Finally, we see some great promotion of Croatia during large sports events. Congrats to the Ministry of tourism, Croatian National Tourist Board and partners on a great initiative. Keep it up!
On the eve of the big game between Croatia and Spain on June 21, 2016, Croatian Ministry of tourism got together with the National Croatian Tourist Board and the chefs from Jadranka group hotels in Losinj to present the gastro offer of Croatia to representatives of the French media, travel agencies and various dignitaries.
Gala dinner was organized in the chateau restaurant Le Prince Noir in Bordeaux, and during the dinner, Olivera Shejbal, assistant to the minister of tourism stated: “Football and tourism connect people, they break down barriers and bring joy to our lives by taking us back to our roots. Both Croatia and France have a long standing tradition both in football and tourism. France is the tourism champion, just like French football is among the best in the world. France is an extremely important market for Croatia and even though the current numbers fro this market are great, there’s always potential for growth, and promotional activities like this one are always a good opportunity for it”.
Croatian presentation was held in one of the best restaurants in Bordeaux, the spectacular chateau Le Prince Noir, with one Michelin star which was won by their main chef Vivien Durand. For the first time, characteristics of Croatian cuisine were presented in such a renowned temple of French gastronomy. Three chefs from Jadranka Group hotels were in charge of presenting Croatia in the very best way – Melkior Bašić, Ivan Kapitanić, and Zlatko Bleužić. They chose original cCroatian ingredients and prepared traditional dishes in order to bring Croatian gastronomy closer to their French guests. Among other things, guests were able to enjoy top-notch delicacies such as boskarin carpaccio, marinated monkfish fillet, Kvarner scampi tartar, lobster buzzara with flavoured cream polenta and asparagus from Losinj. All dishes were, of course, perfectly paired with and impressive list of the very best Croatian wines.
Vivian Durand, head chef of Le Prince Noir is no stranger to Croatia. He visited Split and Solta on a few occasions and praises the Croatian cuisine: “The selection and quality of the ingredients used is excellent and world class” he said after the presentation adding that this is just the beginning of a great cooperation between French and Croatian chefs because presentations like this one are an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences in high gastronomy.
It is great to see that the Ministry and Tourist board are using the EURO 2016 as a great opportunity to promote Croatia, since this is something we failed to do in many large sports events in the past, especially during the World Cup in 2014 in Brasil when Croatia was playing the opening game against the host nation and that was a match that was watched by almost 1 billion viewers across the globe.
This gastro presentation is just one of many planned events during EURO 2016. As a part of the event European Square which is taking place in Paris, Croatia is presenting its offer in its own pavilion, so if you are in Paris these days, pop in, say hello, and you could win a summer holiday in Croatia or pick up one of many postcards signed by Croatian football players.
