Five Croatian chefs, team members of the Union of Mediterranean and European Regions Chefs (SKMER), achieved great success at the recent world competition of professional chefs, Istanbul Gastronomy Festival, where they won 12 medals. The Croatian team was one of the most successful by the number of medals in one of the world's greatest chefs' competitions which brought together 2000 participants from 21 countries.

The chefs felt that their victories were greatly helped by high-quality authentic local produce like olive oil, sherry and Mediterranean herbs. They claim that the flavors of these organic foods fascinated the judges as well as the tourists who visit the Adriatic.

Nikša Ivičević recieved the highest grades and won the gold medal preparing scampi and sea bass in the category 'Fish' and Pero Savanović in the category 'Risotto'. Both have won the silver medal in the category 'Contemporary Cuisine'. The other three team members also contributed to the successful performance in Istanbul. Frane Šerka won the silver in the category 'Lamb' and 'Etno-cuisine' and bronze for 'Contemporary Cuisine'. Orlando Orlandini won two silver medals for the 'Contemporary Cuisine' and the 'Pasta' and Duje Milić won the silver medal for 'Fish" and 'Contemporary Cuisine' and bronze for food prepared in category 'Etno-cuisine'. All of them showed that Croatia is a country rich in culinary heritage, which is one of the strongest assets of Croatian tourism.


Ministry of Tourism
www.mint.hr