If you haven’t heard already, Croatia has gone from being a country relatively unknown for its food offering to one of the most exciting gastronomic destinations in Europe. With a stunning Mediterranean coastline, picture perfect vineyards and vast forests home to some of the best truffles in the world, it’s where you’ll find stunning produce, fine wines, amazing seafood and dishes which celebrate simplicity and flavour above all else. And what better way to discover a country’s burgeoning food scene than by sending a pair of chefs over there to see what they can find?
That’s exactly why we sent chefs Tom Brown and Francesco Mazzei to Croatia for three days. They acted as the perfect duo to investigate the country’s food and drink – Francesco comes from nearby Italy, which shares many common ingredients and cooking methods with Croatia’s west coast, while Tom is an expert in fish and seafood, which Croatia prides itself on. While they weren’t sure what to expect, from the moment they touched down into Zagreb they knew they were in for a treat.
‘To be honest I didn’t know much about Croatia before I went – certainly not as much as I know about Italy or Spain – but because it is near Italy, I was expecting good things,’ says Francesco. ‘However, when I tasted things like the olive oil I was pretty blown away by the quality. It’s a beautiful country and the first thing we did when we arrived was go to the market. The ingredients were amazing – fresh porcini mushrooms, all sorts of incredible vegetables like wild asparagus – as a chef, I naturally wanted to spend all day there.’
‘I had literally no idea what Croatian food and drink was like before I went,’ adds Tom. ‘I knew it was between Eastern Europe and Italy, but that was about it. But when we started exploring Zagreb we looked around this amazing fish market. There were so many different species which you just don’t see in the UK, and even though it was late on a Friday there was still such a good selection and a real bustling atmosphere. When we got out into the countryside the next day, it was far more beautiful than I thought – I didn’t realise Croatia had so many hills and valleys.’
The chefs' first meal in Zagreb was at Restaurant Vinodol, which specialises in traditional dishes from the region. Think squash and cottage cheese strudel (known as bučnica), local cheeses and charcuterie. It was a fine way to start the adventure, and there were many more foodie treats to come.