October the 24th, 2024 – Love Dalmatia’s incredible cuisine? Then Bol Gourmet Week is no doubt right up your street.
Bol Gourmet Week is being held under the organisation of the the Bol Municipality Tourist Board and under the auspices of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and Split-Dalmatia County itself from October the 21st to the 27th, 2024. Over just the very first few days of the festival, it showed that Dalmatian brunch (marenda) week in Bol will be an unforgettable gourmet and wine experience alike.
The Bol high School cooking show with Ivan Pažanin
The highlight of the event took place on Tuesday, October the 22nd. Much to the delight of all lovers of good cuisine and plenty of liveliness, Bol’s riva (waterfront) was dominated by the scents and flavours of local delicacies, crisp and light island biscuits and cakes, as well as sophisticated cocktails.
An outdoor cooking show was held, and Bol High School was “in charge” of the event led by professor Ada Šeferagić and famous Croatian chef Ivan Pažanin, a favourite local TV personality and one of the biggest proponents of Dalmatian cuisine.
To say they prepared something truly impressive is an understatement. There were about a hundred servings of fažol bean paste on brujet (brodet), which vanished in a mere few minutes. The gastronomic excitement didn’t end there. There was also plenty of perfectly local island produce to enjoy.
a great meal is always guaranteed when in bol
Dalmatian Brunch Week in Bol is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy traditional Dalmatian dishes during the festival in top restaurants: Taverna, Santo, Ranch, Argento, beach bar Noa and Vendetta by Vagabundo. Spanning all of the days of the festival, Bol’s local restaurants will offer a Dalmatian marenda at a promotional price of 15 euros, which includes the daily menu and a glass of locally produced wine.
On the first day of Bol Gourmet Week, we visited Bol’s restaurants and enjoyed a real rhapsody of tastes.
Our first stop was the restaurant – beach bar Noa, situated right on the beach. In the beautiful ambience of the restaurant, we were welcomed by friendly host David Vukota and his cheerful staff. We tasted lamb dolce garbo with polenta, leg of lamb in salsa sauce, superb grilled tuna steak with potato salad, all washed down with a glass of local wine. The leader of the gastro patrol, chef Ivan Pažanin, was delighted with the way the food was prepared, as well as the array of flavours and aromas.
In the very heart of Bol, we visited Vendetta by Vagabundo, and enjoyed some excellent fusion cuisine, which truly combined different culinary elements from two cultures for this occasion. We were delighted with the use of Brač varenik, a traditional product of the island, with tuna tartare and prawns in tempura. Everything was completed with a glass of excellent red wine which was also made on the island.
The restaurant of the Santo family, located in the middle of Bol, with a wonderful view of the sea and nearby Hvar, offers a number of traditional Dalmatian dishes, which naturally include fish and seafood. Croatian culinary connoisseur Ivan Pažanin was delighted by the story of the restaurant’s family tradition, and for this occasion he tasted mixed fish brujet with polenta and octopus with gnocchi. He rated the restaurant’s domestic wines as truly excellent.
Traditional cuisine from this beautiful island, as well as modern cuisine, are the hallmarks of the restaurant Taverna Riva, also located in the very centre of the Bol waterfront. Josip Eterović introduced us to their range of dishes during the typical weekday marenda time: white cod, lamb tripe, monkfish tripe with polenta, lamb with and potatoes, shark and stingray brudet with polenta, and Dalmatian pašticada with gnocchi are just a part of the restaurant’s offer. If you add to that offer homemade rozata and the queen of this island’s local delicacies, the “Hrapoćuša” cake, you don’t need any additional reasons to visit this delicious station.
Another tasty station in Bol that you can’t possibly miss is the Argento restaurant, known for its ready-made marendas throughout the entire year. If you want to experience the full pleasure of the environment in which you’re staying, try out their local and fresh food prepared according to traditional recipes. For Bol’s marenda week, they prepared new daily dishes every day. They included beef patties in tomato sauce, chicken ragout with macaroni, real Dalmatian pašticada and many other dishes.
Another gastro station that is included is the Ranch restaurant, which offers an excellent menu with an emphasis primarily placed on Dalmatian cuisine. Their offer for Bol Gourmet Week includes daily marendas and excellent local wines.
The Stina Winery offers discounts of 15 and 20% on Stina Opol and Stina vugava wines during Bol’s marenda week.
