The unique island gastro story was started in 2017, and this year’s festival will be the fifth edition. The festival is held all over the town (and some locations on the island, outside of the confines of Korčula town), and this year they are offering a variety of visits by famous chefs, lectures, workshops, just hanging out with the people in the industry, exhibitions, fairs and thematic evenings, and you will also get to discover the secrets of the autumn on the tastiest island in the Mediterranean.
Some traditions are tastier than others, and the autumn on the plates of the people of Korčula is a good enough reason to visit. Previously, the festival was held in the spring, but the brief autumn version of the festival held (courtesy of the pandemic) in 2020 led the organisers to explore the season of grape and olive picking again this year. This year, the restaurants involved in the festival are Fillipi, Radiona, Lešić Dimitri, Cupido, Nigra, konobas Mate and Škafetin and traditional producers Eko škoj.
If you’re following the scene in Korčula, you might recognize that there is a restaurant with a Michelin star on the list (Lešić Dimitri restaurant), with two other Michelin-recommended establishments from Korčula also participating in the festival: Fillipi and Konoba Mate. The effort to brand the island on the national and global scene, with restaurants supporting each other in their work and cooperating in the organisation of such a festival can only be applauded.
Thanks to the Pjatance, the island of Korčula has seen a lot of education in terms of the most recent trends in modern gastronomy. In the last four festivals, most of the star chefs in Croatia held workshops or shared their experiences, including David Skoko, Hrvoje Zirojević, Dino Galvagno and Rudolf Štefan, chocolate maker Stiv Kahlina and many others.
This year’s opening on the well-known Rotonda will bring together the islands of Hvar, Brač, Šolta and Vis, and their products will be offered at the fair, organized in cooperation with LAG 5. The cult restaurant Planjak in Korčula, a locals’ favorite, will try to teach the visitors the island art of “marendavanje” (translating “marenda” is not easy. Words marenda and gablec are used in different versions of Croatia for basically the same thing, a meal that can be compared to what would be called “brunch” in English, but it’s definitely NOT that. You need to come to Korčula to learn if you want to know more). The masterclass lectures will be held by the famed chef Igor Jagodić and pastry chef Tea Mamut, and there will be a workshop on collecting the herbs on the island, led by the curator Sani Sardelić. There will be a few wine workshops held, as well as lectures on olive oil, protecting and branding of various island products, beekeeping etc.
Daniela Jelinčić, PhD of the Institute for development and international relations will present her scientific findings to the public for the first time, in her lecture on the science and art of the experience of food. And, this year, after being closed for many years, a part of the festival’s program will be held in the newly renovated Blue Club nightclub/bar, which will be open to the public after many years.
Themed dinners will be held in many restaurants with affordable prices: Kevin Bonello, a chef from Malta will work with Marko Gajski from Lešić Dimitri, and Igor Jagodić and Tea Mamut will also work together. There will also be an exhibition of works by Tisja Kljaković Braić in the Town Park in Korčula, mostly dedicated to the food.
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