In the beautiful setting of the Idylio by Apreda restaurant in the heart of Rome, an exclusive "4 hands dinner" was held last night in organization of MICHELIN, the highly rated and well-known global guide for restaurants and the Croatian National Tourist Board. Marijo Curić, chef of the 360 restaurant in Dubrovnik and Francesco Apreda, chef of the Idylio by Apreda restaurant in Rome, were in charge of the haute-cuisine experience.
"The presentation of Croatian gastronomy in the centre of Rome and in one of the city’s most famous restaurants means a lot for the promotion and visibility of Croatia on the Italian market. When we add to that the fact that the partner of this dinner is MICHELIN, then we can conclude that our gastronomy is highly appreciated in professional circles and among top connoisseurs of the culture of food preparation", said Viviana Vukelić, Director of the CNTB Representative Office in Italy.
Among the many guests who had the opportunity to enjoy the richness of aromas and flavours, i.e. the presentation of diverse Croatian and Italian eno-gastronomy, many other partners and representatives of the Italian tourism sector, media representatives, as well as popular bloggers and influencers specialized in travel and gastronomy participated. Among the guests were Ivana Jelinić, Director of the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT), Alessandro Onorato, Head of tourism, events and sports of the City of Rome, Giuseppe de Martino, Director of the St. Regis Roma hotel, who is also one of the most famous directors of luxury hotels in the whole of Italy, representatives of the airline Vueling, the ferry company SNAV and many others. The evening was also attended by Jasen Mesić, the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Italy.
"I am honoured that I had the opportunity to promote Croatian gastronomy in Italy, and it was a special privilege that we did it in such a beautiful place and in the company of top gastronomy connoisseurs," said Croatian chef Marijo Curić, who on this occasion, among other things, prepared Viška pogača as an appetizer, mackerel which was the basis of the main course, while for dessert he prepared a grapefruit pannacotta with peanuts and passion fruit ice cream.
"It is with great pleasure that we highlight the culinary wonders of Croatia, which is also confirmed by our well-known inspectors, who year after year are amazed by the dedication of local chefs, who strive for high-quality food preparation. Croatia can be very proud of its culinary heritage, which definitely ranks it among quality food and wine destinations and gems that we bring closer to our community of international gourmets and travellers," reported the MICHELIN guide.
The menu also included dishes by Italian chef Francesco Apreda, who prepared quail egg tempura and crispy mussels for the appetizer, while for the main course he used oysters, sea urchin and cuttlefish. "I am very glad that I had the opportunity to host chef Marijo Jurić from 360 Dubrovnik right here in Rome. It is always very enriching to invite an international chef to my kitchen, because this way we can discover new techniques and ways of using ingredients", concluded chef Apreda.
We remind you that Croatia currently has 10 restaurants with one MICHELIN star, as well as two restaurants with a green MICHELIN designation, while 12 restaurants bear the Bib Gourmand label. The number of MICHELIN restaurants has been constantly increasing since 2017, when the first restaurant received its star, and we believe that this positive trend will continue in the future.
