Porto Gastro Festival spectacle of flavours and light
Rijeka got a new eno-gastro stage at the end of the summer, and last night Lučica Kantrida shone for the first time in a completely new guise. The first edition of the Porto Gastro Festival - Food Experience brought together renowned Croatian chefs, Kvarner winemakers, craft breweries, distilleries and producers of indigenous products, transforming the famous seaside area into a meeting place for contemporary gastronomy, local tradition and festival production.
"The Porto Gastro Festival confirms in the best way how important gastronomy is to the identity and tourism offer of Kvarner. We are proud that through the project Kvarner - European Region of Gastronomy we are highlighting the wealth of local ingredients and the knowledge and creativity of the people who create the gastronomic story of Kvarner", emphasized the director of the Kvarner Tourist Board, Marijana Kalčić, adding that the festival brings exactly what Kvarner wants to offer its guests - an authentic experience of the region, top-notch gastronomy and an atmosphere that connects the sea, local flavors and contemporary gastronomy.
The Porto Gastro Festival is conceived as a gastro street where the flavors of Kvarner can be smelled, and at the center of the festival program is the Chef Stage, a place where chefs who shape contemporary Croatian gastronomy with their work meet. On the first evening of the festival, Stiven Vunić, chef and owner of the Zijavica restaurant in Mošćenička Draga, presented his creations. He arrived in Rijeka as the current Chef of the Year 2026 according to Gault&Millau Croatia, while Zijavica also carries a Michelin recommendation.
He was joined by Katarina Vrenc, who was previously named Young Talent of the Year by Gault&Millau, and whose work was further confirmed by the award for Young Chef of the Year, and Marin Pleše, the Michelin-recommended chef of Vila Rova, who was named Young Talent of the Year by Gault&Millau in 2024, and this year won the prestigious MICHELIN Young Chef Award. For just 15 euros, this creative trio offered a special gastronomic experience - shrimp soup, buzara mussels and sea bass in salt - simple traditional Kvarner flavors combined with modern ingredients. The queue in front of this corner is proof of the enthusiasm that prevailed among the visitors - everyone wanted to taste or repeat this fusion of flavors.
In the Porto Gastro Festival program, Katarina Vrenc will show her gastronomic skills on the Chef stage, as she did yesterday, and will be joined by Gabriela Filca, chef of the Michelin-starred Nebo in Rijeka and the first Croatian woman to win the MICHELIN Young Chef Award, and Robert Benzia, owner of Ganeum Food & Wine Bar in Lovran and winner of the Gault&Millau Great Chef of Tomorrow trophy. In addition to the aforementioned chefs, the gastronomic outlets of Damnjan Draganić, chef of the Michelin-recommended Dida restaurant in Crikvenica, Željko Markus, chef and owner of the Kastav Oštarija Fortica, Darjan Urdih, executive chef behind the BRKO De Cuisine brand and also an OFYR grill ambassador, and the team of the Rijeka Konoba Ribica s Kantrida.
The gastronomic story was also accompanied by glasses full of local flavors. Kvarner Wines - an association that brings together Kvarner winemakers - also participated in this wonderful gastronomic event, presenting itself with eleven wineries and confirming how important wine is to the identity of this region. Visitors could also get to know the Rijeka craft scene through King's Brew and Brk Lee Brewery, while the indigenous story of the Kvarner region was presented by the Suza distillery.
A special place was also given to the popular Cannella, a Kvarner liqueur made according to a traditional recipe. It is precisely this connection between wine, food, local products and space that the Porto Gastro Festival wants to put in the foreground - gastronomy here is not just what is put on the plate, but a story about people, landscape, tradition and contemporary creativity. Porto Gastro is held as part of the Kvarner - European Region of Gastronomy project, and is part of the UN Taste the Place - Kvarner 2026 program, and is realized by the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Tourist Board of the City of Rijeka, the Tourist Boards of the Rijeka Ring, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the City of Rijeka, the Croatian Tourist Board, the Kantrida Sports Fishing Association and the Inspiro Lab agency.
Along with modern interpretations by famous chefs, the festival also opened up space for the gastronomic heritage of Rijeka and the Rijeka Ring. Special points featured Bakar baškot, the traditional bread of Bakar sailors, the iconic Grobnik polenta kompirica performed by the Palentar Association, Cremium gelato with unusual combinations of flavors such as Grobnik cheese, the legendary Bakarska vodica, Kostrena cake, an indigenous edible souvenir of Kostrena, and Mendulača, a traditional dessert made according to a traditional recipe from Šmrika. These products reminded us that the gastronomy of Kvarner did not come into being yesterday. It is the result of centuries of life by the sea, in the hinterland and on the islands, and today it is receiving a new interpretation through the work of young chefs, producers and caterers.
Kantrida Harbour became the festival's scenography. The well-known area, which the people of Rijeka know well and to which many associate their own memories, has been given a complete makeover. More than 200 lighting elements transformed the space, and a particularly anticipated moment occurred at 9 p.m., when the complete festival lighting was turned on. Light was not only used to create an attractive backdrop - it became part of the entire experience, connecting the sea, boats, wooden shacks, gastro points and the festival scenography.
"The Porto Gastro Festival will be held on August 29 and 30 in Lučica Kantrida, in the immediate vicinity of the Kantrida Stadium, and the first evening already showed the ambition of the festival. We combined the best that Kvarner has on a plate and in a glass with a space that has a strong local character. We brought together nine chefs, eleven Kvarner wineries and told the eno-gastro story of Kvarner in one place" - said Vedran Babić from Inspiro Lab, the festival producer.
Photo: Nikola Zoko
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