The International Educational Gastronomic Festival "PEARL OF THE SEA" has once again justified its status as the largest culinary competition in this part of the Mediterranean. Last weekend on the premises of Waterman Svpetrvs Resort on the island of Brač, the 17th gastronomy festival "Pearl of the Sea" was held and hosted by a diverse team of professional chefs, pastry chefs, pizza masters, and tourism - catering schools. All of them weighed their knowledge and skills to the delight of many presents and with top creations of a wide range of dishes, but only the best took home medals and awards. It is important to emphasize the educational character of the event, so in the end, they were all winners in terms of invaluable experiences and advice from the top, international expert jury, including the legendary Stevo Karapanđa.
In addition to the competition of future catering workers, the event also presented commendable masterclasses, cooking shows, gastronomic exhibitions, oenological workshops, and presentations of foreign and domestic cuisines. So we could see Luca Gioell and Pavel Marco from the Associazione Cuochi di Trieste who prepared the specialties of their regional cuisines in a modern way, Sokol Prenga - one of the leading chefs in Albania who "played" with tuna, and after him, chef Kristian Kozmić continued with sardines, otherwise the author of the interesting cookbook "Primorski pijat."
Along with all other chefs who demonstrated their culinary skills in front of a wide audience, we should mention Josip Vrsalović from Brač, who presented a reinterpretation of vitalca - an ancient shepherd's dish prepared from lamb offal and topped with indigenous island product - Brač varenik. Damir Zrno, a great sommelier and charming wine presenter of the Trs winery, took care of the daily "current" issues of the duration of the event and the adequate pairing of the same with many delicacies. The first impression is the most important, and it was pure hedonism thanks to the phenomenal Della Nonna cakes from Macedonia, in which more than fifty years of tradition are woven.
To make the professional life easier for chefs, an education entitled "Modern technology in the service of a successful tourist season - the best sous-chef in the kitchen" was held where chef Željko Neven Bremec demonstrated the extraordinary capabilities of the combined oven SkyLine Electrolux Professional in which he prepared various dishes without compromising quality and safety.
"Pearl of the Sea" was organized as part of the project Establishment of a regional center of competence in the tourism and hospitality sector and co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund, whose holder is the School of Tourism and Hospitality Split.