Today three lovely girls, Skenny, Victoria and Camila from Norway and a young couple, Luka from New Zealand and his delightful Australian wife Nykkea came along to the Split Cooking Class at the SKMER ACADEMY. (Chefs of the European and Mediterranean Region) Chef Željko Neven Bremec met the group at the Split Green Market promptly at 9.00 am. The girls are studying medicine here in Split and the Australian/Kiwi couple came last year during summer and have decided to stay awhile. We all agreed we love the lifestyle here in this city. PRICE PER PERSON 130 EURO.

Chef Željko warmly welcomed the group to the academy in the traditional Dalmatian manner by offering licquers and rakija, (grappa) together with some finger food to get the day off to a great start! The menu for the day was discussed and soon we were on our way, preparing and cooking under the watchful eye and supervision of one of Croatia’s most well-known chefs and with some help from apprentice chef Dagutin Mandi?.

Today’s menu was all we had hoped for! A list of traditional Dalmatian seafood dishes, Fish Capaccio; Shrimp Risotto; Gregada, a fish stew, a specialty of Island Hvar; Vegetables Croatian style, Baked bread and a favourite dessert, the famous Rozata, (creme caramel)

There’s nothing like homemade bread, brushed with virgin olive oil from Island Brač!! The aroma in the kitchen was so tantalising, mouthwatering, with shrimp shells being firstly sauteed with onions and celery then simmered and strained to create a tasty stock base for our risotto, while opposite the Gregada was being prepared and that looked so delicious as it slowly simmered away with three types of white fish, fish stock freshly made during our class, and a drop of prošek! For those who like a bite of spice, by all means, add some chilli.

Lunch was served at 1.00 pm. It was a feast, an indulgence of the senses! Every mouthful was so delicious, served with red and white Dalmatian wines, and really hitting the spot! The dessert was yet to come, and somehow we all managed to devour the rozata served with a dollop of fresh cream! Ahhhh, heaven! There was some lively conversation around the table and it was 3.00pm before we reluctantly started making a move for home! We congratulated each other on the success of our efforts and especially thanked Chef Zeljko for his guidance and a truly wonderful day at his SKMER ACADEMY. www.skmer.hr Weekly classes are available and various menus are continually being presented.