President Milanović Receives Representatives of the Croatian Culinary Association and Winners of National and International Competitions
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today received representatives of the Croatian Culinary Association and the winners of national and international cooking and pastry competitions held during the gastronomic festival Days of Croatian Culinary Arts. The festival took place from 25 to 28 September at the Zagreb Fair, with participants from 17 countries.
Erich Glavica, President of the Croatian Culinary Association, presented the Association to President Milanović. The Association brings together 20 county and three city associations of chefs and pastry chefs, with nearly 500 members. He also informed the President about preparations for the world competition in which they will take part next year.
Although it is the largest and umbrella association of its kind – founded in 2003 with the mission of advancing the culinary profession and preserving Croatian culinary heritage – the Association emphasized that it lacks adequate support from state institutions. In addition to insufficient funding for its activities, it also faces the problem of not having proper facilities for regular operations. The Association expressed its readiness to contribute to the training of culinary teachers in order to improve the quality of culinary education in Croatia, which is particularly important for a country so strongly oriented toward tourism, it was noted at the meeting.
Alongside the President of the Croatian Culinary Association, the meeting at the Office of the President was also attended by Vice Presidents of the Association Ivan Ergović and Damir Perman, team manager Alen Belić, President of the Association’s Judges Section Matija Balent, Secretary David Glavica, as well as competition winners: Patrik Prnjak, winner of the Best Adult Chef WORLDCHEFS competition; Amos Novak, winner of the Best Young Chef WORLDCHEFS competition; Filip Klanfar, national winner of the 2025 Days of Croatian Culinary Arts culinary competition; and Franjo Mikinac, national winner of the 2025 Days of Croatian Culinary Arts pastry competition.
President Milanović was accompanied by Martina Ciglević, Assistant Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek