Category Archives: Slovenian chocolate

The 12th Radovljica Chocolate Festival + Easter in Slovenia

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Slovenian railways, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

It’s amazing how time flies. It only seems like it was a few years ago that the first Radovljica Chocolate Festival took place, yet next weekend – 12th and 13th April 2025 – it’ll be the 12th festival already.

Although, of course, the main theme of the festival is chocolate, the packed entertainment programme means there’s something for all the family, even those (strange people :-)) who don’t like chocolate!

I went to the festival press conference last week to find out all about what’s new at this year’s festival, including:

  • A total of 22 chocolatiers, of which two are from Austria, one from Hungary and one from Croatia and the remainder from Slovenia.
  • Visitors are encouraged to travel to the festival by public transport, and an agreement has been reached with Slovenian Railways that over the 2-day festival, international trains will also stop at Radovljica.
  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme and will set up a special ‘theme park’ in Linhart Square in front of St. Peter’s church.

  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner of the Radovjlica Chocolate Festival, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme. The partnership has resulted in a new culinary souvenir named ‘Eat the chocolate and plant the wrapper‘. The chocolate bar is filled with certified Slovenian honey, while the wrapper is made from biodegradable paper that contains the seeds of honey plants; after eating the chocolate, the wrapper can be planted. The chocolate bar will be available to purchase at the Tourism Radol’ca stand at the festival. Other honey products will be available at the Slovenian Beekeeping Association stand.

Other highlights, of which there are far too many to list them all, include a chocolate roulette…

…workshops with the Dunking Devils…

…and a chocolate-themed fashion show; this year’s theme is dark chocolate.

Every year, prior to the festival, a competition takes place to find the Best Chocolate Praline.

This year’s winning chocolates are:

First place: Berry blaze (Molinet chocolatier)

Second place: Pistachio and lemon (Lucifer chocolatier)

Third place: Gold tequila and orange (Dobnik chocolatier)

Visitors to the festival also have the chance to taste the three winning chocolates and vote for their favourite.

This year, in addition to the festival goings-on in Radovljica Park, Linhart Square and Radovljica Manor, interesting medieval-themed events will take place in the square in front of St. Peter’s Church.

Click here to open the festival website and see the full programme for both days.

The Radovljica Tourist Information Centre is housed in the building you can see below and is the place to go during the festival if you require any additional information.

Take a look at (some of) the highlights of last year’s festival below.

The weekend following the Chocolate Festival is Easter, which is particularly late this year. If you are thinking about, or planning to, visit Slovenia for Easter, then you can read my previous blog about Easter Traditions in Slovenia.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

© Adele in Slovenia

Restaurant Week is Here!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Begunje na Gorenjskem, Camping in Slovenia, EXPO, gluten free food in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Kamp Sobec, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Sobec camp, Taste Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

Considering its relatively small size, Radovljica and its surroundings – collectively known as Radol’ca – are certainly well endowed in culinary terms.

So, it’s no surprise that the year’s Spring Restaurant Week, which began on 21st March 2025 and ends on 30th March 2025, features an impressive five restaurants from Radol’ca among the more than 100 participating restaurants: Gostišče Draga, Hiša Linhart, Restavracija Šobec, Vila Podvin, Restavracija Tabor.

The ethos of Restaurant Week, which takes place twice per year – in spring and autumn – is to bring together some of Slovenia’s finest restaurants to highlight the country’s excellent cuisine and bring gourmet food closer to the general public by offering special menus at affordable prices.

To help you choose which one, or ones, to visit, here’s a little more information about each one, from my layperson’s point of view!

Gostišče Draga, located in the lush Draga Valley, is headed up by chef and owner Ales Tavčar. In the past the restaurant was particularly popular in summer, as the valley remains pleasantly cool even on the hottest of days, but nowadays it has become well-known throughout the country and beyond and is popular year-round.

Gostišče Draga

Photo: https://vivi.si/en/restavracija/gostisce-draga/

A lot of the ingredients used come from the family farm – Kmetija Lizokar – thus truly adopting the ‘farm to fork’ approach.

May be an image of cold frame and seedlings

In addition to food cooked in the restaurant, you can also take the taste of Gostišče Draga home with you, by buying some of it’s ready meals sold in jars, such as beef goulash, Bolognese sauce, various stews and pickled vegetables.

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Hiša Linhart is a Michelin-starred restaurant in the heart of Linhart Square in Radovljica’s old town centre. Masterchef Uroš Štefelin and his team focus on transforming traditional Slovenian ingredients into nouvelle cuisine.

I’ve been fortunate enough to eat there on a few occasions, the last of which was as part of Gluten-Free Expo Slovenia, which took place in Radovljica in September 2024 and which I organise(d). The entire menu, part of which you can see below, was gluten-free.

 

Restavracija Šobec is located at the highly popular and award-winning Šobec Camp. The restaurant is far from the average campsite restaurant. It is now open year-round, even when the camp is closed, and out of the main season, has also become popular among locals for Sunday lunches, dinners, various celebrations, weddings, etc.

Restavracija Šobec

Photo: https://vivi.si/en/restavracija/sobec-restaurant/

Although the menu offers pizzas and other traditional Slovenian dishes, Restaurant Week is the time when the chefs can showcase their best culinary skills.

No photo description available.

Out of season, the camp is also a pleasant place for a stroll.

Vila Podvin is located in Mošnje, just a few kilometres from Radovljica. In the past the building was a stables, but now offers gourmet food and luxury accommodation.

Dean Dubokovič

Photo: https://vivi.si/en/restavracija/vila-podvin-2/

It was formerly run by the team who are now at Hiša Linhart, and I must confess that I haven’t been there since it came under new ownership, so can’t comment first-hand. However, it received a good write up from the food critics Uroš and Violeta Mencinger, who are the organisers of Restaurant Week.

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Restavracija Tabor is a seafood restaurant, which is located in Podbrezje, very close to but not actually within the municipality of Radovljica, but due to its excellent food and ethos, it has earned its place among Taste Radol’ca restaurants.

UME

Although the menu is largely seafood-based, there are also some meat dishes available.

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Room are also available, and the restaurant’s garden is the ideal place to soak up the views of the surrounding countryside and hills.

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Of course, there are also plenty of restaurants in other areas, and with 7 days still to go, get browsing, choose and book! You can read more about all the participating restaurants here.

Finally, just a heads up, it’s not long now until the ‘sweetest’ event of the year in Radovljica – The Radovljica Chocolate Festival. This year’s festival takes place on 12th and 13th April. The programme is packed with entertainment for all the family. Click here for more information.

© Adele in Slovenia

 

 

 

 

 

Create and Meet in Radol’ca

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Beekeeping in Slovenia, gluten-free food in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Museum of Apiculture Radovljica, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

It’s been 17 years now since I moved from the UK to Slovenia, and soon after moving here I quickly realised that the key to life and work in Radol’ca (the brand name for the main town of Radovljica and all the surrounding towns and villages) is collaboration among locals.

It is such collaboration that has resulted in a new range of experiences in and around the municipality, which offer visitors (both domestic and foreign) the chance to enjoy unique insights into the area’s traditions, cuisine and life – past and present.

Earlier today I was fortunate to attend an event in the magnificent Radovljica Manor, at which we had a chance to find out more about the new experiences that can be arranged for groups (ranging from a minimum of 4 up to groups of 20+) and meet those involved in offering various workshops and other activities, such as:

Herbal workshops organised by the Radovljica Pharmacy and Alchemy Museum.

Painting workshops with the academic painter and Radovljica resident Meta Šolar.

Chocolate tastings and workshops at the Radolška čokolada chocolatier.

Cookery workshops at Hiša Linhart in Linhart Square…

…with food cooked by the Michelin-starred chef Uroš Štefelin and his team of chefs.

Thanks, Uroš, for making something gluten-free, so I could try it too!

Tasting of Slovenian Wines at the Sodček wine bar, located at the entrance to the old town centre.

No photo description available.

A Town of Chocolate, run by the Radovljica Tourist Board, in cooperation with the Radolška cokolada chocolatier.

Painting beehive frontal panels or making nesting boxes for bees at the Museum of Apiculture.

Decorate a Lectar honeybread heart at Gostilna Lectar.

These are just some of the ways you can experience the ‘real’ Radol’ca. More information about the above and more can be found here.

© Adele in Slovenia

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Comes to Town!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, gluten-free food in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Slovenian Coeliac Association, Slovensko društvo za celiakijo, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

It’s that time again! Chocolate time! The time of the year when Radovljica does what it does best, i.e. puts on a fab 2-day festival and feasts on chocolate(s) galore!

This year’s Radovljica Chocolate Festival takes place this weekend, i.e. 20th and 21st April.

I recently attended the festival press conference, where I was privy to insider information about the festival, which I can now share with you!

A new feature this year is Photolandia, which is already operational now, where you can get your photo taken, post a postcard and get in the festival spirit!

As has been the case for the past few years, a competition was held prior to the festival to find the winner of the title ‘Best Chocolate Praline‘. This year, six Slovenian chocolatiers entered 12 chocolates and for the first time two rounds of judging were held; the first took place in Radovljica, where the master patissier Naser Gashi from La Ganash and the editor of the magazine Pet Zvezdic (Five Stars) Urša Cvilak tasted and assessed all 12 chocolate pralines. They chose the best six, which, on Monday 8th April, then went forward for judging in Austria at the Zotter chocolatier, where the three winning chocolates were chosen.

Morda je slika naslednjega: 2 osebi, knjiga in besedilo

At the press conference, we were fortunate to be able to try this year’s winning chocolate – crunchy yuzu – and, for a change, I was even able to try it, as it is made by the Lucifer chocolatier whose chocolates are all gluten free!

Visitors to the festival this weekend will also have the chance to vote for their favourite among the finalists.

Another new feature of this year’s festival is an exhibition of chocolate mosaics, which is on view in Radovljica Manor. The project connects artists and handicraft people in the municipality and also has a charitable note, as after the festival the mosaics will be donated to residential communities and departments of the Matevz Langus Centre in Radovljica, the Pediatric Department of Jesenice Hospital, the Radovljica Home for the Elderly, and the Kresnica Youth Crisis Centre.

May be an image of gingerbread biscuit

Since Radovljica is so well connected by public transport, and since the festival is so incredibly popular and the organisers strive to make it as sustainable as possible, visitors are asked to, where possible, arrive by public transport. To that end an arrangement has been reached with Slovenia Railways that additional trains will stop at Radovljica

The two-day festival programme is as jam-packed as ever. Full details can be found on the new Radovljica Chocolate Festival website.

Some of the highlights of this year’s programme include the amazing acrobatic Dunking Devils, cookery workshops for adults and children, ChocoBaroque, live music, circus shows, face painting, a honey adventure and more.

No photo description available.

Check out the official Chocolate Festival video here!

And don’t worry, the festival goes ahead come rain, shine or snow (yes, at the time of writing this it’s snowing heavily, whereas last weekend we were in shorts and t-shirts and eating ice-cream!), since the stalls, as well as a large number of the activities, are undercover.

By the way, for any fellow coeliacs, there will also be a number of stalls offering gluten-free chocolates and also gluten-free pancakes will be available on the Torras stall together with information about the Slovenian Coeliac Association.

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Hope to see you (t)here.

© Adele in Slovenia

 

It’s Chocolate Time (Again and Always!) in Radovljica!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Taste Radol'ca, Tourism Radol'ca by

It’s just 11 days until the 10th Radovljica Chocolate Festival – how time flies! I remember the first festival, which was just one day and which led to the start of something much bigger.

Over the years we’ve had three-day festivals, two years with virtual festivals due to COVID-19, sunny festivals, rainy festivals, mega festivals with all-things chocolate, and, in the last couple of years, a two-day festival with a focus on the finest chocolate(s) and an entertainment programme for the entire family.

Thanks to the Radolška čokolada chocolatier, you can now enjoy excellent handmade chocolates throughout the year in Radovljica, but, of course, the Radovljica Chocolate Festival, which this year takes place on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th April, is the event of the year for chocoholics far and wide.

Photo: Mankica Kranjec

Over the past few years, a competition has taken place prior to the festival to find the ‘Best Chocolate‘ among the entries from the chocolatiers taking part in the festival.  This year, 14 chocolates from seven Slovenian chocolatiers entered the competition.

The judges of the competition are the owners of the famous Austrian Zotter chocolate manufacturer.

This year, 1st place went to the Snickers chocolate made by the Hiša čokolade Molinet chocolatier from Kropa, 2nd place was taken by the Goat’s choice good choice chocolate, made by the Radolška čokolada chocolatier, and 3rd place was awarded to the Yuzu and pepper chocolate from the Aska chocolatier.

Visitors to the 10th Radovljica Chocolate Festival, will have a chance to try all three of the winning chocolates, which will occupy a special place in Radovljica Manor. An additional competition will take place to find the ‘Best Chocolate Chosen by Visitors‘ as well as a prize game.

In addition to the chocolate itself, among the highlights of this year’s entertainment programme are:

  • Lego sculptures
  • Chocolate treasure hunt
  • Face painting
  • Cookery workshops
  • Live music (Maraaya, WildArt, Suho cvetje…)
  • Circus workshops
  • Stilt walkers
  • Impro show and other live shows and entertainment

As in previous years, tasting of chocolates takes place via the purchase of tasting coupons.

Of course, there will be non-chocolate food and drink available too, courtesy of Taste Radol’ca restaurants, and, as has also become the tradition, the opening event of the festival will take place with a special gourmet dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant Hiša Linhart.

Hiša Linhart

The 6-course dinner is produced by 3 young chefs and their mentors – Tomaz Bratovž, Restavracija JB (mentor: Janez Bratovž), Martin Zupan, Hisa Linhart (mentor: Uroš Štefelin) and Darko Krstev, Restavracija Strelec (mentor: Igor Jagodic).

11. Festival čokolade - Premierna večerja treh mladih chefov

The three mentors

Some of the dishes will be subtly flavoured with chocolate, while others will be unashamedly full of it.

Those that know me and regular readers of my blog will know I’m a huge chocoholic, and that I have coeliac disease. The good news is that a few of the stands at the festival will also feature gluten-free chocolate, and, even if you aren’t as big a chocoholic as me, there’ll be plenty of entertainment to keep you amused too!

© Adele in Slovenia

 

 

The Radovljica Chocolate Festival is Back!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Museum of Apiculture Radovljica, Okusi Radol'ce, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Taste Radol'ca, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

After a 2-year COVID-enforced hiatus, next weekend Radovljica will again rightly live up to its destination slogan – Honestly Sweet – with the return of the hugely popular Radovjlica Chocolate Festival!

While Radovljica itself hasn’t changed much in the past couple of years – in a positive way, I mean – there are some changes to the forthcoming festival, so I went along to the press preview this Wednesday to find out all the juicy, or rather chocolatey, details!

The opening event of the festival – the gourmet Three Chefs’ Dinner – takes place on Friday 22nd April at Hiša Linhart in Linhart Square. This year the stars of the show will be three young chefs, mentored by three masterchefs.

The festival itself then kicks off on Saturday 23rd April from 9am to 8pm and continues on Sunday 24th April from 9am to 6pm.

The ‘chocolate’ part of the festival will take place this year in Radovljica’s town park, which is just minutes from the main bus station, so ideal if you plan to visit by public transport (unfortunately, maintenance work will be taking place on the railway line, so this year it won’t be possible to come by train).

Chocolatiers from Slovenia, Croatia and Italy will feature at the festival. Among the chocolates available to try (through the purchase of tasting coupons) and buy will be the winning chocolates from the annual festival ‘Best Praline’ competition, which this year was judged by the owners of the prestigious Zotter chocolate factory in Austria.

And Radovljica has even more reason to be proud, since first place was awarded to the chocolate and buckwheat praline made by the new Radol’ca Chocolate chocolatier!

The new Radovljica chocolate hearts made by the Molinet chocolatier in Kropa will also make their debut at the festival.

Meanwhile, in Linhart Square – the heart of the medieval old town – there will be a jam-packed entertainment programme with something for all the family.

The main highlights of this year’s entertainment programme include cookery workshops (chocolate, of course!), live music and dance performances, a chocolate roulette wheel, a 100kg ‘bar’ of Gorenjka chocolate to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gorenjska chocolate, stand-up comedy, face-painting, discount entry to the Museum of Apiculture, non-chocolate food from Taste Radol’ca (Hiša Linhart and Gostišče Draga) and more.

Click here to find the full programme for both days.

Hope to see you here in ‘Honestly Sweet’ Radovljica!

© Adele in Slovenia

A Perfect Radol’ca Party!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, gluten-free food in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Restaurants, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Taste Radol'ca, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

If you’re looking for the perfect place to hold a celebration or party, or just seeking some posh nosh and a unique experience, look no further than Radovljica!

I had spent quite some time trying to decide where to throw a surprise get-together for Aleš’s (the other half!) 50th birthday, when in the end the choice was staring me in the face – Radovljica!

Thanks to the new Radol’ca Chocolate chocolatier and the excellent Hiša Linhart restaurant and bistro, headed up by the Michelin star-recipient Uroš Štefelin, I managed to put together a perfect evening and everything went to plan, too! The restaurant, in Radovljica’s historic old town centre, is also part of Taste Radol’ca.

I started by sitting down and going through the menu to ensure that all the food would be gluten-free, which isn’t a problem when it comes to this level of food, where flour isn’t used as a thickener, everything is made from scratch and the chef(s) know(s) exactly what is, and isn’t, in the dishes they create.

I took a bit of a detour towards the old town – just a 10-min walk from home – to ensure that Aleš still didn’t have a clue what was in store! I’d arranged it all in advance with the team at Hiša Linhart and bought all the balloons and other decor. On arrival we were whisked upstairs where the others were waiting and then… SURPRISE!!! And I let out a sigh of relief that I’d pulled it off!

We raised a toast with tepka juice made from a traditional Gorenjska variety of pear, one of Hiša Linhart’s specialities. We then sat down to start our feast, which began with a cold starter of warm gluten-free bread with various flavours of butter, a mini salmon and caviar blini-cum-wrap, potato choux pastry, and the most amazing creation in an egg containing pork crackling.

The latter was ‘delivered’ to us by none other than the chef himself – Uroš Štefelin!

I had specifically requested parsnip soup as it’s my favourite, and also because I knew no one else would have ever tasted it, as parsnips are a bit of a novelty here!

We then had a hot starter followed by the main course…

…and then came the next part of the surprise. A visit to the new Radol’ca Chocolate chocolatier, where Iza – the daughter of the owners – took us through a guided tasting session, during which we learnt all about the history of chocolate, the different types of chocolate and how it is made.

First we had a chance to try different kinds of pure chocolate, as well as cocoa butter  – the latter, surprisingly, doesn’t resemble chocolate in any way.

After having learnt a lot about my favourite food, we were then given the chance to try some of the amazing and creatively flavoured chocolates…

….and got some to take home too!

But that wasn’t quite the end of the evening! We went back to Hiša Linhart (all of a 90 second walk away!) where we made sure we really were bursting full by indulging in a gluten-free birthday cake, which I had ordered from Lincer in Lesce, which offers all kinds of gluten-free (as well as egg-free, dairy-free, etc.) food.

So, as you can see, a great time was had by all, and with full stomachs, the birthday boy and I waddled our way home, both in agreement that Radovljica really is the perfect place for a party!

© Adele in Slovenia

Radol’ca Chocolate – Radovljica Just Got Even ‘Sweeter’!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Slovenian food, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

Radovljica is even richer, and sweeter, thanks to a great new addition – the new Radol’ca Chocolate boutique chocolate shop!

But calling it just a ‘shop’ is doing it an injustice, since it’s so much more.

All the chocolates are handmade on site at this new family-run venture, which is the brainchild of the former director of the Radovljica Tourist Board, Nataša Mikelj, who, together with her husband and eldest daughter, have set up and opened a new chapter in their lives and that of Radovljica.

Since having introduced the very popular and successful Radovljica Chocolate Festival to the town’s annual events calendar several years ago, Nataša’s interest was sparked in where chocolate comes from, how it’s made, flavour combinations, etc.

For several years she had tried to find someone who would be interested in opening a chocolate shop in Radovljica, but there was little interest. It was during lockdown that Nataša had time to think long and hard about her life, career and future and had a lightbulb moment when she realised what her new calling could be in life – chocolate!

And the result of many months of research, hard graft and learning the tools and tricks of the trade is certainly paying off, since passing trade is brisk and orders are already pouring in for Christmas gifts, business gifts, etc.

The shop is located at the entrance to Radovljica’s old town centre. Inside you can get up close to watch the chocolates being made…

…learn about the ingredients…

… talk to the family…

…and try a sample before you buy!

It’s a tough place to be for a chocoholic like me!

In future, workshops, tasting sessions and other events are planned too.

A chocolate weekend is due to be held (providing further COVID restrictions aren’t introduced by then) on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December. Click here to read more.

So, now you can take a piece of Radovljica (chocolate!) home as a treat for yourself or your loved ones – or both!

© Adele in Slovenia