SPANISH DAY AT TASTE THE MEDITERRANEAN

What's on

Several activities will be held on October 7th and 8th to celebrate Spanish food and drink as part of the Taste The Mediterranean event in Split, Croatia:

October 7th

TASTING OF SPANISH EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
This first event will be held on the 7th in the morning, led by a Croatian expert, Dr. Mirella Žanetić, and will be attended by managers from hotel chains and restaurants, chefs, gourmet food chains and importers, and trade media. 

SPANISH FOOD PRODUCTS TASTING
The second event, to be held on the 7th during the afternoon, is a food product tasting, along with a cooking demo by the Chef María Jiménez Latorre. It will be attended by procurement managers from hotel chains and restaurants, chefs, gourmet food chains, importers specializing in food products and trade media.

SPANISH WINES TASTING
The third event, also to be held on the 7th in the afternoon, is a wine tasting led by two renowned Croatian sommeliers: Siniša Koceić, Alen Gulan and Rajner Rogulj, and attended by chefs and managers from restaurants and hotels, sommeliers and food and wine importers.

GALA DINNER
The last event to take place on the 7th in the evening is a dinner prepared by the Spanish chef María Jiménez Latorre and a renowned Croatian chef, and paired with some of the Spanish wines that have been tasted in the previous event. It will be hosted at Hotel Park Split and attended by importers, distributors and the Croatian trade media.

October 8th

SPANISH EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL TASTING
Additionally, on the afternoon of October 9th, Aspira catering school in Split will host a extra virgin olive oil presentation.

All of these activities and events will feature a mix of gourmet products, some of which are already present in the market and others that are looking to gain a foothold in Croatia. Moreover, efforts to promote Spanish wine in Croatia have been under way since 2015.

Organized by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment and the Spanish Embassy’s Economic and Commercial Office in Croatia, these activities seek to raise the profile of Spain’s products and strengthen their presence in Croatia, whose consumers regularly vacation in Spain and have shown a growing interest in Spanish food and drinks products.

 EXPERTS PROFILES: 

• Dr. Mirella Žanetić works as a researcher at the Institute for Adriatic Cultures in Split, Croatia, where she is panel leader of the Institute's VOO professional panel group for sensory analyses of virgin olive oil. Dr. Žanetić has more than 20 years' experience in sensory analysis of VOO and regularly participates as a panel member for national and international competitions such as NYIOOC, Sol d’Oro and EVO IOOC, as well as conducting seminars/workshops on quality improvement and guided VOO tasting for olive growers and consumers. Dr. Žanetić also works at the University of Split as assistant professor at the Faculty of Mediterranean agriculture.

• Chef Maria Jimenez Latorre has been leading for years the most important gastronomic events in the cooking school Alambique Esquela de Cocina, in Madrid, where she presents the traditional Spanish cuisine. She is the founder and co-owner of the catering We present, and with her business partner, chef Sergio Fernandez, she organizes weddings, baptisms, and other family celebrations, as well as exclusive dinners and corporate events. She holds lectures and culinary demonstrations for professional cooks and students of hospitality schools on the use of the olive oil Oriva, for which she is their brand ambassador. A true celebrity chef, Maria Jimenez Latorre has also become popular by appearing on leading Spanish culinary TV shows such as Canal Cocina. She was also a member of the jury of the popular TV competition “My mom cooks better than yours”. She gained previous experience as a chef de cuisine in several famous restaurants of the Spanish capital: Cruz Blanca, Taberna Alegrias, a gourmet tavern known for its modern tapas. She also worked for a long time alongside the famous chef Juano Lopez Bedmar in the restaurant La Tasquita de Enfrente.During her many years of career, she published the illustrated cookbook “The Best Salads”, and in 2015 a book entitled “Magic, ie magic in the kitchen”. Her husband, a professional magician, was her main inspiration.

• Siniša Koceić, sommelier, finishing 2º course in the Croatia Sommelier Club, wine consultant, has worked in some of the most important croatian wine companies such as Badel 1862, Belje d.d, Agrokor vina and Miva Mohor.
• Alen Gulan, WSET 2, sommelier, finishing first course in the Croatia Sommelier Club, wine consultant, has worked in important croatian wine companies like Velpro and Acrobat.
• Rajner Rogulj, sommelier, finishing 1st course in the Croatia Sommelier Club, has worked for important croatian wine companies such as Istravino, Agrokor vina y Vino trade. The three of them are owners and partners in the wine and other alcoholic beverages distribution company, VINO.LIKE, and the wine bar WINE BOX located in Split.