Open Kitchen

Slovenia is a very diverse country. Fancy a swim in the ocean or some skiing, it will take you less than an hour to get to your desired destination and you can do it all in one day as well! Apart from the beautiful landscape, amazing lakes, numerous roads for hiking and hidden caves, with all its wonders Slovenia is however also known for its love of food…Yes, Slovenian people love to eat. Nothing can compare to sitting down and stuffing your face with some delicious traditional cooking, preferably your grandmothers while in good company and washing it all down with beer or a glass of high quality vine.

Much to your surprise, this small country has some good beer – to which there is a festival devoted every year and some amazing vine from Slovenias’ finest vineyards. I love vine  and even thought I am absolutely positive there are some amazing  bottles out there for me to try nothing from Italy or France couldn’t yet compare to what we have here. What we grow in Goriška Brda is not only quality but made by heart from the ones that grow it. Due to strict food regulations and guidelines in Slovenia, everything produced from soil is of the highest quality – even the cheapest bottle!

Slovenia has a certain passion for food thus you will find home cooking almost everywhere you go. Numerous restaurants can be found around this small little green country, some so good you will want to lick the plate – which can be a little bit awkward if you’re sitting in a restaurant surrounded by complete strangers giving your weird looks and secretly probably wishing they had the courage to do the same…All jokes aside, you would have to travel a bit and spend a few more pennies to try everything out an to make things easier for you and your wallet Slovenia now has had, for the past three years, a festival called “The open kitchen”

The open kitchen is meant to be a culinary experience for foodies or in general just people who like to eat good quality food at a reasonable price. You will pay way less for the dish you choose then you would at the actual restaurant and it is all served in one single medium portion leaving you room to try at least one more dish – which, believe me, is something you will definitely do! Imagine a freshly baked apple pie perfect on that crisp autumn day, fluffy pancakes with warm cranberry sauce lightly topped with powder sugar, chocolate fudge cakes that melt in your mouth, wild risotto with freshly picked mushrooms, vegan burgers, cooling organic lemonade with fresh mint, pad thai noodles, warm ragu with amazing homemade bread and the list just keeps going on!

Basically the event starts in March and ends with November. It usually takes place every Friday in Ljubljana city center at the fish market and other days also in Koper. The event gathers all high quality restaurants ( one with a michelin star as well ) from around Slovenia in one place for one day of the week, delivering you amazing foods at reasonable prices and an unforgettable experience for your taste buds! Imagine all your favorite foods at one place at the same time, freshly prepared by master chefs. The food not only tastes amazing, it looks good too! How could you not die and go to heaven?!

You can sit on the stairs of the old church or on furniture made from pallets. The atmosphere is revved up by good music and you can top it all with a glass of Slovenia’s finest wine or a jug of beer. After stuffing your face with good food, to get rid of that “I ate too much” feeling you can walk it off through the old town which provides some amazing shops off all kinds, take a stroll along the river or walk up to the Ljubljana castle and get the view of the capital in all it’s glory, which by the way is located right above the fish market!

Keep one thing in mind, Slovenia is very oriented towards a happy and healthy life so here you will find numerous organic, vegan and vegetarian restaurants with fresh organic ingredients, however you should know that much of Slovenias’ cuisine comes from our own land anyway 😉 The only thing missing are the famous Trojan donuts, but I will write about that some other time!

Sometimes I forget, how much I love my country. Bon Appétit!

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