The Croatian restaurant Monte in Istria has officially become the first and only restaurant in the country with a Michelin Star.
At the end of January this year, a Michelin Star was awarded to the restaurant Monte in Rovinj. A few days ago, it became official when Roberto Mancuso, the CEO of METRO, the global partner of the Michelin guide, presented the Michelin Star plaque to Danijel Dekic, the owner and chef of the Monte restaurant - the first Croatian restaurant that deserved one of the most prestigious awards in the world of culinary arts.
In addition to Monte, the so-called Michelin plates were awarded to twelve restaurants in the Istria County (Meneghetti, Batelina, San Rocco, Konoba Morgan, Zigante, Marina, Damir&Ornella, Konoba Cok, Sv.Nikola, Wine Vault, Alla Beccaccia, and Pergola) which were selected for the Michelin Guide 2017.
''METRO recognized the power and potential of Istrian gastronomy in 2014 when we opened the first wholesale centre in Istria adapted to hotels, restaurants and caterers. We have achieved cooperation with the Michelin Guide in Croatia in order to help Croatian restaurants and caterers find their place on the world's gastronomic map'', stated Roberto Mancuso, the CEO of METRO Cash&Carry Croatia.
More than a third of METRO's customers in Croatia come from the HoReCa sector, including 32 restaurants with Michelin's recommendation. METRO is using experience and knowledge gained in cooperation with the Michelin Guide and the culinary competition Bocuse d'Or in order to make Croatia's tourist and catering offer more recognizable.
With more than a hundred years of experience in restaurant selection, the Michelin Guide recommends more than 20,000 restaurants in 30 countries worldwide. Whether a restaurant is in Europe, Asia or America, Michelin’s inspectors apply the same criteria in evaluating the quality of each restaurant they visit anonymously.
Using the unique process that has been perfected over decades, the Michelin Guide has become an international reference for fine dining, whilst the Michelin Guide plaque represents an official acknowledgement for a restaurant as part of the selection for 2017.
