Croatia just had its best-ever showing at an international cooking contest, and it could mean good things for what lands on your plate there next. At the Global Chefs Challenge semi-finals for southern Europe, held in Belgrade from 10 to 12 October, the Croatian team finished first overall, taking two gold medals and a silver and qualifying for the world finals in two categories for the first time.
The senior title went to Amos Novak and his assistant Mladen Zorec, who cook at Restaurant Terbotz in Međimurje, a hilly wine region in the country's far north. They won gold and finished top of the whole regional competition. The second gold came in the Global Vegan Chefs Challenge, thanks to Patrik Prnjak and Eldin Tubić of Restaurant Monsapori at Hotel Monumenti in Pula — a sign of how far Croatian plant-based cooking has come on the international stage. Rounding things off, Marko Hudin and Claudio Mastrovincenzo took silver and third place overall in the Global Young Chefs Challenge for chefs aged 25 and under.
The competition runs under the World Association of Chefs' Societies, better known as Worldchefs, and pits professional chefs against each other on technical skill and creativity. Croatia's team now heads to the world finals in Shanghai in late March 2027, where they'll face the leading cooks from every region.
Erich Glavica, president of the Croatian Chefs Association, called the results a historic moment for the profession, and there's a tourism angle too: he noted that high-quality gastronomy has become a real draw for visitors chasing premium travel experiences, and that competition success helps spotlight local producers and lift standards in hotels and restaurants. The Croatian National Tourist Board backs the association's competition efforts precisely to put Croatian food on the map abroad.
For travellers, this is more than trophy news. The winning chefs cook at places you can actually visit: Terbotz in Međimurje, inland and often overlooked by coastal-bound visitors, and Monsapori at Pula's Hotel Monumenti, right by the Roman arena on the Istrian coast. If Croatia's dining reputation keeps climbing, expect more restaurants chasing the same standards — and a good excuse to plan a trip around Istrian truffles, olive oil and wine country before the prices catch up with the headlines. The next chapter comes in Shanghai in 2027, but you don't have to wait to taste what the fuss is about.
