23 January 2019 - The BBC’s Good Food project has announced its list of “top 10 destinations for foodies 2019”, with Ljubljana making an appearance at #3. Illustrated with a picture of the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation and Dragon Bridge, as taken from Fishmarket Footbridge (one of the best photo spots in town, as noted here), the attractions of the city are described as follows:
Small but perfectly formed, the so-called 'Europe in miniature' is so much more than that. Slovenia’s food culture is little bit Eastern European, a little bit Alpine, a little bit Med, but very much its own thing, too. The tiny capital, Ljubljana, has hipster coffee spots and killer burger joints but also cosy old country restaurants where rustic cuisine reigns supreme. Think: pršut (air-dried ham), zlikrofi (a ravioli-like pasta filled with herby pork), and indulgent gibanica cake (a blend of shortbread and fruity strudel) – dishes that are plentiful in beautiful lake and mountain towns like Bohinj and Bled. Chefs like Ana Roš are leading the charge for inventive Michelin-starred Slovenian cuisine, and there’s a little stretch of coast, too, where simple shellfish and fish carpaccio dishes are a fresh counterpoint to hearty inland eats.
While global travellers may be surprised to see the tiny capital of Slovenia ahead of such vast areas of culinary delights as the whole of Japan, placed at #8, the ranking is a welcome addition to the growing body of work drawing attention to the varied cuisine that’s available in this small but topographically, climatically and agriculturally diverse land. Indeed, Slovenia’s 24 gastronomic regions, for too long neglected by gourmets, gourmands, foodies and the culinary elite, seem to be preparing for some time in the spotlight. As part of the 2017–2021 Strategy for the Sustainable Growth of Slovenian Tourism (PDF), the tourist board has defined Slovenian gastronomy as one of the ten leading tourist products of the nation, one that can help in both leading visitors to some of the less trafficked parts of the country, as well as help promote tourism in all four seasons. The country is also preparing for its year as a European Region of Gastronomy in 2021, as reported last year.
The BBC’s top 10 destinations for foodies 2019 are as follows:
- Matera in Italy
- Amsterdam
- Ljubljana
- The South Aegean islands in Greece
- Yorkshire in the UK
- Corsica
- Pittsburgh in the US
- Japan
- Peru
- Ethiopia.
The full story, with all the details, can be read here, while our growing collection of road-tested Slovenian recipes can be found here
