At the Festival of Waiters, Baristas, Bartenders and Restaurants in Split

Thanks to my work as a journalist and blogger, I sometimes find myself not only at some unforeseen destinations, but also in some unforeseen positions. Such was the case in November 2024, when I received an invitation to join the jury at the Grand Gourmet – Festival and Competition of Waiters, Baristas, Bartenders and Restaurants, organized by the Association of Chefs from the Mediterranean and European Regions (ŠKMER). This event marked the symbolic end of the 2024 tourist season in Croatia.

The 10th anniversary edition of the Festival took place in Split at the Amphora Hotel. It was attended by waiters, baristas, bartenders and teams from hotels and restaurants, as well as students from hotel and tourism schools.

I have to say that I was not bored for a moment. The festival also included various lectures, workshops, trainings, masterclasses and presentations.

For example, the presentation of two specialties – kulen salami (from Stojković family company) and prosciutto (Lukin company), which have already won several awards, was both interesting and tasty.

These delicacies were presented together with top wines, which were introduced by Damir Zrno, a sommelier from Osijek, one of the leading wine educators in Croatia.

Later, we also attended a lecture on Dalmatian wines, accompanied, of course, by a wine tasting. Dalmatia is considered the cradle of winemaking in Croatia, and has been since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Amphora Hotel displays ancient amphorae from the mid-1st century BC to the mid-1st century AD, which were used to transport wine (as well as olive oil and fish sauce).

The region is divided into three wine sub-regions (depending on climate and wind conditions, soil type, altitude, proximity to water or forest, slope of the terrain, etc.): Northern Dalmatia, Dalmatian Zagora and the third sub-region is Central and Southern Dalmatia. Of the more than 17.000 hectares of vineyards in Croatia, almost 5.500 hectares are in Dalmatia. The most planted red variety is Plavac Mali.

The festival also included presentations of olive oil, tequila, oysters from the French island of Ré, premium rums from the Dominican Republic, cheese and many other food products.
As to the workshops, I was most interested in the topic of different smoothies (detox, refresh, protein and energy smoothies), which was prepared for us by Dragana Olujić Hudi, a specialist in sports nutrition.

The “brown” smoothie, which blends coffee, soy milk, oatmeal, green banana, honey, almond butter and ice cubes, tasted the best to me, and since then, we make it at home at least 1-2 times a week for breakfast.
There were also several competitions during the festival. Some of them I watched only from the position of a spectator. For example, the three-person waiter teams competition in synchronized serving.

The young waiters and waitresses had to demonstrate not only their professionalism but also their coordination with each other. Some of the “choreographies” were quite surprising.

However, I was most looking forward to the two competitions where I became part of the jury. The first was a competition of waiters in preparing a meat tartare for two people and serving it with matching wines.
We sat down at the table of a young, skilled student, Ena Zejnilhodžić (pictured left).

Did you know that you need up to 15 ingredients to make a steak tartare? Ena has prepared them all in bowls in advance.

Then she started mixing all the ingredients one by one, while telling us about the wine she chose for this dish. Before I sat down at the table, I was amazed to see that there were some sort of chopsticks in one of the glasses and that the bottle of wine had an empty label. Ena revealed to us that this label had won some sort of prize. She poured some wine into a glass. It turned out that the chopsticks were paintbrushes, and you could paint the label however you wanted with the wine!

The tartare was delicious, and the presence of the waitress, Ena, was pleasant, unobtrusive. We judged not only the food, but also the service, the atmosphere at the table and the overall impression.

Ena was awarded a silver medal for her performance. She also competed in other categories and won more silver and gold medals. And she even won a special award for the best waiter at the 10th Grand Gourmet. Congratulations!

The highlight of the festival for me was the junior competition Chef’s Table, in which two-person teams – a chef and a waiter – competed. Their task was to prepare and serve a 4-course menu with drinks.
We came into a room where several tables were already set up. Some had elaborate decorations, such as an old-fashioned nutcracker. We sat down at a table with natural decoration, with grapes and lemons.

We were served by a tall young man, Ivan Terzić. It was obvious that he was nervous, which was quite understandable, as this was his very first competition.

Our menu consisted of fish and seafood dishes.
Cold starter: sea bass carpaccio, marinated prawns with shrimp pate with zucchini and fennel sauce.

The appetizer was followed by a soup – bouillabaisse with seafood, which would surely satisfy the taste buds of even the most demanding gourmets. There was no need to add salt, there was no need to season, all the flavours were perfectly balanced.

Then, Ivan brought us the main course, hidden under a glass bell.

It was tuna Wellington with mushroom duxelles and spinach, served on celery puree.

With this dish, all of us at our table were totally blown away – not only by the perfect taste of all the dishes served, but also by the impeccable food styling. We all agreed that these dishes would succeed even in the best restaurant and asked the chef who prepared this delicious dish to come and introduce himself. To our great surprise, a classmate of Ivan’s – an only 16-year-old young man, Antonio Musić – came to us. An extraordinary talent!

Antonio then hurried to finish the dessert for us, which was just as delicious: almond crèmeux with orange juice jelly and fig jam filling.

Our favourite in this competition was clear!
We were anxious when the results of the competition were announced. Our team deservedly won the Junior Chef’s Table competition! Ivan and Antonio from the Split School of Tourism and Hospitality (in the picture, with their professor Karmen Lelas). Congratulations again, and thank you from all of us!

Ena would like to stay working in this branch in the future, maybe somewhere behind a bar, because she likes to interact with people. Antonio would like to open his restaurant someday. They both want to stay working in Croatia. So my fingers are crossed for both of them, and also for Ivan, and I wish them continued success. And if you ever come to Croatia and Antonio is in the kitchen showing his skills, or Ena or Ivan is serving you, you can be sure you are in good hands!

Hotel Amphora Split:
I truly enjoyed the Hotel Amphora. It is located on the seashore, out of the city center (if you want to visit the city, you need a car or taxi). The room was pleasant. Although we were here in November, we had beautiful sunny weather. We slept with the window open, fell asleep in the evening and woke up in the morning to the sounds of the sea, it was really beautiful.
More information: Amphora
Extra tip:
If you are looking for a good restaurant during your visit to Croatia, I recommend the current edition of the book: 100 Leading Croatian Restaurants and Their Specialties, published by Gastronaut.

Text: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri
Fotos: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri