The Pelegrini Restaurant, one of the most famous Croatian restaurants, is located in the heart of the city of Šibenik behind the cathedral of St. Jakov. The owner of the restaurant is the famous chef Rudolf Stefan who hosted our students and showed them how a top catering facility works. Namely, Pelegrini is, by the opinion of many experts and people in the profession, the absolute No.1. In Croatia and deserves to be crowned with the Michelin star in the near future.
After a pleasant two-hour conversation with the chef, the students were delighted with his concept of work and philosophy toward work. He showed them in practical examples how to use autochthonous foods, while not reducing their quality but simply increasing their value. The menu of Pelegrini Restaurant changes seasonally, that is with seasonal fruits and vegetables, which gives a special charm to the restaurant and extremely pleases the guests. Chef Rudolf told students that professional restaurant management requires 24-hour engagement and is an extremely demanding job. The students were also impressed with the work organization of the kitchen, where in a relatively small space they create stunning gourmet delicacies. At the end, he informed them of the secrets of quality service and pointed to the importance of keeping account of the smallest details when guests are arriving, being served and leaving.
After visiting the restaurant, students also visited the Bibich Winery in the vicinity of Šibenik. The students were welcomed by the owner Alen Bibić, among friends called Bibich, by which the winery was named. With expert guidance from the Sommelier Ana, the students tried wine varieties with a rich aroma without hiding their pleasure with the taste tests. The Bibich Winery has a “recipe” to perfectly match wine and autochthonous foods, offering guests a unique experience and a new view of the term “traditionally”. The winery’s specialty is that they have managed to save them sorts such as marjoram and debit from being forgotten and enabled future generations to enjoy the growing and taste of traditional varieties. The new way of presenting old varieties has shown that they are the very potential of the Dalmatian hinterland, both in gastronomy and in tourist offers.
The last part of this complete day was spent at Family Farm Skelin. They visited the family farm, walked through the vineyards, and tried their wines as well as tasty prosciutto, all produced by them. Miljevački prosciutto products are known as the real delicacies of Šibenik’s hinterland. Namely, it is a traditional production consisting of five-month drying on special types of wood with the help of Dalmatian bura (strong wind), a mixture of spices and salt, Mediterranean herbs and medicinal herbs. And all this in the perfect microclimate of Miljevački fields.
After this interesting tour, lunch was followed by relaxed mingling and a recollection of the great amount of impressions.