{"id":39756,"date":"2020-10-24T02:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T00:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/?p=39756"},"modified":"2020-09-02T06:40:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T04:40:58","slug":"top-slovenia-interview-martin-jezersek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/en\/gastronomy\/top-slovenia-interview-martin-jezersek\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Slovenia interview: Martin Jezer\u0161ek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Jezer\u0161ek is the general manager at Jezer\u0161ek catering. The Jezer\u0161ek family is without a doubt one of the most known families in Slovenia, especially in the culinary scene. At Jezer\u0161ek catering, the whole family is involved in the business, that has been handed down from Franci who started the Jezer\u0161ek business over four decades ago, to his four sons. <\/strong><\/h2>

We recently talked to one of the sons of the Jezer\u0161ek family. Martin Jezer\u0161ek runs the Jezer\u0161ek catering alongside his three brothers. <\/p>

Let us\nstart this interview off with congratulation you and your family Jezer\u0161ek for\nreceiving the Michelin plate for good cooking! How did it feel to be honored\nand moreover recognized by the famous red French guide Michelin?<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cWe truly are honored and happy about this recognition. We see Michelin as the most relevant guide globally and locally and Michelin plate is exactly what we were hoping for. We are positioning Dvor Jezer\u0161ek<\/a> as a high-quality gostilna not a fine dining restaurant and if we would have to choose a level of recognition it would be the Michelin plate\u201d. <\/p>

Dvor Jezer\u0161ek<\/a> is situated in the idyllic village of Cerklje na Gorenjskem<\/a>, however, shortly after the Michelin Guide announcement you and your family Jezer\u0161ek made a very special announcement yourself, which was the takeover of Gostilna na Gradu in Ljubljana. We would like to welcome you to Ljubljana. How did you decide to make this expansion to the Slovenian capital from the Gorenjska region? <\/strong><\/p>

\u201cThis decision was not something we planned for a long time. It happened overnight when our industry was hit by the coronavirus. We had to close our business in mid-march and we soon realized that we have to look for new opportunities to be able to save the jobs within our team. We are still largely dependent on the event catering business which is now – months after the end of pandemic, still totally blocked. We came across the information that Ljubljana Castle is in the tender procedure of choosing new tenant for Gostilna na Gradu and Grajska kavarna (Caffee) na gradu. We decided to go for this opportunity. We invested all our time and energy to propose the best program and we were chosen to become the new tenant of both outlets.\u201d <\/p>

You and your family already have a restaurant on Bled castle, how does it feel to be now the \u201ccooking\u201d royals in Ljubljana castle? Can you tell us how will be the culinary story of Gostilna na Gradu<\/a> different from those in the Gorenjska region and on Bled castle? <\/strong><\/p>

\u201cJavni zavod Ljubljanski grad had very clear guidelines about the vision of both, Gostilna na Gradu and Grajska kavarna. We had to follow those guidelines when creating the program of both outlets. At the same time the guidelines are very much in line with the overall vision of our company and our brand. Therefore, we couldn\u2019t find a better fit between our expectations and the expectations of Ljubljanski grad. All out restaurants are built around great guest experience and modern interpretation of traditional ingredients and recipes. All our restaurants want to stay closer to the level of \u201cgostilna\u201d rather than a fine dining restaurant. However, every restaurant has a unique identity. The location, the atmosphere and also the menu. Part of the menu at Bled castle is unique and dedicated to the local environment. The same is at Dvor Jezer\u0161ek <\/a>and the same will happen at Ljubljana Castle. However, the identity isn\u2019t built in a day or a month. We need a couple of months to make the transition from past to future. We are closely watching Gostilna na Gradu to fully understand it\u2019s specifics, it\u2019s guests, their expectations etc. We are in the process of transition and by spring next year we hope to build the identity of Gostilna na gradu.\u201d<\/p>

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