Wine & gastro trip
Gourmets and gastronomes, do we have a treat for you! Get to know Croatia’s capital through the lens of food and participate in a cooking class where you’ll be making traditional dishes from our continental cuisine.
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Croatian cuisine is very diverse. Pretty much every region of Croatia has its own culinary tradition, which is not necessarily well known in other parts of the country. The continental part of the cuisine, which is the focus of this trip, is heavily influenced by neighbouring countries and nations — Austrian, German, Hungarian and in parts even Turkish — and is well established in our capital.
You’ll get to know Zagreb through a journey of flavours and aromas, sampling delicacies and interacting with locals that have something to do with food, like the local vendors in the largest farmer’s market. But you’ll also attend a fun workshop where you’ll get hands-on experience in preparing authentic local lunch dishes.
You will shop at Dolac, Zagreb’s largest farmers’ market. You need to get all the ingredients for a typical local lunch. Your instructor will be there to help you out
Prosciutto, premium olive oil, and wine from coastal Croatia are all exceptional but prepare yourself for spicy Kulen, traditional Croatian sausage made of minced pork
Try some cakes and coffee in the bustling downtown, or go grab a beer in one of many craft beer houses and pubs
In the culinary studio you’ll assume the role of a chef and prepare a simple Dalmatian marenda
Locals usually have a specific market vendor (kumica), butcher or a fruit seller that they keep returning to at the Dolac market, and call them “their own”. The friendly bond between them is usually what makes the fruit taste sweeter, vegetables healthier, cheese creamier and meat more delicious. While your stay may not be long enough to bond with one yourself, you’ll visit the Dolac market twice during this trip and both times accompanied by market regulars: first time as part of the culinary class in a quest to get your ingredients, and second time as part of the foodie tour that will include the indoors part of the market as well.
After arriving to Zagreb and checking in to your 4-star hotel, take some time to get to know the city. Stroll down the beautiful Zrinjevac park to downtown, and afterwards visit the Zagreb Eye viewpoint at the top of the skyscraper overlooking the ban Jelačić square.
You will be dining at the national restaurant Vinodol in the very centre of the city, which is a primary destination when it comes to traditional specialties of continental and Mediterranean cuisine.
After dinner, we recommend that you visit some of the beer houses/pubs of Zagreb craft scene. They found their home in Opatovina, the ancient part of the city. The warmest and the most charming among them is Tolkien’s House, offering around 90 different types of beer, most popular of which are Zmajsko, Nova Runda, Fischer’s and Weizen Vitus. Another great place is the Craft Room, just a few doors down from Tolkien’s House, which offers more than a hundred local and foreign craft beers such as Zeppelin Weizenbock, Zuur Buckthorn, smoked beer Smog Rocket, Witbier etc. And if you’re going for hat trick in the neighbourhood, visit the Mali Medo (The Small Bear) bar in Tkalčićeva street and try their fantastic beers Grička vještica (The Witch of Grič), Crna kraljica (The Black Queen) and Zlatni medo (The Golden Bear).
You’ll have your breakfast at the hotel and then you’ll head over to the location of the workshop (no transfers). During the next 3 to 4 hours the food expert will take you to visit Dolac (some 40 minutes) and have some sample testing, Zagreb’s largest farmers’ market. During the cooking class, the food expert is going to provide individual support to each attendee, so you can count on getting lots of good advice and learning new culinary techniques while making those dishes. After the meals have been prepared, you’ll have time to eat, socialize, sample everyone else's dishes, and taste a glass of white wine typical for the Zagreb region.
The dishes will be (possible changes according to your preferences, i.e. vegetarian):
Eingemachtes, a thick invigorating soup made of chicken meat, giblets and root vegetables
Pork tenderloin stuffed with prunes in creamy sauce with pasta traditional apricot- or apple strudel, made the way that Croatian grandmothers used to make them.
After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll embark on a foodie walking tour of Zagreb (app. 4 hours) led by an experienced gastronome. You will immerse into the fresh scents at Dolac, taste of soft and hard cheeses, traditional regional salamis, and eat typical savoury appetizer štrukli in nearby bistro. Then you will have the chance to visit the 200-years old cellar. In an easy-going and relaxed atmosphere you will sample: Croatian indigenous wines paired with local finger food: prosciutto, salami, olive-oil, pumpkin seed oil and bread.
For lunch you will enjoy the duck with mlinci – home-made pastry, containing no yeast, baked and then broken into smaller pieces. The tour will end with cake and coffee in the bustling downtown, and you have the rest of the afternoon free. During the entire tour, your guide will talk about history and gastronomy to round up the entire experience.
If you do get hungry in the evening, we recommend that you visit one of the oldest Zagreb restaurants, Baltazar. You will find it in the old curia of Kaptol, not far from the Cathedral; it looks like a quiet yard in the city centre, and it’s known for its top-quality continental cuisine specialties that are always augmented with seasonal produce (i.e. asparagus and artichokes in late spring, or penny buns and chanterelles in autumn).
After breakfast, check out from the hotel. Should you have more time, drink your morning coffee like a genuine local at the Flower Square (Preradovićev Square), also called “the living room of Zagreb”.
We will double-check availability and make reservations for your rooms, restaurants, guides etc.
With reservations confirmed, we will prepare the best offer possible in regard to your arrival date & party size
You will get the offer via e-mail, along with the payment options. Feel free to request further customisations!
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