommends the highest quality and most reliable restaurants in the opinion of professional critics, with an emphasis on local ones. Wherever I go, I try out all the guides, but TasteAtlas has been the most useful tool for finding trusted authentic restaurants for some time now.

There are still cities where TasteAtlas takes me to some place that isn't worth mentioning, but that's happening less and less. This year, we're launching the TasteAtlas Awards with a list of the best legendary restaurants in the world, where another key factor is the age of the restaurant. If one has survived for 100 years, then it's probably worth something. It will be a bomb of a project and will further elevate the utility of TasteAtlas.

In short, wherever I travel, I keep track of what I miss from the information and what kind of information I'd like, and then upgrade TasteAtlas in that direction. And after I finalise TasteAtlas, I'm off to the next couple of global projects, which I'm looking forward to.

(Paris)

5. The project is one of discovery for you, covering local dishes from all over the world. Any previously unknown cuisines which are now on your radar? If yes, which ones and why?

Imperial Russian cuisine delights me. Caviar, pancakes, herring, stroganoff, vodka, yeast... I think Russian cuisine is the most underrated great cuisine in the world. Communism ruined its reputation, which destroyed the food like it destroys everything else. But Soviet food has nothing to do with imperial Russian cuisine, which to me is in the top 5 in the world, along with Italian, Japanese, Singaporean and American.

6. With such a global project, local user submissions are presumably quite welcome, either in information about dishes or original photography.  If someone wants to contribute, what is the process?

The process is simple: register and recommend a restaurant for a meal, or if you're unregistered, send us information and photos about a dish. All information is welcome, but we don't publish any information before it's further verified by our authors. One of the greatest strengths of TasteAtlas is that there is no bullshit. We don't approve any restaurant criticism if it doesn't seem to hold any weight to us.

(Lebanon)

7. What is next for TasteAtlas?

As I mentioned, this year's key project is the TasteAtlas Awards - a list of legendary restaurants and the best dishes in the world. In addition to that, we're launching a manufacturer and product base. Then a couple more key things and an application, and then I can go onto the next projects at the end of next year.

8. And finally, as a man who now has a good grasp of global cuisine, it is really the case that we Brits have the worst food in the world?

No way. You have sensational beers. Great pies. English breakfast is one of the best in the world. Yorkshire pudding is the bomb. Fish & Chips is the bomb when done well, I enjoy restaurants that deal with this dish carefully and elaborately, and describe how flaky the fish is. Afternoon tea is one of the best gastronomic rituals in general. Pubs are great places to eat, drink and socialise, few cultures have such a great atmosphere as you have in pubs. I think British food and the whole atmosphere that accompanies it is just great.

You can take a tour of the TasteAtlas world of local food by visiting the official website.

February 7, 2019 - Another day, another international mention for local food map TasteAtlas, as the Irish Education Ministry makes the site its Resource of the Week.

It is almost a year since I interviewed Matija Babic, the Croatian founder of a rather unique new food website, TasteAtlas. 

Unlike most global food sites, TasteAtlas focuses very much on the local dishes to be found in a country, and not on the most popular restaurants which often offer bland international fare. 

Three years in the making, the interactive maps of more than 5,000 local dishes, accompanied by expert recommendations on where to try the best ones, TasteAtlas has been a global media hit, as well as a great new resource for thousands of travellers all over the world. 

It has been a fascinating story to watch unfold, as the site quickly went viral all over the world, even before it had officially launched. Just following Babic's Facebook page as he posted article after article from the world's media on his new project was a lesson in webmaster link juice envy. Indeed seemingly the only country where the site was not widely reported in the mainstream media was in his native Croatia, presumably something to do with the other hat Babic wears - owner of the largest and most controversial news portal, www.index.hr. 

The TasteAtlas story took a new turn last week, as the official resource website for the Irish of Ministry of Education chose TasteAtlas as its educational Resource of the Week for Irish pupils. 

Scoilnet is the Department of Education and Skills (DES) official portal for Irish education and was founded in 1998. Here is what it had to say when recommending TasteAtlas:

Why is it Resource of the Week?Why is it Resource of the Week?

Exposes pupils to ingredients, traditional dishes and restaurants from around the world.

Contains an interactive and dynamic map which helps pupils to locate and identify countries.

Expands pupils knowledge of people and cultures from across the globe.

Web-based application so works across multiple platforms and devices.

Hones pupils skills of working in a digital environment.

To learn more about TasteAtlas, as a pupil or a tourist, visit the official website.

Where to go online to find the very best Istrian food and its most authentic recipes?

Where to go online to find the very best Dalmatian food and its most authentic recipes? 

July 15, 2018 - With millions of people searching for information about Croatia in the wake of World Cup success, could there be a better opportunity to present the country's charms?

May 31, 2018 - With its economy in dire trouble, Croatia continues to hinder, rather than help, one sector that could put things back on track - its entrepreneurs.