Zagreb's Advent is richer for another gastro destination. In December, Rougemarin City in the center of Zagreb became the Journal pop up We Love Local, where fans of top gastronomic delights can taste the special We Love Xmas menu, an imaginative reinterpretation of traditional Croatian dishes in the street food variant. All these Advent and Christmas dishes are made exclusively from local foods grown and produced by small local producers in accordance with the philosophy of the We Love Local gastronomic platform.
Homemade dishes served by Journal pop up We Love Local are signed by celebrity chef Marin Medak. They come in two different servings: normal sized portions or new small plates. Gastronomy platform We Love Local, which in less than a year of its existence brought back to style local food and seasonal foods at the launch of Journal pop up We Love Local, brought together numerous lovers of top quality food, esteemed chefs, gastro journalists, foodies, food bloggers and famous Zagreb people who had the opportunity to enjoy the innovative We Love Xmas menu. Among those gathered were Iva Radic, Sasa Lozar, Suzy Josipovic, Otto Baric and many others. On trays, cold appetizers of unusual names came along: rolls of prosciutto, meadow and shepherd, candy brudet, followed by a hearty Batat soup. Immediately afterwards, the warm entrees from the We Love Xmas menu arrived: Skradin risotto, tuna paste and unusual Ramen turkey. The main dishes were Christmas duck, Lamb shank in sarma, Christmas mix and Pasta stew.
Marin Medak spiced it all up with his new Rouge Bure cocktail, created specifically for the occasion. The Medak-aged Advent Negroni consisted of carefully selected ingredients of the Rossi Istrian distillery such as Nostromo gin, Rossi Amaro Istriano and Rossi Muscat Yellow. “Living locally means living sustainably. We have to wonder if it is sustainable to eat foods from the other end of the world that are transported to us for several days in several means of transport. For this occasion we created a menu inspired by traditional Croatian dishes that are an integral part of the holiday table, but we interpreted them in an urban street food way and thus highlighted the new dimension of already known dishes, ”said Chef Marin Medak. “Ramen turkey, for example, is a Zagorje turkey that we confiscated, which is a French cooking technique and then prepared in the Japanese way. A lot of techniques are interwoven in each dish, but we still keep the adjective local because the dishes are prepared by local people from local ingredients purchased from Croatian producers, ”Medak concluded.
Tastes from the exclusive We Love Xmas menu were accompanied by Filipec wines: elegant floral-fruity Gray Pinot, ruby red Cuvee Roko and Rose Tia lady's wine. Samobor mustard of the Filipec family was found on the tables, and an evening full of good flavors was opened by their autochthonous Samobor aperitif Bermet Filipec, a flavored wine of bitter-sweet taste, which has been prepared for two centuries from selected grape varieties from the sunniest hillsides of Samobor Highlands, wormwood, southern fruit and gripping master secrets. You could also enjoy the oldest and most famous Badel premium herbal liqueur - Antique Pelinkovac, which since 1862 has been produced in the same traditional way, according to the original recipe, of 100% natural ingredients.
The local brandy Hedonica, a product of the Samobor boutique distillery, was also tasted. Members of the OPG Mahovic have won medals at numerous international competitions for Perun wine and Imperial Karamut brandy based on Pear Pear. Guests tasted Hedonica Rosehip brandy brandy and Light Fragrance brandy based on fragrant apple, aged for two years in oak barrels. Natural products made from eco-certified blueberries, made by OPG Lisjak from Šenkovac, came to the fore. Served with: Eco Blueberry Jam with Sugar, Eco Blueberry Jam with Sugar, Eco Lavender and Blueberry Syrup, Blueberry and Cocoa Topping and Red Hot Blue Sweet and Hot Sauce. The oils were from olive makers Skrobica from Dalmatia, from Ciovo and cookies from Zagreb's Bells Catering, which recently celebrated its 25th birthday. These were Finanziers, nuts cookies that were named after an interesting story. Parisian brokers were looking for a dessert that was eaten off their feet rather than getting their fingers dirty, and so the original Finanzier was created, a cookie shaped like a gold bar. Over time, the shape changed, but Finanzier remained equally popular.
From the adventurous gastronomic gathering of the We Love Local project, guests brought home a goody bag containing Master's Artisan by Rougemarin chocolate flavored hazelnut - kulen, for lovers of real chocolate, Red Hot Blue Blueberry Sauce and Chilli Pepper OPG Lisjak, traditionally Hedonica brandies produced, Bells of Catering Finanzieri cookies, hazelnuts brand Natura from Marjan fruit and must have a schedule for 2020 portal Journal.hr. About a year ago, We Love Local was launched by the marketing agency Alert and lifestyle portal Journal.hr, with the support of two top chefs, connoisseurs and gastronomic visionaries Marin Medak, owner Rougemarin and Rudolf Stefan, owner of Michelin star restaurant Pelegrini, and host of Chefs' Stage and the founder of the Budi Foodie Foundation. They called their then new project We Love Local, which is a platform that connects small local growers and food producers with restaurants that serve the finest local prepared foods.