Culinary Croatia - Culinary Programs

Olive Oils of Istria

Explore Olive Oils of Istria!

The story of Chiavalon is the story of a boy who followed his grandfather into an olive grove. Enchanted by the olive’s slow growth, immense beauty and many gifts to those willing to work hard to reap them, the boy set out to continue his grandfather’s legacy. Thanks to the support of the entire family, Chiavalon today picks olives from over 7.500 olive trees, gaining international awards every step of the way. Between the listing on the prestigious Flos Olei list “Top olive oils of the world”, to the spot among the top 25 eco-olive oils by World’s Best Olive Oils, Chiavalon oils are the ones to take home from Istria.

Olive Oils of Istria

Explore Olive Oils of Istria!

Dubrovnik Olive Oil Tasting

Olive Grove Groove!

Katja, your olive tasting host, is many things, but the commom thread to all is her infinite love of beauty. By vocation, Katja is a hair stylist – best known for her keenness on healthy and natural products. Living in Trsteno, just by the stunning Botanical Garden, she tends a beautiful garden herself, filling it with local veggies but also unique plants. She enjoys creating feasts of fresh seasonal ingredients, and teaching the curious abut local traditions in her cooking classes. But the most beautiful thing about Katja is her warm smile, which will make all the difference when you visit her.

Dubrovnik Olive Oil Tasting

Olive Grove Groove!

Zadar Cooking Class

Let's Cook in Zadar!

The town of Zadar, with its many culinary traditions, owns much of its fresh fare to the green region in its backdrop, known as Ravni Kotari. This fertile bit of the Dalmatian coast is a heaven for gardening and fruit growing, and remains largely oriented to agriculture in the present day, feeding not only the region, but also much of Croatia. From livestock fairs to international gallop races, the traditional lifestyles thrive here. But Ravni Kotari also abounds in diverse historical sites, vividly illustrating the region’s exciting history. Among others, you will find the pre-Roman Asseria, the Venetian tower Osridak and the Turkish Maškovića Han sites around here.

Zadar Cooking Class

Let's Cook in Zadar!

Wines of Pelješac

Party Like it is 1520!

One of the younger Croatian winemakers, and an incredibly personable one, Mario Bartulović might just be the best possible spokesman for getting you all enthralled with Pelješac and its traditions. Firmly convinced in the region’s potential, Mario is one of those people who resorted back to the peninsula after living in Dubrovnik for a couple of years. He was missing exactly the aspects he will get you all excited about: organically grown food prepared by his mother and sister, peninsula’s engaging nature, rewarding action around the vineyards and the ultimate magic of producing wines from grapes grown in 16 different Pelješac positions.

Wines of Pelješac

Party Like it is 1520!

Truffle Hunt

Try the Elusive Delicacy!

Buried deep in clay, entangled in the roots of oaks, the Istrian truffles have for long remained a secret well-kept from the world. While their counterparts from Alba and Piedmont regions reaped international fame, the Istrian truffle market remained largely government-controlled throughout the 20th century. But as Croatia marked its spot on the travelers’ bucket lists, the Istrian truffle hunt became one of its hallmark experiences. The peninsula’s potato-like mushroom made it to some other lists too, topping the one of the most expensive truffle ever sold, for the 1.31kg white truffle found in the forest around Motovun in 1999, which auctioned for 330.000USD.

Truffle Hunt

Try the Elusive Delicacy!

The Bibich Experience

Feel the Bibich Experience!

Meet the pioneer of contemporary Croatian winemakers, Alen Bibić. His name often comes attached to the famous regional white wine, Debit, that he himself brought back from the realm of table wines, adorning it with newfound respect. Alen obviously did something right when he revived his grandfather’s vineyards which were decimated during the 1990’s war, as his revolutionary blends soon made him the first Croatian winemaker to export to the US. His passion and knowledge on wine production, as well as the gourmet magic he creates in tandem with his wife Vesna, were recognized by Anthony Bourdain, resulting in Bibich and Skradin being featured as one of the Croatian highlights on the famous ‘No Reservations’.

The Bibich Experience

Feel the Bibich Experience!

Oysters of Ston

Wanna Shuck Some Oysters?

The territory around the town of Ston was acquired by the Dubrovnik Republic in the 14th century. The reason: the historic salt pans, which had existed already during the Roman times. As the only food preserve in that time, salt had immense value, equivalent to gold. One kilogram of salt was traded for one kilogram of gold! It is for this reason that the Republic first secured the area from the neighbors, by constructing 4.3 miles of city walls, stretching as far as the harbor of Mali Ston. 57 pools provided for almost ⅓ of the Republic’s income, while the salt from the 58th pool, named Mundo, was distributed to poor people free of charge.

Oysters of Ston

Wanna Shuck Some Oysters?

Olive Picking

Picking olives is fun!

In Croatia, olive growing is as old as the Greeks! The earliest production can be traced 2.400 years back in history, at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site of Stari Grad Plain on the island of Hvar. The oldest 1.600-years-old tree lives in Brijuni, but if you want to hug more than one, head to the olive groves of Lun, on the island of Pag. This spectacular orchard houses multiple trees over 1000-years-old, some with trunks as intricate as Pag lace. But if you just want a good time in nature, pick a region along the Croatian coast and join an olive harvest!

Olive Picking

Picking olives is fun!

Tanja’s Creative Cuisine

Cook Magic With Tanja!

Originally from Karlovac, a city in northern part of Croatia, Tanja moved down to the coast for her studies, but ended up founding a family by the sea. Today she unites her north and her south in the kitchen, bringing diverse sides of the Croatian cuisine to a unique simmer. In addition to being a skilled amateur chef, Tanja is also an avid traveler, so her creations are often creative remakes of the traditional evergreens. Finally, Tanja is also a passionate food blogger and so well-versed in presenting food that you will not only be able to recreate these dishes at home but also to hold the main word at the table with stories to tell about them.

Tanja’s Creative Cuisine

Cook Magic With Tanja!

Ivona sailing and cooking class

Sailing and Cooking!

The energy of Ivona, your host, licensed skipper and chef, is contagious. Adventurous, energetic and curious, Ivona has been infatuated with the sea from as early as she can remember. She first started sailing with her father, and eventually became so good that she joined FRAPA Women’s Sailing Team where she is still an active member. Her love for the music of the seas and winds inspired the name of her sailing boat: Adriatic Melody. Ivona’s passion for the sea is complemented with her love for food, which she expresses through preparing visually compelling, simple dishes that celebrate fresh local ingredients.

Ivona sailing and cooking class

Sailing and Cooking!

In the Hillside of Dubrovnik

Cook in Konavle!

In Konavle, the land does not belong to the people, it is the other way around: the people belong to the land. “The undivided house”, as the custom is called, is the reason that sons always stayed on family estates, bringing their families to share the household of their parents. Your hosts, the family Mujo, still nurture a traditional lifestyle and three generations of their family, 18 members all together, reside on the same plot of land. Their estate ascends from the low-lying fields to the top of Konavle hills – once providing diversity of ingredients and today stunning vistas of the green Konavle valley.

In the Hillside of Dubrovnik

Cook in Konavle!

Cooking with Chef Tatjana

Cooking Magic in Trogir!

Tatjana is one of Croatia’s favorite home chefs! Featured in the Saveur magazine and Bizarre foods TV show, she has been making headlines in promoting Dalmatian cuisine and a local lifestyle made up of small wonders and harmony with the environment. Enthusiastic, passionate and incredibly curious about food, Tatjana will pass the ‘cooking bug’ onto you in no time!

Cooking with Chef Tatjana

Cooking Magic in Trogir!

Cooking class with Katja in Trsteno

Cook with Katja!

A short, half an hour driving distance from Dubrovnik, Arboretum Trsteno provides a blissful contrast to the bustling summer days of the region’s jewel. Actually, this should come as no surprise, given that it was exactly for this reason that the noble family Gozze of Dubrovnik established their estate here back in the 16th century – to enjoy their summers away from the heated stone of the Old Town and immerse in the refreshing cool of nature, inspiring views of the Elaphite islands, and no one but birds in vicinity. Having asked ship captains to bring back seeds and plants from their distant travels to enrich the expansive gardens, the family set foundation for what is today the oldest Arboretum in this part of the world, famous for its impressive Asian plane trees, over 500 years old.

Cooking class with Katja in Trsteno

Cook with Katja!

Classic Peka on Peljesac

The Secrets of Peka!

Pelješac Peninsula is often referred to as Dubrovnik’s wine empire, for the expansive vineyards and over 70 wineries – most of them boutique. But the peninsula also holds other foodie treasures, such as salt and oysters, as well as wonderful hiking trails, secluded beaches and small, rustic settlements. An ideal day-long get-away from Dubrovnik, Pelješac is also a superb detour when travelling between Split and Dubrovnik.

40-minute drive from Dubrovnik
Dingač and Postup wine regions
Korčula island just off Orebić
Great oysters, wine and salt
Traditional villages

Classic Peka on Peljesac

The Secrets of Peka!

40-minute drive from Dubrovnik
Dingač and Postup wine regions
Korčula island just off Orebić
Great oysters, wine and salt
Traditional villages

Classic Dishes of Dalmatian Countryside

Book your Cooking Class!

Towering the town of Omiš and surrounded by the peaks of the Dinaric Alps, Poljica region once thrived as an independent, forward-thinking Republic. Today, the handful of villages scattered around here is barely populated as the people massively moved down to the coast looking for an easier livelihood than the one offered by the scarce hinterland landscapes. The village Truše, where you will meet chef Rino, is a village of only a few people. Reversing the trend of moving away, Chef Rino returned to Truše after completing his culinary education and working in several restaurants. Now making an effort to infuse Truše with a new life, chef Rino invites you on a culinary journey with an insider, where he will paint the region’s identity by teaching you to prepare some of the typical local dishes. Welcome and dobar tek!

Classic Dishes of Dalmatian Countryside

Book your Cooking Class!

Wine Tour of Pelješac

Drink Wine with Mario!

Wine Tour of Pelješac

Drink Wine with Mario!

Wines of Istria

Malvazija, teran, muškat...

The first written records of Malvazija cultivation in Istria date from 1891, but the sort was probably brought over much earlier, by Venetian merchants from Greece. Known all over the Mediterranean, and especially so in Italy, this white sort of grapes thrives on the largest Croatian peninsula and has become somewhat of the Istrian wine country signature. A gem in many local winery collections, Malvazija is a true summer delight: straw yellow with hints of golden or green, and a unique flower-fruit potential, Malvazija most often features apple, plum, and apricot, but can venture all the way to acacia flower fragrances when grapes are grown on sunny hilltops.

Wines of Istria

Malvazija, teran, muškat...

Wines of Hvar

Živili on Hvar!

The longest island in Croatia, Hvar, features dynamic wine-growing landscapes around its central mountain ridge: in the north, the slopes descend into hills, and in the south to cliffs, before descending sharply into the sea. Today, however, the bird’s eye views of Hvar remind of a labyrinth, thanks to the centuries-long, persistent efforts of the islanders to expand arable land by terraces and mounds, many of these actually turned into vineyards. Hvar is blessed by the largest number of sun hours in the Adriatic, so it goes without saying that Dalmatia’s own, late-harvest, warmth-loving Plavac mali grape, enjoys a bit of a personal paradise here. Between Hvar’s steep south, hilly north, to sandy terrains and really old vines, this is the island where Plavac mali shows all its faces, and their utmost beautiful tastes.

Wines of Hvar

Živili on Hvar!

The Home of Zinfandel

Živili in Kaštela!

All lined up along the picturesque bay of Kastela, this continuous streak of seven villages, called Kastela, has really made the best of each of the different times it existed in. Inhabited since the prehistoric times, Kastela were once a Greek port, then a transit area for Roman veterans and place of leisure for Roman patricians, then a summer residence for Croatian kings, and as of recently, one of Croatian’s Game of Thrones sets! But it is actually during the Turkish invasions that they got their current form – and name – 7 forts, each as a centrepiece of one Kastela village! With a population of almost 40,000 people, and a convenient location between Split and Trogir, Kastela are at the moment a piece of heaven for sun and sea lovers, steadily growing towards becoming the Zinfandel lover’s homeport.

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