I could definitely say “Love is in the air” after having enjoyed the night with excellent Istrian wines and the gourmet dishes prepared by the restaurant Dubravnik put from Zagreb and the wines from Moreno Coronica of Istria. It all took place at the Istria Gourmet Festival in Umag where pleasure for the palate and other senses is simply being delightful these last couple of days. It’s the second year now that the Istria Gourmet Festival adds a lot of flavor and attention to the main event the ATP Croatia Open, a traditional tennis event taking place the 22nd year now.
Mediterranean cuisine is of course the main theme of the festival with special gourmet themes pointed out each night. The festival features not only Istria’s best chefs but those from the capital Zagreb who follow the Mediterranean cuisine to the high levels. As the highlight of the festival there are exclusive presentations by the 1 and 2 Michelin star chefs from Italy and Austria.
Restaurant Dubravkin put from Zagreb was in the spotlight on Sunday. As the restaurant manager Zeljko Brocilovic Carlos explained the restaurant follows the Mediterranean cuisine with the influences of the Istrian cuisine as well. He is very straightforward and clear when he states that ”the quality of the ingredients is a must. Our cuisine is creative in a sense that it requires the best of the Mediterranean ingredients to be used while preparing the dishes. And when my palate is happy and satisfied I know that the guest will be”, he says with a wide smile.
And I do believe him – having spent more than 20 years working in haute cuisine restaurants in northern Italy, Austria and Germany, he now tries to push the levels of quality in Croatia as well. With a slim attire and a shaved head, he embodies the confidence that was seen later on the plates that were paired with excellent wines by winemaker Moreno Coronica and Franco Kozlovic.
We started off with the wild bass carpaccio with the sorbet of Istrian olive oil – selection Belic. It was a refreshing start with fantastic olive oil by Duilio Belic, one of the world’s best and listed in the Flos Olei guidebook that paired excellent with the Moreno Coronica’s Malvasia 2010. Moreno Coronica is a man of few words but very strong ones. He explained that his wines “are an expression of the Istrian land with pure and clear taste, the taste of the land”.
The dentex tartar with yogurt and cucumber vinaigrett was next paired with Malvasia as well – simple and clean combination of the tastes. The macerated Gran Malvasia from 2008 was paired with the next two dishes: the fish port-au-feu and the black raviol with cauliflower cream and a Saint-Jacques on top.
The highlight of the evening was most definitely the mail meat dish – the fantastic oxtail that was fused with the Teran Bosco Grande from 2007 perfectly. The taste, the tannins and the depth of the Teran were in perfect harmony with the strong yet subtle taste of the boskarin tail (boskarin is the typical Istrian cattle). Moreno Coronica was very happy as well. “I was amazed how the dishes were paired with my wines. I believe it was because my wines have cristal clean aromas while they leave the sensation in the mouth completely clean”, he said.
The evening came to an end with the dessert of apple, peach and cinnamon and a glass of Kozovic Dulcinea – the Muscat of Momjan variety with sweet and gentle taste.
