NETJETS US VOLUME 9 2019

Far from the madding crowds,
Ana Roš has built an unlikely
culinary destination that celebrates
the bounty of the Julian Alps
By Bill Knott
BENJAMIN SCHMUCK
D
rive into the small town of Kobarid,
western Slovenia, and—depending
on the time of year—you might
spot the occasional winter sports
enthusiast, mountain biker or cliff diver, while
the picturesque, emerald-green Soča River,
which flows down from the spectacular Julian
Alps, is the babbling playground for whitewater
rafters and canoeists.
The town has historically been kicked
back and forth between Italy, Austria-
Hungary and the former Yugoslavia, and
during the First World War, it was almost
completely destroyed. These days it is
thoroughly at peace, a remote community
that prides itself on its self-sufficiency.
Ana Roš is very much part of that
community. She is also responsible for a new
breed of visitors to the Soča Valley: Gourmets
making the pilgrimage to Hiša Franko, the
restaurant where she cooks, and her husband
Valter is sommelier and cellarmaster. It is also
the family home: They have two children,
and Valter’s parents live there, too, making it
three generations under the same roof. And
it is, according to the annual San Pellegrino
World’s 50 Best awards, the 38th best
restaurant in the world.
Her ascent to global fame has been
extraordinary. A talented skier who was picked
for the Yugoslavian youth team, she turned
down the chance to become a professional
in favor of a degree in international relations
and a career in diplomacy.
Then, in 2002, she changed tack
completely. With little experience of cuisine
beyond “cooking bowls of pasta at five in the
morning when I was a student”, Ana took
over Valter’s parents’ old-style Slovenian
restaurant at Hiša Franko, “found what few
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