Authentic Cuisine Project in Croatia
Croatia is working to identify restaurants in the Balkan country that serve local, indigenous cuisine.
Under a project designed by the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, a list of about 500 names of dishes and recipes recognized as native to Croatia have been identified as “Croatian authentic cuisine”.
Restaurants can apply to the ministry for a badge which will identify them as carrying these local recipes on their menus. (The certificate of award will be displayed on a plaque in the front of the restaurant.)
The first restaurant to be awarded this plaque was the Stari Fijaker (pictured, above left) in Zagreb. Second to be honored is the Verglec restaurant in Varaždin.
The third, Dvori Matanov, also in Zagreb, is the first wine cellar to be awarded the certificate. Some 80 percent of the items on its menu are based on the traditional recipes of fishermen and seafarers from Primošten.
Click on the image at right to see a video of some tasty dishes from Verglec:
Note: Croatian sources usually translate “indigenous” or “native” as “autochthonous” — a word seldom used in American English except in scientific or anthropological writing.
(Photo courtesy of Stari Fijaker)
