Michelin trip Slovenia
Slovenia: it might not be the first land you think of when mentioning ‘haute cuisine’, but don’t let that preconception fool you. You would be missing out on so much! This country is really upcoming in terms of organic food, (natural) wines and Michelin stars. So let’s go!
Meeting the best female chef in the world: Ana Roš at Hiša Franko
I’ve been looking forward to this for so long. Meeting chef Ana from the famous Hiša Franko. A restaurant with 3 Michelin stars, listed on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for ages and the star of the Netflix series Chef’s Table. Can you understand why I’m this excited?
We arranged a nanny for Oscar for the day, so we could really take our time and make this a culinary date for the two of us. When driving on the winding roads on our way to the restaurant, we admired the beautiful Slovenian landscape. Everything is so untouched by human hand.
The restaurant is located in Soca Valley. It’s set at the foothills of the surrounding mountains, next to the emerald river. And that’s exactly where chef Ana gets her ingredients from. To Ana, it’s all about following nature. Furthermore, her cuisine is said to be a reflection of herself: her inspirations, impressions, travels and memories.
Chef Ana has prepared the ‘50 Shades of Life’ menu for us. 50, because it’s the 50th anniversary of Hiša Franko ánd of Ana herself. Reason enough to celebrate with a glass of delicate, lacto-fermented Chardonnay Champagne, if you ask us.
We get to choose our favorite wine pairing arrangement to go with the 14 courses. The ‘Funky’ wine pairing attracts us the most. Bring on those funky wines, sommelier!
After we cleaned our hands with local cleansing moss (yes, moss) and we had our (mind-blowing) amuses, the menu can really take off. Small, elegant, fresh dishes to more robust, intense ones. All kinds of food passes by, but they have one thing in common: this is high-end. There are contradictions and surprises, but everything is so well thought of and no ingredient is placed without a specific reason. Very refined and balanced.
The dishes that stand out to us most were the one of plum, beans, almond and bay leaf milk (silky soft yet popping in the mouth) and the 2-days dried trout, brown butter fish sauce and horseradish. We also really loved how Ana made a tribute to her father, with whom she’s had an interesting relationship with because of their parent’s being unsupported of her pursuing a culinary career, by the main course of roebuck, oyster, kiwi, beetroot and greens from the mountain farm. Her father is a hunter and the roebuck is referring towards that. There’s a roebuck antler hanging on the wall of the restaurant as well.
Our extensive lunch ends with melon. Just melon. But how come it tastes so complex and fantastic then? Cooking has really been elevated to a mysterious, true art here at Hiša Franko.
Grič
A Michelin restaurant and an animal farm - yes, that’s possible. At restaurant Grič, the themes are: untamed, homegrown and green. It’s a family owned restaurant, where humility and gratitude for nature are of high value.
First, we are invited to come see the animal farm on a 10 minute drive from the restaurant. Nejc takes us there by car. When we arrive, we see about 150 ducks, happily quacking and wobbling around on the giant piece of land. They can go wherever, but since they have everything here, they simply choose to stay here. Nejc tells us they’re busy creating an insect farm as well, so they can feed the ducks in a 100% natural way. It’s so beautiful to see how deep respect chef Luka and his team have for the animals and how they are so well-treated.
At Grič, they’re devoted to sustainability and only choosing local ingredients for their dishes. The leftovers from the restaurant are meant for their animal farm and herbal gardens.
After we get back from the farm and can sit down at our table, overlooking the herbal garden, the menu can start. The appetizers are so intense (aubergine, truffles and many more bites with a high level of umami), we’re a bit scared of what will come next. How will they top these flavors with the rest of the menu? However, chef Luka manages to hold our attention from the beginning till the end. Stracciatella cheese with pineapple, a beautiful snail dish (did you know snails could be pretty?) and the most tender piece of meat we ever had. All dishes are combined with a rare (natural) wine, coming from the less known local winemakers. One word: wow.
I really loved how child-friendly the staff was. Oscar was so welcome! Even though we would have appreciated him not throwing all silver spoons on the floor, but oh well.
Dining at Grič means ane evening full of entertainment. They certainly know what a dining experience is. The way you get to experience the farm and fields where all ingredients on your plate come from, really levels up the impressive experience.