The Best Chefs and Restaurants Awarded at the Culinary Oscars Night

Rudi Štefan is the Chef of the Year 2025 according to the prestigious gastronomic guide Gault&Millau Croatia. The renowned chef and owner of the Pelegrini restaurant in Šibenik won the highest annual GM trophy at the ceremonial award ceremony held last night in the Emerald Hall of the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb. The trophy was presented to him by Ana Lakić, the marketing and development director of the Beverage Group at Jamnica, a premium partner of the Gault&Millau Croatia 2025 guide and a market leader among natural sparkling mineral waters in Croatia.

– It is a great honor for me to receive this award, and I want to thank everyone who is part of this organization; it is fantastic in its work and contribution to promoting gastronomy. This recognition is not just mine, but belongs to everyone around me who gives their all every day to build this top story together – said Štefan.

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Chef of the Year Rudi Štefan

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The Culinary Oscars Night, the unofficial name for the annual Gault&Millau gala dinner marking the release of the guide, gathered 101 chefs from across Croatia. Among the guests was Tonči Glavina, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, who presented Gault&Millau plaques to the best Croatian restaurants. These are: 360 from Dubrovnik, the only one rated 18/20, Monte from Rovinj, NAV from Zagreb, Pelegrini from Šibenik, Alfred Keller from Mali Lošinj, Boškinac from Novalja, Cap Aureo Signature from Rovinj, Nebo restaurant & Lounge bar by Deni Srdoč from Rijeka, ManO2 from Zagreb, Noel from Zagreb, Tač from Zagreb, Zinfandel’s from Zagreb, and Zrno Soli from Split. All these restaurants have 4 Gault&Millau toques, chef hats that signify their first-class quality.

In presenting the awards, Minister Tonči Glavina thanked the awardees for their contribution to Croatian gastronomy: – Your effort and work have enabled Croatia to be recognized in the world as a destination of top gastronomy, a destination that has a unique story. Our gastronomic offer is extremely diverse – from traditional dishes that preserve our heritage to the finest restaurants that represent contemporary Croatian cuisine, and all of this together makes our gastronomy special and allows it to grow year after year. I am particularly pleased to see young faces here as they show that we have a new generation of talented people bringing freshness and innovation to our industry. Many of them are gaining knowledge and experience abroad and successfully applying it here, raising the quality of our offer. –

The trophy for the best head waiter and service for 2025 was awarded to the Zagreb restaurant Baltazar, led by the legendary Milan Martinko, better known as Micek. The award was presented to him on behalf of HTZ, a long-time partner of the guide, by Slavija Jačan Obratov, the director of brand development and tourism products.

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Milan Martinko

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This year’s gala dinner was marked by the excellence of Croatian chefs and brands. Guests enjoyed top sparkling wines from Plešivica, Jagunić, Šember, and Tomac, as well as imaginative cocktails prepared by the Poetica Distillery from Vrgorac. Their base London Dry Gin Poetica Ginuine won a respectable 96 points and a gold medal at the IWSC in London last year. The gala dinner of 6 courses was prepared together by the chef of the Esplanade Hotel, Ana Grgić-Tomić, who was named Chef of the Year 2022 by Gault&Millau, and chef Marko Đurašević from the Split restaurant Zrno Soli, who won the same trophy in 2024. Their dishes were accompanied by top wines from the Josić, Markus, and Rizman wineries, and at the beginning of the dinner, Festigia Blanc de moi and Festigia Malvazija from Vina Laguna from Poreč were served. First-class truffles from Pietro&Pietro Edija Borovića also came from Istria. The culinary creations of the kitchen virtuosos were further enhanced by the beautiful plates from Duke Group in which all the dishes were served.

– Gault&Millau Croatia 2025 offers a credible snapshot of the state of the domestic gastronomic scene. Leading restaurants have confirmed their long-standing quality. A significant step forward has been made by restaurants from unjustly neglected continental regions, while many in coastal areas have stagnated or even regressed, but at the same time unjustifiably raised prices, which will soon backfire on them – said the director of Gault&Millau Croatia, Ingrid Badurina Danielsson.

Juan Carlos Torres, the vice president of Gault&Millau International, addressed the guests, having come to Zagreb especially for this occasion: – It is a great pleasure for me that Croatia has been part of this prestigious story for eight years, confirming its status as a top gastro destination that successfully combines tradition and contemporary creativity. Gastronomy is the best tool for promoting Croatia in the world as it represents the rich culture and identity of this country through flavors and authentic stories. I congratulate everyone who contributes to the development of Croatian gastronomy and its positioning on the global scene with their work and passion. –

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Chefs Ana Grgić Tomić and Marko Đurašević

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Among the guests was also the director of Gault&Millau Slovenia, Mira Šemić. Slovenia is one of 18 countries in the world where Gault&Millau is published, one of the most influential gastronomic guides in the world.

The trophy for the great chef of the future for 2025 was awarded to chef Karlo Kaleb from the small Split restaurant Krug, who delights fans of informal fine dining with his creativity and culinary technique. He received the award, a large wheel of exclusive cheese, from Ive Kuhtić, the marketing director of Dukat. Guests were able to enjoy a collection of top Président cheeses that specially arrived from France for the Gault&Millau gala dinner at the end of the meal. The GM Trophy for Young Talent of the Year went to 23-year-old Amos Novak from the Terbotz restaurant in Železna gora, who has celebrated his native Međimurje with his successes in international competitions. The award was presented to him by Ana Zelenika, Key Account Manager of the international company La Lorraine, which has over four thousand different products in the bakery and pastry segment. Their delicious small pastries were served during the dinner.

Two important trophies, that of Chef of Traditional Cuisine and that of Chef of Modern Traditional Cuisine, went to chef Marinko Rotim from the restaurant Crna Svinja in Čepin and chef Igor Eržena from the Rivica restaurant in Njivice on the island of Krk, who celebrated his 90th birthday. The first award was presented by the director of TZ Kvarner Irena Peršić Živadinov, and the second by Ivana Alilović, the director of TZ Zagreb County. Both county tourist boards cooperate with the Gault&Millau Croatia guide, as do the TZ Zadar County and TZ Split-Dalmatia County, which have recognized the value of the promotion that the GM guide provides to Croatian gastronomy on the international scene. The director of TZ Zadar County Hrvoje Anić presented the award for the best POP of the year. This is a special GM category for popular places with a good price-quality ratio.

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Maša Salopek

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This year’s winner is the vegan bistro BioMania, which, after several years of success in Bol on Brač, opened another restaurant in the center of Zagreb a few months ago. Maša Salopek, pastry chef at the prestigious Cap Aureo Signature restaurant in Rovinj, was named the best pastry chef of the year. Maša won the title of best pastry chef in the world in 2021, and it is interesting that she does not eat sweets. Another great celebration marked last night’s award ceremony, which was the 100th anniversary of the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel. The iconic Zagreb hotel has been hosting the Gault&Millau Croatia gala dinners from the very beginning. The hotel director, Ivica Max Krizmanić, was congratulated by Ingrid Badurina Danielsson and the executive director of Gault&Millau Croatia, Dubravka Tomeković Aralica, who presented him with a commemorative plaque. It was yet another memorable Night of Culinary Oscars.

All guests took home the new Croatian edition of the bilingual Gault&Millau guide, which includes 430 restaurants and 150 wine tasting rooms from all our regions.