We had a wonderful evening with Lidjia at her home looking out high over the city of Zagreb—delicious food over four courses, fun and interesting conversation, and warm welcoming home and hostess.

Meal

I had a wonderful experience with Željka! It was a beautiful sunny day, we met at the Dolac market and enjoyed a stroll through the market stands filled with vivid colours of fresh fruits and vegetables. Željka is a very cool, relaxed and easygoing person and we began talking about travelling and food right away - and since we both love travelling and food, we had a lot of topics to talk about while photographing the whole experience. After our visit to the market where we bought a lot of fresh, organic ingredients, we enjoyed a beautiful stroll through some of the most iconic places in Zagreb on the way to her place - Ban Jelacic Square, famous Ilica street and Britanac Square. Željka’s apartment is settled right in the center of Zagreb, just a minute away from Britanac Square. I was pleasantly surprised with her spacious place that looked very traditional and very “Zagreb-like” - especially the dining hall which was beautifully decorated - the setting of the hall looked like from another century, with big wooden tables, dimmed lights, beautiful table cloth and china which Željka inherited from her grandma. There was also a piano, which Željka’s son plays when they are welcoming guests. Whole atmosphere was very friendly and I felt like a part of their family - their cute dog Rocky was also welcoming me to their home. Željka cooked us traditional Zagreb lunch: “ajngemahtec” (a delicious soup with chicken, lots of chopped vegetables and dumplings), which was amazing! She also prepared fried chicken, “rizi-bizi” (rice with onions and peas, which I really liked because it was very yummy and it reminded me of childhood since my grandma used to prepare it for me often when I was little). For dessert we had “jabuke u šlafruku” - sliced apples fried in a pancake-like dough, sprinkled with some sugar and cinnamon - they were so good that I stopped counting how many of them I ate! Seriously, I was a little embarrassed since I couldn’t stop eating them :) I had a wonderful time and I would definitely recommend Željka as a host and cook to everybody. Although I’m from Croatia, I travel a lot and prefer international cuisines, Željka reminded me why Croatian cuisine is so good! And bringing somebody to his/hers childhood memories with a plate full of delicious, home cooked meal is really something priceless. Thank you for that, Željka!

Meal

Cooking Experience

Market Tour