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Pisto begins his search for
Croatian specialties upon reaching the 13th Century city
of Dubrovnik on the Croatian Riviera. Thanks to
continued restoration after the Serb bombings in 1991/2,
Dubrovnik has become a renown European cultural center.
This coastal area, with more than 400 species of fish,
abounds with specialty fish dishes, such as the famous
black rice with squid, or oysters from the famous oyster
beds of nearby Ston. The group then traveled into the
wine country of Peljesac, where they stayed at Grgich
Vina, the sister winery to Grgich Hills Winery in
Rutherford, California, as a guest of Mike Grgich. Here,
Chef Pisto tasted the wines from the winery's famous "crljenak"
grapes. The winery has spent considerable amounts of
money to prove these grapes are the true ancestor of the
Zinfandel grape and their hopes have been confirmed. The
itinerary also included a day in Primosten, where they
traveled into the hills to Franciscan Monastery, built
in 1391, where they dined with the Franciscan monks.
Then it was on to Velebit
Unesco Biosphere Reserve, one of the world's most
pristine natural resources, just 20 miles from Bosnia,
stock piled with little known and rare species of plant
and wildlife. The group rested at the House of Lika,
which the travel hosts proclaim is the world's biggest
log cabin. It is known not only for its food, but for
the cascading waterfalls viewed from its windows. Here,
the chef cooked for his travel companions in the
restaurant's exhibition kitchen.
Then on through the corn
fields of Vukovar, carefully avoiding the mine fields
remaining from recent war, to a small farm where the
liquor, Shnapps is produced. This area is still traveled
by horse and buggy and their regional cuisine have
changed as fast as their travel methods. Pisto sampled
country specialities such as meat soup and sour cabbage
as well as river fish, home-made cheese and, of course,
corn dishes.
On the last leg of the
journey, they reached Istra County where, it is said,
the best white truffles in the world can be found. It is
this destination that enticed the chef to make the
journey in the first place. Here, the town's 5000
residents earn money picking this delicacy for
distribution under the Vigante brand, the nation's only
exporter. The Chef hunted for these delicate mushrooms
with an experienced guide. As a mushroom aficionado,
this is an adventure the chef has dreamed about for
years. |
