Proving once again that Istria is the foremost culinary and wine destination in Croatia, the Meneghetti team put on a truly unique show
The Meneghetti Wine Hotel – formerly the Stancija Meneghetti in the small town Bale nearby Rovinj on the Istrian peninsula – is a truly unique hotel and very special place, which I have known since the moment the owner, attorney Miroslav Plišo and his wife Romana Kajfež began realizing their long dream of an estate with vineyards and olive groves. Years went by, the story of Meneghetti grew, with excellent wines, oils, sparklings and the Stancija entered the circle of the best, chosen hotels of the prestigious chain Relais Chateau.
On the tenth day of March, under the guidance of director Suzana Vrtičević-Tica and with the aid of the creative event management agency Eures Tim and Martina Tretinjak Dananić, a new cycle began at Meneghetti. The project elevates the already highly esteemed dinners and gastronomy in Meneghetti to a truly new level. It was named the Meneghetti Dinner as a Magical New Experience – and it truly was. Meant for true aficionados of superior gastronomy sensation, it will surely be remembered by its special and magical atmosphere, excellent food, fine wines, and a complete experience for the two dozen lucky guests. The dinner was unique not only in the mandatory black and white dress code, but also due to wonderful masks which were also a gift to guests and a required fashion accessory, and due to the mystery menu.
The exclusive impression of the dinner was contributed by the hotel personnel dressed in elegant suits, with professional and special dedication to each guest. The dinner was envisioned by Meneghetti chefs Danijela Pifar and Bojan Vuković and it began with a superior sparkling Meneghetti Classic 2015 in Magnum bottles. The first meal was named Magic Touch, a beef tartar with baked bacon and lard leafs with a Kuća Glavić Rose 2016. The tartar had an especially good meat structure, fermented just enough, and spiced perfectly. Next came the Black Queen, a dense cream soup from Adriatic cuttlefish, where an important element where thermally processed pieces of lemon which gave the soup a fantastic freshness, joined by the excellent Meneghetti White 2015. The name of the next meal was The Art of the Sea, a sea bass filet with a ‘stone’ fish sauce and white polenta and parsley oil pearls, combined with the Meneghetti White 2016. The meal named Journey Through the New Experience was a 48h marinated beefsteak with a young potato chips combined with the award winning Meneghetti Red 2011. This dish asked for the guest to be an active participant in preparation. The plate was filled with excellent potato chips and fantastic sauce, with each guest receiving several pieces of sliced beefsteak, a volcanic stone slab and special tweezers for baking meat. Definitely an experience! Even for those who don’t have a sweet tooth, the Illusion of Taste desert was a definite artistic and sensory experience. It was a fantastic celery and gin tonic sorbet on toasted hazelnuts which were an excellent addition and gave it desirable crunchiness. In the end, the Tree of Life, an incredible chocolate artistic work by confectioner Dragana Lovrić Kovačević made of olive oil ice cream, black olive crumble, dark chocolate and olive oil mousse,
As this was not only a dinner but a theater of sorts, with a DJ and excellent music to add spice to the mingling and food, performers entertained guest between courses. Perfectly in tune with light effect and multimedia program, their moves, dance and voices made all present feel truly special. Almost like in the Fifth Element by Luc Besson, when the Plava laguna opera singer performs somewhere in space. It should be aid and noted this culinary-wine-media-art show was both spectacular and discrete, unimposing so the show did not play the main role. Every detail was taken care of, so even the cookies served with the sparkling wine in the beginning were in the shape of masks. The evening ended with an excellent gin from the Istrian Karbun Distillery Aura. As soon as this delightful evening ended, the organizational team had a working meeting on continuing this lovely story and new adventures of meals, drinks and art under the Meneghetti name. Bravo.
