Tag Archives: Radovjlica Chocolate Festival

Taste Radol’ca at Spring Restaurant Week – The Tastiest Week of Spring!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Food, Food Tours in Slovenia, Gostilna Kunstelj, ifeelsLOVEnia, Okusi Radol'ce, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Restaurants, Slovenia, Slovenia blog, Taste Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

After the past bitterly cold week, which saw temperatures plummet to around minus 20 and even lower for consecutive days, and the seemingly endless snowfall during the month of February (18 days of snow out of 28), spring can’t come soon enough, believe me!

And a sure sign of spring, other than warmer temperatures (still waiting for those!) and spring flowers (currently buried under metres of snow!) is Spring Restaurant Week!

Restaurant Week takes place bi-annually, in spring and in autumn, and makes dining at some of Slovenia’s finest restaurants accessible and affordable to all.

Photo: Žan Lebe,

All restaurants that are part of Restaurant Week are assessed and have to meet strict criteria to be included, therefore, the fact that there are three Taste Radol’ca restaurants included in the 19 restaurants in northern Slovenia, is a sure testament to the quality of Taste Radol’ca.

This year 101 restaurants are taking part in Spring Restaurant Week and from 16th – 25th March will offer fixed menus for just €18 per person. Reservations are essential, and many of the restaurants get booked up early, so don’t delay, book today!

Photo: Dean Dubokovic

Kunstelj Inn in Radovljica is known for its solid, traditional Slovenian food. Much of the inn’s produce comes from its own garden and from the local farm shop 18sedem3, which stocks a wide range of produce and products from local farms and other producers.

Two three-course menus are available for Restaurant Week, including main dishes such as oat risotto with smoked trout, baked lemon and sunflower seeds, or roast chicken with red cabbage strudel and apple.

Photo: Žiga Intihar

Photo: Žiga Intihar

Vila Podvin in Mošnje is one of Slovenia’s finest restaurants, winner of the 2017 Slovenian Restaurant Awards ‘Best Restaurant in Northern Slovenia’ and a member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs. Head chef Uroš Štefelin puts a modern twist on Slovenian food with a focus on local and seasonal ingredients and has created ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ three-course menus for Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Lambergh, part of Chateau Lambergh and Hotel, is in the midst of the countryside in the hamlet of Dvorska vas, yet is within minutes of Radovjlica. The hotel restaurant is open to the public and overlooks the beautiful Renaissance Chateau Lambergh. For Restaurant Week, head chef Grega Rozman has created two three-course menus – one meat-based and the other fish-based.

Of course, if you don’t make it for Spring Restaurant Week there’s always Autumn Restaurant Week, and you can also Taste Radol’ca year-round a the nine participating restaurants – apart from the three above, the others are Gostilna Avguštin, Gostilna Tavčar, Gostilna Lectar, Joštov hram, Gostišče Draga, and Gostišče Tulipan.

Taaste Radol’ca will also be cooking up delights at multiple events such as the Radovljica Chocolate Festival (20th-22nd April), the Month of Local Cuisine (the whole month of November), Refreshing Thursdays in the Square (live concerts and street food every Thursday evening in July), or join me for a Taste Radol’ca Food Tour.

I’m looking forward to some good grub to banish the winter blues – cheers to that I say!

 

© Adele in Slovenia

 

The 5th Radovjlica Chocolate Festival – a New Guinness World Record!

Posted in Festivals in Slovenia, Food, Gostilna Kunstelj, Radovljica, Tourism Radol'ca, Uncategorized by

Regular readers of my blog will know that I usually always post new blogs on Mondays. However, in a break with tradition, I’m posting today with BREAKING NEWS – and for two reasons.

First, I can’t contain my excitement that today, at 5pm today, it became official that a new Guinness World Record was set at the 5th Radovljica Chocolate Festival for the World’s Largest Chocolate Bar by Area.

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The chocolate bar was made by the Cukrček chocolatier and measured over 140 square metres, smashing the previous record of 102 square metres. It took over 300 hours to piece together the 28,000 pieces of chocolate.

After his speech, Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Miro Cerar,  became the first person to get a taste of the record-breaking chocolate bar. Visitors to the festival this weekend can try it too, through the purchase of tasting coupons.

The second reason for my early blog posting is that, since the festival has only just begun, there’s still plenty of time for anyone wavering as to whether or not to visit this weekend.

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There’s chocolate of every size, shape, and taste imaginable.

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Over 50,000 people visited last year’s festival; this year looks set to be a whole lot more. That means there are an awful lot of chocolate lovers out there – I’m not alone!

This year you can come and sit on the chocolate throne and be the King (or Queen) of Chocolate too!

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Visit Lectar Inn to see, and taste, the incredibly cute chocolate gingerbread men.

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There is a jam-packed, or should I say chocolate-packed, programme of events and entertainment taking place all weekend. Here are just some of the highlights still to come:

  • Watch the process of chocolate being made at the chocolate factory
  • Try a mini-planica ski jump (sorry, children only!)
  • Join a cookery workshop and make your own cup-cake
  • Listen to concerts, watch dance shows, stilt walkers, puppet shows and circus entertainers
  • Watch some of Slovenia’s top chefs creating chocolate-based dishes
  • Go to Kunstelj Inn’s Garden Party for cocktails, burgers and more

Find the whole festival programme here – http://www.festival-cokolade.si/en/programme/

© AdeleinSlovenia 2016

SO Tasty at Wine Bar and Restaurant Sova, Lesce!

Posted in Food, Lesce, Okusi Radol'ce, Restaurants, Slovenia, Taste Radol'ca, Uncategorized by

In the almost nine years I’ve been living here I’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants; some average, some great and some outstanding. However, I’d go as far as to say that the meal I had last week in the new Sova Restaurant and Wine Bar in Lesce was the best yet and I haven’t stopped raving about it since!

Lesce has an incredible 12 restaurants – or rather 12 eateries – as a couple are more snack bars than restaurants. When I say ‘incredible’ I don’t mean that they are all ‘incredible’ – some are obviously better than others – it’s just incredible that Lesce, which is something between a big village and a small town, has such a wide choice. I can’t help but wonder if they will all survive, as competition is now fierce, however I certainly hope this latest addition is here to stay.

I must confess that I’m not a great gourmet when it comes to the type of cuisine which is culinary art but you, or at least I, am always left wanting more and leave the restaurant hungry. The team at Sova, however, seem to have found the perfect balance between food that both looks and tastes amazing, comes in decent-sized portions and at prices that don’t break the bank.

The restaurant is run by the team who run Fine Food at Penzion Berc in Bled which is closed during the winter thus they sought out somewhere for the team to offer their fine food – and indeed it is fine food – over the winter. In fact, I couldn’t find fault with a single aspect of the meal, which is a rarity!

Perhaps the only negative aspects, though these are not food-related, are that the restaurant doesn’t have its own car park, doesn’t have any outdoor space and is rather small inside, meaning as and when word gets out and the crowds come flocking (and I believe they will!) we will probably be fighting over tables!

I started my meal with creamy truffle soup with prosciutto chips and profiteroles.

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The main course was spicy slow-cooked and grilled pork rib with potato puree and garden vegetables.

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And the dessert – yes, you know that is ALWAYS my favourite bit – was mango tiramisu with white and dark chocolate, homemade ice-cream and lavender crème brulee.

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Since I enjoyed it so much, I went back again two days later! This time I tried the house pizza, which comes topped with aged gauda, basil pesto, baby onions, prsut ham, and more!

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And I somehow found room to try out another pudding too! The chocolate bomb with chocolate mousse and forest fruits, with an added surprise element, which I won’t divulge as it wouldn’t then be a surprise!

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All being well, we will hopefully see Sova joining the Taste Radol’ca collective and you will also find some of their delights at this year’s Radovljica Chocolate Festival in April – http://www.radolca.si/en/what-to-do/events-1/chocolate-festival/83/309/

© AdeleinSlovenia 2016