PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
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Srečko Koklič<br />
Culinary Trends<br />
It would be hard to<br />
find a better expert on<br />
the topic of culinary<br />
trends, both at home and<br />
around the world. Srečko<br />
Koklič regularly attends<br />
culinary exhibitions and<br />
competitions around the<br />
world. He is one of the<br />
pivotal organisers of the<br />
Catering and Tourism<br />
Convention held in<br />
Slovenia.<br />
He is employed at the Slovenian<br />
Chamber of Commerce and<br />
Industry as a consultant in the<br />
Catering and Tourism Section<br />
and the Tourism, Hotels and<br />
Restaurants Association. He is<br />
also Secretary of the Association<br />
of Catering Employees and its<br />
sections. Mr. Koklič is also a<br />
founding member and Secretary<br />
of the Association of Slovenian<br />
Chefs and Confectioners.<br />
Photo: Vivo Catering<br />
The World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) bestowed a special<br />
honour upon him by electing him Continental Director of Southern<br />
Europe. He now presides over WACS members in southern Europe,<br />
which includes cooking moguls such as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal,<br />
Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey<br />
and Slovenia.<br />
And, last but not least, Mr. Srečko Količ is a person who says with pride<br />
that above all he is a chef at every opportunity. Let's take a look at what<br />
he shared with us regarding the directions being taken by the current<br />
culinary trends in the world.<br />
»Smaller portions, hot-cold combinations, milder tastes, the use of<br />
fresh herbs and scents, less spicy herbs, fewer sauces, foamy sauces<br />
with unusual tastes acting as a supplement on the plate - that's how,<br />
in a few words, I would describe the current trends in cuisine.<br />
Appetisers consist of various groups of foods, combined to produce<br />
a whole where colour co-ordination plays an important role, served<br />
as a single dish or as a hot-cold combination dish.<br />
Clear, double strength soups are returning to the menu, with<br />
interesting southern additions already included in the soup or ready<br />
to add as a supplement.<br />
The main dish consists of basic key ingredients (various types of meat),<br />
in combination with ‘thermally treated’ vegetables (cooked, au gratin<br />
or sautéed) and with fresh vegetables on the same plate as the third<br />
part of the main dish. Salads, in forms familiar to us Slovenes, are<br />
practically non-existent abroad; but fresh vegetables are included in<br />
both the appetisers and main dishes.<br />
Sauces of various types (orange, caramel, vanilla or champagne),<br />
perhaps somewhat unusually for us, are prepared from a base<br />
acquired through hours of cooking (over a low heat). Quality foodstuffs<br />
are used, to which the additives and herbs mentioned above are added<br />
later. Of course, we shouldn’t forget a superior wine that will round<br />
off the final taste of the sauce, selected from a choice menu.<br />
Desserts appearing on the horizon are a combination of different<br />
pastries, fruit, cream and ice cream, supplementing the taste and also<br />
bringing a freshness to the conclusion of the meal. Ice creams are less<br />
creamy and are more reminiscent of sorbets, with variations creating<br />
quite unusual flavours and combinations at times.<br />
Unfortunately, the pace of work frequently restricts those meals for<br />
which more time is required, along with a well-set table. Thus, hot-cold<br />
combinations of light meals and snacks are on the march, replacing<br />
lunch or morning and afternoon snacks. All dishes are prepared in<br />
forms that we can enjoy standing up and without the need for eating<br />
utensils, requiring only a plate and paper napkin. Although they may<br />
sound like the ‘sandwich variation’, these snacks can be prepared with<br />
extraordinary creativity and are quite delicious. Bread, in various<br />
shapes and made from a variety of dough, serves as the base, which is<br />
then stacked with fresh or fried vegetables, roasted meat or seafood.<br />
When serving meals other than during a break from work, the rule<br />
applies, of course, that a glass of superior wine is also served – which<br />
is a custom at an enviable level in Slovenia.«<br />
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