1. ANA ROŠ AND THE FRANKO HOUSE, EXPERIENCE THE MASTERPIECES OF A WORLD-RECOGNIZED CULINARY MASTER
Would you like to treat yourself to a culinary experience at the highest level? The Soča Valley has been put on the global culinary map with the exceptional Ana Roš, a unique culinary master who received the title of the best chef in the world according to The World's 50 Best Restaurants academy. Ana Roš creates in Hiša Franko, one of the 50 best restaurants in the world, where gourmets from all over the world go with curiosity and a desire to taste the best. Unique culinary creations are created from simple seasonal and local ingredients, seasoned with tradition and passion. Plates often smell of Posoje lamb, goats, venison, trout, local cheeses, wild herbs and vegetables from the home garden behind the house.
2. BOVEC AND TOLMIN CHEESE, APPRECIATED CHEESE WITH GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN
Shepherding and cheese-making traditions have lived in the Soča Valley for centuries, so it is not unusual for dairy products to be a valued fixture in the local cuisine. Among the most prominent are cheeses with geographical origin, Tolminc and Bovec cheese. Bovec cheese, a hard full-fat cheese, is made from the sheep's milk of the native Bovec sheep breed, to which up to 20% of cow's or goat's milk is sometimes mixed. The intense and slightly spicy taste, which goes perfectly with a glass of Slovenian wine, was sometimes used as a means of payment. Even the hard full-fat Tolminc cow's cheese, already mentioned in written sources from the 13th century, was once used by landowners to pay taxes. For a tasting, ask at tourist farms, in local restaurants, or during the season go by bike to one of the still-living mountains above the Soča Valley (e.g. Mangartska Planina, Planina Zaprikraj. You can also visit the Planika cheese museum and the Bogata ecological estate.
3. TRADITIONAL DISHES
The traditional menu of the Soča Valley includes the original appetizer 'čompe an skuta' from Bov and frika, a Slovenian dish of former shepherds and foresters, which occupies a special place on Tolmin menus. Čompe, boiled, unpeeled potatoes, as the locals call them, are served on a plate with salty sheep's curd from the mountains of Poso. The summer ethnological event Čomparska noč, where a giant čompa pizza is served, is named after this simple dish. If you're going to wander around Tolmin, order frika, which has slightly different recipes, but is basically made from grated hard cheese, eggs, dried meat and potatoes. In autumn, the Frika fest takes place in Tolmin, when you can taste different frika creations in one place.
4. BUŠKI KRAFI AND KOBARIŠKI ŠTRUKLJI FOR SWEET DELIGHTS
To end a traditional lunch or just like that, a dessert. The culinary treasure trove of the Soča Valley recommends delicious Bovške krafe, sinfully good pockets made from homemade dough, filled with 'bulja', a filling made of dried betel nuts, walnuts and raisins. The people of Bovec used to eat them on the holy evening and on major holidays, but today we have the privilege of being able to taste them in most of the inns in Bovec. An excellent local dessert is Kobariški štruklji, which the locals once enjoyed during summer mowing. The specialty of the Kobariški štruklji is the cook's fingerprint in the center of the dessert. Today, Kobariški štruklji are the main star of restaurants in Kobarid and in addition, culinary masters from Kobarid dedicate a real festival to them - Jestival.
5. MODERN CUISINE AND GORIŠKA BRDA, TASTES OF TOP WINES
The Soča Valley became famous in the world with the cuisine of Ana Roš, and gourmets are also impressed by other creators of modern cuisine. In the Kotlar and Topli val restaurants, they are proud of their seafood specialties, which they recommend in addition to the local freshwater trout. You will be delighted with a unique modern culinary experience and a touch of creativity at the Mangrt Restaurant, where they are especially dedicated to upgrading traditional cuisine and using seasonal ingredients from the local environment. What about good wines? Not far away are Goriška Brda, where top quality, internationally recognized wines are born, which culinary creators in the Soča Valley like to serve with their meals.
6. JESTIVAL, FRIKA FESTIVAL AND ČOMPARSKA NOČ
In the abundance of festivals for which the Soča Valley is known, it is also a place for culinary events. Come to the summer Čomparska noč, which got its name from potatoes, or to the autumn Jestival, an interweaving of indigenous flavors and art, with Kobariški štruklji in the foreground. Local restaurants, tourist farms and traditional delicacies are presented in one place. In autumn, it also smells like frika, which is preparing for the FrikaFest in Tolmin. Watch the frika preparation competition and enjoy the fun program that rounds off the end of the grazing season in the mountains of Poso.