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Sirana Gligora Cheese - Paški sir - World Champion Cheese

Tour the world-renowned Sirana Gligora cheese dairy on Pag

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Many of you may well have heard of the famous dairy Sirana Gligora – regardless of whether you’ve travelled to Croatia or not! Based in Kolan on the island of Pag, this family-run company have been making Paski sir (Pag cheese) since 1918 and currently produce no less than four world championship winning cheeses and as well many other highly decorated products as well.

Sirana Gligora Cheese - Paški sir - World Champion Cheese

Paški sir – World Champion Cheese

Paski sir is one of the most famous products of the island of Pag, and possibly of the whole of Croatia too – a cheese that is hand made from the richest local milk from sheep that are free to roam on rocky pastures, foraging amongst hardy grasses and wild herbs. We would highly recommend that you try this wonderful and unique cheese if you come across it when visiting Croatia – you won’t be disappointed.

Pastures above local beach Sveti Duh

Pag sheep on the rocky pastures

But if you’re visiting Croatia and the north Dalmatian region – including the island of Pag – in particular this summer, you may well like to participate in one of the Cheese Tasting Tours that the Sirana Gligora dairy runs. These tours will teach you more about the history of the cheese and the production processes involved in making it, and well as giving you a prime opportunity to taste the different varieties right where it’s made!

These daily tours start off with an introduction to the heritage of cheese making on the island of Pag, as well as a history of the dairy and the cheese. You’ll then be led by an expert guide through the production rooms of the dairy, before going underground in the maturing caves. These caves house up to 200 tonnes of wall-to-wall cheese that’s at various stages of maturing, with the famous local sheep’s milk cheese sitting side by side with assorted cow, goat and mixed milk cheeses. Part of the caves are set aside as an experimental corner where you can examine mouth-watering prototypes that are awaiting official grading and tasting by affineurs. Whilst here, your guide will fully explain the laborious process and care involved into making each wheel.

A guided tour at Sirana Gligora

Aged Paski sir

After the first part of the tour (which takes around thirty minutes, although this depends upon the size of the group), you’ll then be taken to what must be the most exciting area of Sirana Gligora for many people – the tasting room! Resting on top of the dairy – with fabulous views of the island – you’ll be able to sample the award-winning Gligora cheese, washing it down with some wonderful wine.

Squid stuffed with Prušut and Paški Sir – how amazing does that sound?!

Tickets for the tours are available from Sirana Gligora’s two Cheese and Wine shops in Novalja and Kolan on the island of Pag – both of which are well worth a visit in their own right, even if you can’t make a tour. Alternatively, email Sirana Gligora direct on info@gligora.com or contact them on Facebook or Twitter for advance bookings for the tours – as they can get full up rather quickly! Tours are available in English, Croatian and German.

Paška skuta and Paški sir

Ivan Gligora and current MD Šime Gligora

Do also visit Sirana Gligora’s website to find out more about the dairy, and check out all the latest news on their blog – which also has a more in depth look at the tours they offer. Or, to check out the full list of what they produce, click here: Sirana Gligora Product Brochure.

If you’re not quite able to make it down to the island of Pag for these tours, Sirana Gligora also have Cheese & Wine shops in a number of locations across Croatia – including in Zagreb, Rijeka, Opatija, Pula, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. See this list for full addresses.

But I know I’d love to head to Pag for a tour at Sirana Gligora!

Croatian Fair & Gala Dinner in London this week!

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As part of the celebrations in the run up to Croatia’s accession to the EU on 1st July 2013, the British Croatia Business Club (BCBC) is hosting a couple of exciting events this week!

On the 23rd & 24th May – this coming Thursday and Friday – they will be hosting a Croatian Products and Services Fair, which will be the perfect opportunity to sample and purchase Croatian food and drinks – whether that’s something you’re trying for the first time, or something you know and love well! This fair, the first of its kind in the UK, will see a number of well-known Croatian companies gather together to showcase their wares, with over thirty companies taking part. Well known names such as Croatia Airlines, Croata, Jamnica, Maraska, Paprenjak and Podravka will all be appearing, amongst many others. The Croatian Products and Services Fair will take place in the Battersea Arts Centre in south London, a wonderfully historic venue – built in 1893 – that’s been host to many important events over the years.

Croatian Fair - Croatian Gala Dinner

The Fair will be open to the public from 11am to 7pm on both Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th, and entrance is free. Do register your attendance for the fair via info@bcbc.org.uk as every fifth entry will win a prize!

If you’d like to celebrate in some additional style and glamour, the BCBC is also hosting a wonderful Gala Dinner on Saturday 25th May, also at the Battersea Arts Centre. The four course dinner – a Croatian menu, of course, created by Croatian and British chefs – will be accompanied by a fine selection of Croatian wines. There will also be a full entertainment programme featuring both Croatian and British artists, as well as a raffle and auction with some exciting prizes – the proceeds of which will be going to the Croatian charity, Anima Caelestis. Popular TV personalities will introduce the evening, and a welcome speech of distinguished British and Croatian guests will also take place.

Croatian Gala Dinner

Tickets cost £45 per person (£30 concessions), which includes the four course dinner and a limited selection of wine and soft drinks. There’s only a few tickets left, so do be quick to snap one up! They can be bought online via the BCBC website at www.bcbc.org.uk/fair.html.

British Croatian Business Club

Croatian Fair
10am – 7pm, Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th May 2013

Croatian Gala Dinner
6.30pm – 10.30pm, Saturday 25th May 2013

Battersea Arts Centre
Lavender Hill
SW11 5TN

Sunday Times Style Magazine

What happened to the love for Croatia, Sunday Times Style Magazine?

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Avid readers of the UK’s Sunday Times Style Magazine may feel like not a week (or rather, weekend) goes by without some kind of mention of Croatia amongst the pages. Whether it’s something to do with summer (that includes a bit on festivals in Croatia), hedonistic lifestyles (festivals in Croatia) or something on what the cool young  kids are doing these days (festivals in Croatia), the country almost always gets a mention. (Festivals in Croatia. Oops. An extra one snuck in there.)

This weekend, events took a sudden turn for the…not so good. A piece about foodie clubs (it’s what the cool young kids are doing these days – yeah, I dunno either), featured an inset box that listed a food-based “You Know You’re  A Grown-Up When You…”:

Croatia Sunday Times

Heyyyy Sunday Times Style Magazine, what gives?!? What’s with the snarky tone? Let’s face it – you can barely move these days for newspaper and TV coverage proclaiming the wonders of Croatian food, from truffles to oysters to wine to stews to the super-strength fruit and herbal liquers to pastries and cakes, with there even being love for the pizzas and ice cream you find in the country. (Don’t laugh til you’ve tried either – preferably both! Though not at the same time.)

However, on a more serious note – “Croatia never quite took off”? Ow. BURN, as some might say. Someone was clearly having a bad day, seeing as they just got this so very wrong. I think they might need to liaise with their colleagues from the Travel pages where – again – not a weekend goes by without some kind of mention of holidays in Croatia. (Only a few weeks ago, Croatia had three entries in the Travel section’s “25 Top Holidays for 2013” in the Eastern Med, offering up advice for visiting the island of Lopud, a cycling holiday in Istria, and culture in Zagreb.

Nevermind, Sunday Times Style Magazine. Just make sure normal service is resumed soon.

I look forward to reading more about Festivals in Croatia in an upcoming issue.

Croatian food from London’s Borough Market

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Anyone that’s been to London’s Borough Market recently might have come across a stand selling a very good variety of Croatian food products, from oils to jams to cakes (such as smokvenjak – fig cake), as well as the classic Ajvar (a kind of relish made from red peppers that can be used to accompany dishes) and Paski sir (sheep’s cheese from the island of Pag). The stand is run by D’Issa (now Taste Croatia), who import and distribute top quality Croatian food delicacies and wine in the UK.

I popped along this afternoon to take a look myself (and, judging by the crowds, I think everyone else in London decided to come to the Market too!) and brought home a little haul of Croatian goodies to enjoy over Christmas! Take a look at the photo below – as you might note, I couldn’t stop myself from opening up the sheep’s cheese to try before I snapped away. (Which I’m glad I did – the cheese is very delicious and pleasantly mild. I don’t think it will last long…)

D'Issa Croatian products

Do pop along to Borough Market to take a look yourself – alternatively, check out D’Issa’s product range and more about them on their website [now] tastecroatia.co.uk.