Slovenian ‘Queen of Gastronomy’ and woman willpower
The 2023 Michelin awards were handed out in Slovenia and the undisputed gastronomy queen of Slovenia was Ana Roš, who was awarded three Michelin stars and one green Michelin. The stars were earned rightly, as Ana Roš has put the Hiša Franko restaurant and Kobarid, the small mountain village where the restaurant is located, as a culinary destination on the world gastronomy map. When you get to know her, you realize that her success story is born from love and passion.
The story of Ana Roš is almost like a fairy tale. Initially it reads like that unassuming girl working in the kitchen eventually becoming the queen of some small country somewhere hidden in Europe, and living happily after. No, that’s not true! The real story of Ana Roš is all about dedication, perseverance, discipline, hardworking and above all, about making her own choice, deciding on her own path, even if it is the path of one less travelled. It is true that she turned to be a queen, literally the queen of gastronomy of her country, that some small country happens to be Slovenia, the hidden gem of Europe, and her castle is Hiša Franko, located in the village of Kobarid, high up in the Julian Alps. She has almost singlehandedly put Kobarid and Slovenia on the attention of gastronomy circles, bringing all her producers and artisanal products to light. Of course, her former husband was the key to spark the first light.
Ana's story really begins with love. Her fate changes when she meets wine expert Valter Kramar. As a bride arriving at her husband's family's restaurant, she finds herself first as a waitress and then apprenticing in the kitchen. Having a bright diplomatic future, being an accomplished ski racer, as well as having contemporary ballet training, this was not the career choice expected from her. Raising a family with kids in a small mountain village and swinging a ladle in a family restaurant seemed to go against her ideal, and especially in opposition to the dreams of her parents who wished to see her as an accomplished diplomat, but Ana Roš made her own choice, followed her heart, and eventually paved her own way, recreated her own self, eventually changing her destiny and also the fate of Hiša Franko, making a family restaurant a world renowned culinary destination. And all of this happened with Roš, having no chef training or experience, whatsoever.
Perseverance, persistence, assertiveness, discipline, hard work, hard learning, hard research, endurance, taking the right step at the right time - these are all typical Ana Roš traits. She is not resentful about the future career as a diplomat she gave up for the sake of the kitchen, and formerly she never looked back when she decided to stop racing the Winter Olympics, on the contrary, she says, “There was a lot of pressure on me, and I was on a path where there was no room for creativity.”
In this respect, she is also a master of giving up, and being firm on making her own choices, and not obeying what is expected from her. It was in the kitchen that she practiced the discipline that was the foundation of both professions she did not sustain, and it was in the kitchen that she discovered her dormant creativity, her hidden asset. Her first days in the kitchen were spent working hard, endless learning and non-stop experimenting. She slowly but assertively developed his own unique style, tirelessly climbing her way up and becoming one of the most important chefs in the world as a female chef in an unknown spot in the middle of nowhere. Behind this incredible success is determination and discipline, as well as love and passion. In the Chef's Table series released in 2017, her first statement was “Love is essential, nothing happens without love. Love is the foundation of everything!”
Friends & Family Spirit
What started the whole international recognition was when Ana Roš was awarded as the world's best female chef in 2017 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. This was continued with numerous other awards. In 2022 she was ranked in ninth place on the Best Chef Awards list as the only woman in the top 10. She has received the “The Best Chef Pristine Award” for her utmost respect for and use of the highest quality local produce at a terroir-based restaurant from the same organization.
She is incredibly creative in the main kitchen, using unimaginable techniques and creating unlikely flavor combinations. For this, she received the 2022 Sferic award, given to chefs who use science in creativity, at the Barcelona Science & Cooking World Congress. This one is special for me, as I had the opportunity to witness the moment, where I was a delegate for Türkiye at the congress. I must say I was lucky to experience Ana’s creations three times where she participated in four pop-up dinners; once in Bilbao, Nerua restaurant with chef Josean Alija on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Guggenheim Museum, and another time in St. Petersburg with the talented chef Igor Grishechkin, and once with our own dear chef Maksut Aşkar, Neolokal in Istanbul, but I have never stepped foot in her own culinary castle. Though I have not been to her own territory, I have witnessed her team spirit, how she keeps her team close to her like family, and holds them together with love, but with uncompromising discipline. The team spirit she has created in this journey is very important. Manca Istinič, one of the architects of Hiša Franko's success, her right-hand assistant is the pillar of the team, the public relations expert, and she was one of the quickest in adding the third star tattooed on her ankle. This was followed by 17 members of the team, who proudly wear three red Michelin stars and one green star tattooed on their arms, ankles, or even wearing the tattoo as if like a series of rings on their fingers. Now, that is a real demonstration of team spirit, a showcase of belonging to a family.
Ana Roš says that the food she creates reflects a bit of her own crazy personality, but the most important inspiration comes from the earth and the changing seasons. Her micro-local approach, sourcing all ingredients from local producers in season without compromise, and making all producers in the region important economic and social partners have earned her the Green Star award. In this unique team spirit, from employees to producers, there is also a spirit of solidarity that comes from being in a small town in the heart of nature. As a matter of fact, the solidarity model they exhibited during COVID-19 will soon be published as a case study by Harvard University students.
Because of her work chef Ana Roš was named the ambassador of gastronomic tourism at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Starting as a self-taught cook she became a celebrity chef and the ultimate spokeswoman of Slovenian gastronomy. She may not have pursued her diplomatic career, instead she discovered her inner talent and creativity in the kitchen, but her inner diplomat reemerged and surfaced once again making her a gastro-diplomat creating heartfelt bonds through food beyond borders.
